IDF M14 Parts kit.... my first impressions...

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Tactical Teacher here as my original CGN handle from way back in 2003-4....

So my IDF M14 parts kit from Wolverine arrived home. Thanks Mr. Wolverine (John Hipwell) for the chance to go back to 1985 (the year Back to the Future made it's debut). That's back when we could buy USGI M14 rifles for $400 and they were Israeli imports. Life is good.... :p

For those several thousand of you across the country who have been to my clinics, I'm back to the same boring old descriptions from my clinics... the barreled receiver stub had a very "rattle-y" handguard. That's normal.... Remember how I told you we would tighten up our handguards to ensure that they were rattle free?

Here we have an example of typical USGI M14 characteristics (this is a learning moment, hence this post) :d Remember, I'm not a licensed gunsmith or a sniper... I'm just a retired teacher with 30 years in the classroom. That's all. Take it for what it's worth. FREE learning! :wave:


* Op rod guide is loose, just like a FEW of the Norinco M305 generations

* Front band is SUPER loose, Hey! IT's a battle rifle turned into a PR, but their IDF armorers coulda used a few clinics (especially in front of those uber hot IDF female soldiers)... I woulda gone over fer free! :rolleyes:

* Flash suppessors are not NM reamed out to 0.406" ID, and are OEM dimensions. Some of you MIGHT remember the #7 tapered pin reamer I showed you (don't go out and buy one). The Norinco high school shop class got it right and made their Zhinese FS units with something close to the reamed out NM spec. Close enough for the girls I go out with... :cool:


* Gas systems were not unitized (just like an issued line infantry rifle)... I was not surprised, kinda glad actually, let's us go and play now...

* Flash suppressor and gas cylinder splines on the barrel are not peened tight

* Op rod guide is loose so I knocked out the pin : 1/8" x 3/4" long and knurled the barrel... Still waiting for Photobucket to catch up and I can post a picture...

* Issued gas cylinder lock tightly timed to about 12 o'clock, typical of the USGI rifles and their noisy gas cylinder assemblies so I hand fitted a bunch of gas cylinder locks UNTIL I had a super tight fit: contact at 4 o'clock and plastic hammer to BDC (bottom dead center) at 6 o'clock

More pictures coming here...



* I'm slowly getting used to this IDF sniper stock.... It's growing on me.... :d

Anyways, just a few observations I had to share with you because for me, this is a trip down memory lane once again. And YES, I have owned TRW, SA, OM, and HRA receiver'ed rifles... Good to be back with this stuff once again.

So what have you guys observed? :nest:

These are the IDF rifles I speak/spoke/ referred to at my clinics. This is the closest you can get to one, and this works for me considering the climate we've been in for the past 30 years. Kinda good to have these back... :wave:

OH yeah, if any of you want to drop by and avoid using shim sets, we can hand fit your gas cylinder lock with your gas cylinder to YOUR USGI barrel using my inventory of gas cylinder locks. I try doing this with my 3 spare Norinco gas cylinder locks at the clinics but it's harder to find them.



Cheers,
Barney
 
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* Flash suppessors are not NM reamed out to 0.406" ID, and are OEM dimensions

* Gas systems were not unitized (just like an issued line infantry rifle)... I was not surprised, kinda glad actually, let's us go and play now...

* Flash suppressor and gas cylinder splines on the barrel are not peened tight

Those are some interesting observations, I had just assumed these rifles would have had the full AMTU accurizing treatment. So what made them "precision rifles", just a handpicked barrel and a bedding job?
 
What I ended up with was a mixed bag - some tight in some areas, yet loose in others. (I'm sure there's a dirty joke in there somewhere.)

Overall, though, these are a great bargain compared with what our friends south of our border have access to. Neat history as well, especially given how few M14s saw a proper service life in the U.S. military. Not sure what to think of the stock yet, but I'm going to look into tucking the cheek riser so it'll work for scope mounts that aren't ridiculously high off of the rifle.

What was your parts breakdown?
 
My parts breakdown goes like this:

* Barrel SAK
* Bolt TRW
* Trigger Group - OM (Winnie)
* Op rod HRA
* Hammer - SA

Yeah, my rifle top end was loose and sloppy as I have always known them and that's how/why I got started in the NRA High Power shooting game... no regrets! :p

Cheers, :wave:

Barney
 
For those of you who plan to accurize your builds, that is to say, tighten up all the loose fitting parts the retired religion teacher ("Hey, who is that guy?") was referring to...now you can practice on your Norc parts before you start messing with your USGI parts (heck, you were just planning on practically giving the Norc parts away on the EE, weren't you all?). Measure twice, cut once applies here. Make learning fun without the stress!
 
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