M-305 re-barrel?

notsorichguy

notsorichguy

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So I bought a M-305, stamped 2007 on the reciever. NIB but never fired..... My first M-14.

I brought it home from a recent g-show. First I read all the stickies here that have anything to do with M-14's and search on google & You tube for vids and additional info.

Armed with all the info I could find, I did a complete tear-down and cleaned all the shipping cosmo (if you can call it that) off the action, internals, etc. This firearm was never fired or really handled.

I greased & oiled all the things I am supposed to (thanks you tube). I then took it out to the range, I fired off about 40 rnds to check function & zero. I am impressed with a 5" group (off a rest) @ 100 using the irons.

Down side:

It extracts brass straight up, so the extractor needs tunning.

The brass I collected from the snow (I actually managed to recover all 40 spent casings) has about 18/40 split necks :( I didn't realize this at the range as when I picked up all my brass they were covered in snow & ice, so I didn't find the split necks untill I was cleaning the 'defrosted' brass the next day.

So I take my M-14 to my local g-smith, he tells me I need to get a new barrel as he figures it's going to be more $$$ to fix what I got.

I belive him, he's never steered me wrong.

This M-14 is a keeper;
So what are my options for barrels out there?
How much am I looking at?

Cheers!
 
M14 FAQ - Tips,Help, & Info.
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38722

image.php

http://www.riflebarrels.ca/
 
If the barrel is the problem, put up an WTB add in the EE (parts n bits).
Chinese and usgi barrels do show up for sale. I just recently sold a polytech barrel on there.
$100 for chicom, $250 for usgi is what it should cost.

But if the chamber is too sloppy you have two options: USGI bolt (pita to acquire) or short chambered barrel (Krieger).
 
I would suggest sendin me that rifle for an inspection.40.00 plus return shipping.
I'll check the barrel.... And the rest of the rifle too ;)
My guess is it's the igman ammo. I've seen this with both 7.62x39 and 303 igman

There are many fantastically skilled and well meaning gunsmiths out there... Very, very few of them are M14 specialists.
 
I all likely hood the ammunition you are currently using is the cause one alternative is send the spent casing to Hungry or Me before sending the rifle for out inspection we have gauges to measure the case. This is a cheap diagonis if the brass shows headspace issues then get the work done.
 
I watched this exact same thing happen with an SVT 40 using old 7.62x54mmR ammo. The gun shot well but the brass necks had splits in them. The gunsmith checked it out and said it was just old ammo.
 
Ruling out ammo, and excessive headspace by chamber guage , or as Savage suggests, mic'ing and inspecting the brass, the next step would be to do a simple cast of the chamber with cerrosafe. This instanlty shows deformaties in chamber dimension.
Definately send a few of the casings savage's or hungry's way before worrying about spending any money.
Case head seperation is of far greater concern and excess headspace is generally the cause, neck seperation , with no bulging at the base near the case head, would tell me to look at the ammo first, the the chamber.
Have you tried any federal or winchester through it?
 
notsorichguy said:
No I haven't tried any other kind of ammo. Just the "Igman 150gr." The ammo I tested was the cheapest stuff I found at the g-show.

The chamber is apparently about 40 thou out of spec. according to my g-smith.
Click to expand...

Did he say what the total headspacing was? Is it 40 thou from no go, or field gauge. 7.62 nato or win 308 gauge?
 
You know... I missed that 40 thou thing LOL

7.62 Nato Go is 1.635"
Most norcs/polys range 4 to 9 thou over nato go or 1.639 to 1.644 , known to be a common and safe military chamber
The odd one I've seen pushes 12 thou over.
A bolt gun, or true .308 chamber will be between the range of 1.630 to 1.6345
Despite what the left side receiver stamp states, these rifles have battle rifle chambers and are not .308

My experience tells me that your gunsmith's measurement of 40 thou over must be a mistake. That generous of headspace would be catastrophic and would cause a far more serious incident at the chamber ;)
 
:redface:

My bad Wendell... I didn't even read your sig line, it's funny but sometimes all that stuff just fades into the background....

As to all the other questions....... The firearm is at my local g-smiths shop right now, I'll have to go in there today to ask some of these questions.

Thanks for all the replies.

Cheers!
 
Don't rush into the re-barrel project. Send me 3 pcs of fired brass and I'll mic /measure it for you. All M14 rifles were designed with large battle (read: dirty, wet, icy, muddy, dusty, cold, tired, far from home, diseased ammo) chambers to allow bolt interchangeability in combat. The brass expands to fit the chamber upon firing. When the ammo is suspect, the metallurgy of the case is compromised (quality of brass or components) then one can easily jump to conclusions.

Glad that you got a trusty gunsmith. You also have a bunch of M14 geeks here on this forum, too! :D

PM me to measure your brass!

:cheers:

Barney
 
Ok I got the gun back from my g-smith today.... I must have missunderstood something because the chamber (head space) is only 10 thou bigger than no-go..... Pretty much, much a-do about nothing, it seems.....

I also had my g-smith fire off 10 rnds of Winchester 180 gr factory ammo, all fired, no split necks, all seem to be in good shape (other than a few dents and dings).

I think I might send it off to M-14 Doctor anyway just to be sure..... And that dang extractor seems to spit the brass straight up!

Cheers!
 
For rifles sending cases up to the roof, or up into a scope mount, we trim 2 coils from the extractor spring. Changes brass trajectory to a more desireable direction
 
It's great to see another person's inquiry answered by knowledgable Gunnutz!

Re: Igman ammo, it has often been stated here that they are known for having harder, more brittle brass than most other brands....some people have even mentioned annealling their Igman cases to make them more reloader friendly. Having reloaded several brands of brass in .303 and 8mm Mauser through a Lee Hand Press, I can vouch for the fact that Igman brass is very noticably harder to resize!

Good luck with your rifle. It sounds like she's a keeper as is.
 
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