How many of you use your m14 for deer hunting?

one of the things that makes that rifle feel "heavy"is the way the sling is strung- it puts all the weight on one shoulder, and takes time to engage- the "old hands" used to rig it the same as you would an m-60 top of the stock, and one side of the forestock- and the m60 sling- 1 inch wide , 6 feet long, and 3 inches wide in the middle- that way it distributes the weight over the shoulders
 
I would be hesitant to use a basic m14 to hunt because:

1) the action is noisy. No way in hell you can chamber a round with the game around. The spring is noisy. When I hunt, I keep the chamber empty until the last moment. No accident can happen this way, ever.

2) the basic plastic stock is REALLY noisy, the metal sling attachment click-clack-click against the stock as the sligthiest movement.


With some update (wood stock, better sling hardware, good scope mount) it may be a good gun. Not much other gun are as good to give you a follow up shot.
 
arcaner said:
I would be hesitant to use a basic m14 to hunt because:

1) the action is noisy. No way in hell you can chamber a round with the game around. The spring is noisy. When I hunt, I keep the chamber empty until the last moment. No accident can happen this way, ever.

2) the basic plastic stock is REALLY noisy, the metal sling attachment click-clack-click against the stock as the sligthiest movement.


With some update (wood stock, better sling hardware, good scope mount) it may be a good gun. Not much other gun are as good to give you a follow up shot.
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BALONEY- there are WAYS to make a whole lot less noise WITH THE ISSUED RIFLE as is, with full cleaning kit and fiberglas stock installed- that was ONE OF THE REASONS that they went to fibreglas, as well as swelling- as for keeping a round in the chamber- well, the GARAND has been issue since the 30's and the 14 is the son of the garand , and look at the number that were in service and how many accidental discharges there have been- that's TRAINING, and KEEPING YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER-as far as the sling swivels go, a lot of nam guys used to REMOVE THE SLING SWIVEL LOOP or fasten it down so it DIDN'T MAKE NOISE- ALL THIS STUFF is on the net and PUBLISHED IN VARIOUS MANUALS- you just need to find it and read it- incidentally, the mouse gun has the same sort of forend sling attachment, but you fix that by tightening the rivet- and who DOESN'T keep a round in the chamber when you're going to use the gun at less than a moment's notice- it should be flick the safety off, squeeze and boom, not action forward, squeeze trigger- that's why your hold open trips off the SECOND you insert a new mag-
 
I shortened the barrel and recrowned it, set the gun in a troy stock and scoped the rifle with a run of the mil $100.00 scope, the rifle shoots min angle at 100m and I only shoot winchester balistic silver tip bullets at 168 gr, this has seen 6 deer to the ground at distances to 150m and january seen a 300m shot take down a Elk, with devastating results, very accurate especially after my barrel job and with my game record is becoming my go to gun, properly slung like I teach UOI candidates the gun sits nice at my side and the safety is a pleasure to use, but to each there own my buddies are bolt guys, my outings are an adventure and my passion, Dwane
 
I sorta agree with most here. Last year I hunted with it (no scope) and while a little heavy, it wasn't all that bad.

This year I added a scope and cheek rest. It IS a little heavier than before, noticably actually. I will probably go scratch up my Browning BAR (30-06) this year as a result...BUT...the BAR barrel does not like to shoot quickly, as the barrel likes to heat up a bit, a trade off for being lighter I guess.

I dunno, I'll go do some 'Yote shooting and will carry the M14 and see if it bothers me that much.

In terms of a shooter, I think it it better balanced than my BAR and definitely has tighter groups. In fairness though, I have not spent enuff time with the BAR in developing loads either. :(
 
t-star said:
BALONEY- there are WAYS to make a whole lot less noise WITH THE ISSUED RIFLE as is, with full cleaning kit and fiberglas stock installed- that was ONE OF THE REASONS that they went to fibreglas, as well as swelling- as for keeping a round in the chamber- well, the GARAND has been issue since the 30's and the 14 is the son of the garand , and look at the number that were in service and how many accidental discharges there have been- that's TRAINING, and KEEPING YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER-as far as the sling swivels go, a lot of nam guys used to REMOVE THE SLING SWIVEL LOOP or fasten it down so it DIDN'T MAKE NOISE- ALL THIS STUFF is on the net and PUBLISHED IN VARIOUS MANUALS- you just need to find it and read it- incidentally, the mouse gun has the same sort of forend sling attachment, but you fix that by tightening the rivet- and who DOESN'T keep a round in the chamber when you're going to use the gun at less than a moment's notice- it should be flick the safety off, squeeze and boom, not action forward, squeeze trigger- that's why your hold open trips off the SECOND you insert a new mag-
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Wow. That is all one sentence! I was out of breath just reading it! Plus, it looks like your caps lock key keeps sticking on and off, you may want to fix that. But all your run on sentence points are valid.
 
hey, i'm OLD - i don't need to punctuate.I was taught at annapolis to use "bullet form" with CAPITALS to emphasize points- each hyphen is a bullet- if it's good enough for the us naval academy, it's good enough for here. AND I'M MILES AHEAD on spelling and the correct use of the tense-esp to, two, and too. or loose and lose
 
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I've taken mine for a walk in the bush before it had a scope on it and found it pleasant to carry around. mind you i was in fairly gentle terrain and open bush. I'm not so sure about taking it out now it has a scope on it - really makes it middle heavy and kinda awkward IMO. There are many times I've been out in much crappier country and even found my sako a pain in the arse to lug round. Anybody who's hunted New Zealand would have felt the same at some point. And that is a feather compared to my M305. In saying that, i don't dispute that the m14/m305 is more than adequate to bring down most big game animals. If thats your kind of cool, go hard! An AR10 - now that would be the ticket :cool:
 
beavis_m305 said:
I've taken mine for a walk in the bush before it had a scope on it and found it pleasant to carry around. mind you i was in fairly gentle terrain and open bush. I'm not so sure about taking it out now it has a scope on it - really makes it middle heavy and kinda awkward IMO. There are many times I've been out in much crappier country and even found my sako a pain in the arse to lug round. Anybody who's hunted New Zealand would have felt the same at some point. And that is a feather compared to my M305. In saying that, i don't dispute that the m14/m305 is more than adequate to bring down most big game animals. If thats your kind of cool, go hard! An AR10 - now that would be the ticket :cool:
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Beavis, you're in NZ arent you ?

ive hunted with my M14 in the Kaimai's .. it wasnt too bad but as most have said.. a good sling is the ticket..

thick NZ bush is another story though.. a .243 rem700 or howa etc.. chopped down to 15 or 16" with a fixed 4x scope is plenty

and just to make these canadian boys jealous.. an AK in .223 or x39 works really well for tight bush, even the SKS para, but needs a sight upgrade
 
I have not used it yet and I don't think it would ever be my primary deer rifle but I may take it out this year for a couple hunts.
 
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I can't really say for deer hunting, but they do work on bears if you get yourself into a sticky situation. I will be using my M14 once I get into hunting though.
 
Fenix.NZ said:
Beavis, you're in NZ arent you ?

ive hunted with my M14 in the Kaimai's .. it wasnt too bad but as most have said.. a good sling is the ticket..

thick NZ bush is another story though.. a .243 rem700 or howa etc.. chopped down to 15 or 16" with a fixed 4x scope is plenty

and just to make these canadian boys jealous.. an AK in .223 or x39 works really well for tight bush, even the SKS para, but needs a sight upgrade
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Yeah man, I'm guessing your the same fenix on the IMAS forum? To make the canadian boys really jealous I'll be using my RRA AR15 for bush hunting sika when it arrives :D I agree with your idea on the short barreled rifle. I've thought about getting a Ruger M77 .308 and chopping the tube back to like 14", then putting a light weight suppressor on. My Sako A7 .270 is my go to bambi gun though. Maybe I should man up and take the Norinco for another walk sometime. Haven't got a kill with it yet.
 
beavis_m305 said:
Yeah man, I'm guessing your the same fenix on the IMAS forum? To make the canadian boys really jealous I'll be using my RRA AR15 for bush hunting sika when it arrives :D I agree with your idea on the short barreled rifle. I've thought about getting a Ruger M77 .308 and chopping the tube back to like 14", then putting a light weight suppressor on. My Sako A7 .270 is my go to bambi gun though. Maybe I should man up and take the Norinco for another walk sometime. Haven't got a kill with it yet.
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:eek: I have never been more jealous. I see living in NZ in my future.
 
I have killed alot of deer with my iron-sighted 18.5 inch barreled shorty. It is a bit heavy to lug around, however I need the exercise...:)

Brobee
 
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