Decisions decisions !

[eXodus31337]

there's nothing wrong with it being cast. purists will tell you the receiver should be forged, as was original M14.
now, if I was part of the Marines Corps, that my life depended on my rifle and it needed to withstand a lot of abuse, I might rethink the cast receiver.
but I'm a civilian, my rifle sits in a box and receives great care...

bottom line, the cast one will likely last you 2 lifetimes instead of 3.

 

[jonh172]

Also curious, what's wrong with the cast receiver?

Please let's not go down this road; Google cast vs hammer forged and you will have all the "experts" info you need.

Back on track!
Leonard. It sounds like you are a tinkerer, so, get yourself an M305 and get a Boyds stock or similar and bed your new M305 in said stock. This is of course after ensuring the barrel indexing is correct, NM op-rod spring guide, gas system shimmed... blah blah blah.
A good bedding job will give your action a solid platform for shot to shot repeatability, bed it so the barrel has some draw pressure (downward pressure on the barrel band) and make sure your trigger guard lockup is tight.
This, with handloads should get you consistent accuracy. Where you go from there is entirely up to your pocket book. Barrel, bolt, McMillan or Aluminum chassis etc....
Since you already stated you will be using a scope, ditch the Chinese flash hinder and get a direct connect muzzle brake from Blackrose and either an Arms 18 scope mount or a CASM from M14.ca.

If these mods are unsatisfactory, sell it on the EE and get an LRB, JRA or Springfield.

 

[TonyBen]

I have no experience with Norcs, so I can't weigh in on them but as has already been stated, they seem to have good receivers to do builds on.

An SAI rifle will be sufficient for most people and the only thing I recommend changing or having on hand is a spare GI or Beretta extractor. Hammer hooks sometimes break but less frequently than extractors. Other than that, they are good rifles.

JRA rifles and receivers are getting good feedback and they seem to be doing things right. They also have a 19.25" barrel available which might be nice for the hunters. LRB's are pricey but nice. I have two of them.

Good luck on your decision.

Tony.

 

[leonard]

Thanks for the feedback so far guy's.

 

[Nate.308]

Sorry I asked a question John! Can't all be experts like you I guess?!

 

[45ACPKING]

us "experts" only complain about cast receivers because of the price the rifles they are built on sell for .... it's farrr cheaper to produce a cast receiver over a hammer forged and machined unit and unfortunately springfield rifles remain at a premium.
personally, with my steel industry back ground..... I will take a hammer forged unit over cast any day of the week, but that's just my personal preferences..... how many lifetimes it will last is of no concern to me.
however it's not really about which is better from a cast vs forged point of view it is about how much you have to pay.

as for general advice on this platform....... there's a lot of guys claiming to be experts these days, be careful who you accept your advice from.

the real bias against springfield that is seen on the interent from guys like me is not the rifle itself but the company and how it came to be.

 

[jonh172]

Sorry I asked a question John! Can't all be experts like you I guess?!

K, relax, I was merely stating that this subject has been argued to no end on many other forums, and in respect to the OP I didn't want his thread hijacked on a subject that can be easily looked up else where.

I do not favor either, so whatever you took from my post, I apologise it was negatively received, wasn't in any way insulting you.

 

[Seafury]

Price point on the M1A vs LRB and Rockola standards with walnut stocks. Assuming $250 to broker and $1.10 exchange.

Rifle cost + exchange rate + brokerage + GST = purchase price

M1A $2215 + inc + inc + 110.75 = $2325.75
LRB $ 2717.72 + 271.77 + 250 + 161.97 = $3401.46
Rockola $2195 + 219.50 + 250 + 133.24 = $2797.74

I realize that there is more to this than just cast vs forged receivers but when you consider that the receivers are about $700 alone for forged I'm not sure that SA is really that out of line on price. Having said that I would gladly pay the price for the LRB or Rockola. I would say that Rockola looks to be best buy.

 

[eXodus31337]

If I could give you rep points for this, I would. Thanks a bunch.

 

[Gobc]

FYI, wanstalls has a JRA Rockola for around ~2600. I took a look at it and it was very nice. However, the stock isn't bedded, and I don't know if they gas cylinder has been unitized. For around $2400, you could get a M1A NM, which has all the accuracy mods done to it, including a bedded stock. But then you get a cast receiver instead of a forged one. Which means you rifle will break in 350,000 rounds instead of 400,000 rounds (oh the humanity!!!).

Norinco is most probably the cheaper root. But if you go any other way, you will end up with a rifle with a nicer fit and finish.

For hunting, the M14 platform will provide acceptable accuracy. A NM modded M14 type rifle will shoot 1-1.5moa with handloads. They are heavier than typical bolt action hunting rifles, but you do get a solid reliable semi automatic rifle, which is good incase you get charged by an angry bear IMO.

When you do start reloading, i would read "Reloading for the M14" by Zediker. You can easily find a pdf version by googling it. He gives important advise on what powders you want to use among other things.

What ever you decide to do, best of luck and have fun.

 

[leonard]

All good advice.

Which means you rifle will break in 350,000 rounds instead of 400,000 rounds (oh the humanity!!!).

yea understood lol.

 

[Seafury]

FYI, wanstalls has a JRA Rockola for around ~2600. I took a look at it and it was very nice. However, the stock isn't bedded, and I don't know if they gas cylinder has been unitized. For around $2400, you could get a M1A NM, which has all the accuracy mods done to it, including a bedded stock. But then you get a cast receiver instead of a forged one. Which means you rifle will break in 350,000 rounds instead of 400,000 rounds (oh the humanity!!!).

Norinco is most probably the cheaper root. But if you go any other way, you will end up with a rifle with a nicer fit and finish.

For hunting, the M14 platform will provide acceptable accuracy. A NM modded M14 type rifle will shoot 1-1.5moa with handloads. They are heavier than typical bolt action hunting rifles, but you do get a solid reliable semi automatic rifle, which is good incase you get charged by an angry bear IMO.

When you do start reloading, i would read "Reloading for the M14" by Zediker. You can easily find a pdf version by googling it. He gives important advise on what powders you want to use among other things.

What ever you decide to do, best of luck and have fun.

Yes and the M1A is $1899. Seems like they have good pricing.

 

[leonard]

Well I think I've decided to get a 18.5" Norinco M305(m14) Synthetic from P&D in Edmonton and go from there.
I will try and buy a Guide for the spring if i can right away.

Hopefully i wont have many issues with headspacing.

and i can then weigh my gun's accuracy and improve on it.

-
anyone have any concerns or objections?
Likely Ill buy it Friday the 5th of this week December 2014.

 

[goldenbb]

Well I think I've decided to get a 18.5" Norinco M305(m14) Synthetic from P&D in Edmonton and go from there.
I will try and buy a Guide for the spring if i can right away.

Hopefully i wont have many issues with headspacing.

and i can then weigh my gun's accuracy and improve on it.

-
anyone have any concerns or objections?
Likely Ill buy it Friday the 5th of this week December 2014.

Good plan. Can we we make this a sticky? Seriously. It would cut the number of threads in half.

 

[leonard]

yea lots of opinions in here.

but on the other hand.. new threads keep this forum occupied with new stuff and people asking things new or old questions.

 

[silver69]

Buy the Norinco rifle and have it enhanced to suit your needs.

Spend the rest of the money you would have spent on another brand on ammo & accessories.

^^^These words of wisdom!!^^^ I did this, thousands of rounds down now, very happy!! Nuff said.

 

[leonard]

yea as i understand it . i can basically replace mostly everything aside from the (forged receiver) and a few other things with better than stock Springfield ect quality items and still be ahead in price paid.
likely i wont have to replace much , perhaps a bit of work from a gun smith antiquated with M14's or a m14 type specialist .

 

[Seafury]

Please keep track of every penny you spend and let us know how it turns out. I will do the same at a later date for my two SAI rifles. One I have not touched and the other I've changed quite a bit on. Modifying M14 type rifles is not limited to Norinco's.

Actually I'll start

1988 M1A Super Match $3500
GI op rod
GI bolt
NM modified GI trigger group
NM Unitized gas cylinder
McMillan Fiberglass stock
NM flash suppressor
NM front and rear sights
Hart Stainless heavy barrel
Oh and a cast receiver

Who's next? You should all be able to do better than that.

 

[thump_rrr]

Please keep track of every penny you spend and let us know how it turns out. I will do the same at a later date for my two SAI rifles. One I have not touched and the other I've changed quite a bit on. Modifying M14 type rifles is not limited to Norinco's.

Actually I'll start

1988 M1A Super Match $3500
GI op rod
GI bolt
NM modified GI trigger group
NM Unitized gas cylinder
McMillan Fiberglass stock
NM flash suppressor
NM front and rear sights
Hart Stainless heavy barrel
Oh and a cast receiver

Who's next? You should all be able to do better than that.

Are those the parts you replaced or is that the way it came?
If they were replaced why?

I have a 2013 M1A National Match $2,400.00 and my total added cost so far has been $29.00 for a wooden handguard for purely esthetic reasons

 

[Pop]

Please keep track of every penny you spend and let us know how it turns out. I will do the same at a later date for my two SAI rifles. One I have not touched and the other I've changed quite a bit on. Modifying M14 type rifles is not limited to Norinco's.

Actually I'll start

1988 M1A Super Match $3500
GI op rod
GI bolt
NM modified GI trigger group
NM Unitized gas cylinder
McMillan Fiberglass stock
NM flash suppressor
NM front and rear sights
Hart Stainless heavy barrel
Oh and a cast receiver

Who's next? You should all be able to do better than that.

All tax and shipping included:

- Norinco M-305 bought used off the EE: $400 (shipped)
- M14.ca Black Arrow op-rod spring guide & CASM II mount: $217.25
- Bushnell Elite 10x fixed scope (mil-dot): $285.99
- Burris Zee Standard 1" rings: $36.29
- Tac-Pro cheek riser: $66.81
- Butler Creek flip up scope covers: $27.48
- cheap bubba'd Norc flash hider to replace the one I broke while removing it: $25 (shipped)
- Vortex 1" bubble level: $43.99
- Harris 9-13" bipod $142.99

That build is a <1.5 MOA shooter with a headspace of 1.645 using factory ammo. I wanted to start reloading for it so I bought a stripped Fulton gen II bolt from Treeline for $221.20 and lapped it in at 1.632. I haven't been out to shoot it with the new bolt yet, except for a single box of WWB 147gr FMJ for a function test, so I don't know if it will perform as well with the Fulton bolt as it did with the Norc one. When it warms up some I'll put it through it's paces and see.

Final cost: $698.74 for the rifle (with Black Arrow & Fulton bolt), $768.26 for the scope, bipod, cheek riser, scope mount, rings, scope covers, and bubble level (a.k.a. all the stuff that isn't normally on an M-14 parts list ).