M14, Can it Contend with a Heavy Barreled Bolt Action????

freddyfour

freddyfour

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
208   0   0
Location
Brant County, Ontario
I am wondering if I wanted to build a percision rifle could a M14 compete with a heavy barrel bolt action rifle? I have owned a M14 in the past but it was just a stock norinco without optics or any up grades, I never really got to see how accurate it was before I sold it. I have shoot 700P's and Tikka heavy barrels and know how accurate these rifles are. I have seen M14's in pictures and on TV being used by the military as a sniper rifle. So whats the deal, can I pass a M14 as a sniper rifle??
 
Search for posts by Hungry. He's been there, done that.
Basically, yes, it is possible to have a really accurate M305 based rifle.
Is it easy, practical, cost effective? That's where it becomes problematic.
 
Some M14s may make an acceptable sniper rifle, but it will never compete with a bolt action rifle. The M14 is an inherently poor design accuracy-wise, with junk hanging from the barrel, parts rattling around with each shot, and an incredibly unreasonable requirement for mating of the action with the stock. The US military recognized this as early as 1962. The rifle can be made to shoot very well, but it takes an awesome amount of effort (something like 30 man hours? I'm working without my references here) to make the gun shoot well for even a short period of time (~2000 rounds). Even then, "shoot well" is the equivalent of maybe 1 m.o.a. An out of the box Remington 700 BDL will do as well, and hold the capability for a lifetime, as compared to the full week of customization required to get the M14 to shoot that well for a year or so.
 
like it was said, it takes an awful lot of work to make the production m14 rifle into a sniper rifle- how the u.s. used to do it is they would select certain m14s off the production line after the test fire or possibly out of stores that shot better than others,and equip those with scopes, and you get the xm21 and m21 series- the isrealis did the same thing with their m14s that the us gave to them ,pulling the rest for parts- you get one of those and in essence you're getting a factory built sniper rifle, within m14 limits - all other production would be just plain lucky- right now, however, the ones you see in the sandbox can be either reworked from stores ( new barrels and parts) or new production models from new small suppliers
 
"...pass an M14 as a sniper rifle??..." Yep. However, no semi-auto will ever be as accurate as a bolt action. Nor does just putting a scope on any rifle make it a sniper's rifle. Military sniper rifles are built from the ground up by master armourers.
Accurizing an M305/M1A(neither of which are M14's) can cost you more than you paid for the rifle. Mind you, that applies to bolt actions too. Custom match grade barrels alone can cost more than the purchase price of an M305/M1A. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it though. Accurized M1A's have been used for long range target shooting for years. Just not inexpensively.
 
sunray said:
"...pass an M14 as a sniper rifle??..." Yep. However, no semi-auto will ever be as accurate as a bolt action. Nor does just putting a scope on any rifle make it a sniper's rifle. Military sniper rifles are built from the ground up by master armourers.
Accurizing an M305/M1A(neither of which are M14's) can cost you more than you paid for the rifle. Mind you, that applies to bolt actions too. Custom match grade barrels alone can cost more than the purchase price of an M305/M1A. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it though. Accurized M1A's have been used for long range target shooting for years. Just not inexpensively.
Click to expand...

I get what your saying but to double what I would pay for a M14 still is cheaper then a 700P. I like the idea of semi-auto rifle that can shoot long distance and be accurate. Really I just want some one to tell me that sinking a bunch of money into a M14 won't be a waste of my time and money. It doesn't have to shoot the same as a 700P but if it won't shoot 400 to 500 yards then I don't think I want to put money into it.
 
freddyfour said:
I get what your saying but to double what I would pay for a M14 still is cheaper then a 700P. I like the idea of semi-auto rifle that can shoot long distance and be accurate. Really I just want some one to tell me that sinking a bunch of money into a M14 won't be a waste of my time and money. It doesn't have to shoot the same as a 700P but if it won't shoot 400 to 500 yards then I don't think I want to put money into it.
Click to expand...

400 to 500 accurately is ENTIRELY reasonable to expect from an M14. Sounds like you're going into this with the right mindset, realistic expectations. Heck, it will shoot 800 yards "accurately", though certainly not like a good bolt gun, but more accurate than the majority of rifles.

If you want to go ahead with it but don't know where to find an M14 match heavy barrel and a tight bolt, I've got a new Douglas M14/M1A match heavy barrel sitting here, and a TRW bolt to match to it.
 
Last edited:
An M-14 can be a very accurate rifle with alot of fine tuning. I have mine done to the max but it will never touch a well done bolt gun for consistant accuracy over distance no matter how much you dump into it. There are to many moving parts to get that accuracy and consistancy.

I love my m-14 and utilize it alot. It does have its place in the shooting world and can be made into a fabulous dependable rifle. But match a quality bolt gun Never!! Its just two different worlds. IMHO
 
Long Range Canuck said:
An M-14 can be a very accurate rifle with alot of fine tuning. I have mine done to the max but it will never touch a well done bolt gun for consistant accuracy over distance no matter how much you dump into it. There are to many moving parts to get that accuracy and consistancy.

I love my m-14 and utilize it alot. It does have its place in the shooting world and can be made into a fabulous dependable rifle. But match a quality bolt gun Never!! Its just two different worlds. IMHO
Click to expand...

Very very true, too hard to compare objectively, both do things the other will not and both have their respective strengths and weaknesses. For pure tack driving, bothing beats a bolt gun, but the M14 can be as much or more "fun" despite being slightly hindered by its increased complexity.
 
But if faced with Zombie, Commie, or Liberal hordes, the first rifle I'm going for is my M-14. You just can't mow down that many zombies with a bolt-gun before you get over run. :p
 
Tyler said:
But if faced with Zombie, Commie, or Liberal hordes, the first rifle I'm going for is my M-14. You just can't mow down that many zombies with a bolt-gun before you get over run. :p
Click to expand...

You probably will see hungry, desperate city refugees with guns before you'll
see any of the three groups above.

I agree with you, M14 is a battle rifle, not a countersniper rifle.
If you have to empty 5 20 rnds mags within minutes, M14 is the tool to use.
 
I think that is an apple and orange thing, I have a older tikka and with it's hunting barrel a fine tuned handloads it will put 3 holes in quarter. My M14 I doubt ever will. But I have much more fun shooting the M14. If you want a sniper rig, heavy barreled bolt cannot be beat. I got excited seeing all the the m14's in Iraq but after reading the article in this months S.O.F. The snipers feel they are being ill equipped using these out dated rifles To them this is not a sniper rig.
 
Yes it can and has happened.
:) A heavy barreled M14 in a TROY M14 MCS won over a heavy
barreled M24 @ a sniper competition in the states earlier this year.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom