M14 vs Garand
- Thread starter 870P
- Start date
BeaverMeat
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nanaimo, B.C.
The M14/M1A has a better op-rod to bolt design; being the M14 has a roller on the bolt where it contacts the op-rod (reduced wear on the bearing surfaces) Also has a better short stroke gas system opposed to the one peice long stroke piston/op-rod of the M1 (reduced bent op-rods). The M14 also has a detachable magazine and allows for single rounds to be loaded. No posibllty for "Garand Thumb" with the M14 
The M14 is an improved M1 anyways so it's not like your going backwards. Plus the M14 "pings" with every shot, lol.
The M14 is an improved M1 anyways so it's not like your going backwards. Plus the M14 "pings" with every shot, lol.
Last edited:
Greenhorse six
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Like Beavermeat said , you can top off the mag while still in the rifle , pushing one round at a time into the mag , NEVER let the bolt slam closed on a loose round that was just drop on top of the mag or placed in the chamber , or you're just asking for a life lesson , a out of battery discharge , kablooey .
BeaverMeat
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nanaimo, B.C.
Just small stuff, I know. Overall the M14 is more reliablez Accuracy in .308 is moot. They both shoot well. Just depends what you want.
Normally I'd say detachable mags all day, but given the realities of Canadian firearms laws, the en-bloc clips have some merit.
Is it actually chambed in .308 or does it use a chamber insert?
Is there any particular tuning required?
There are probably still military surplus 7.62 chamber inserts for the M1 Garand in circulation, but they should be avoided as the military established that they were unreliable and would often extract with a fired casing.
The best approach to getting a 7.62mm Garand is to either install a commercial barrel or look for one of the Italian Tipo 2 7.62mm conversions (avoid the ones that were sold by Marstar though).
There are a number of tweaks/inspection points on either a 7.62 or .30-06 Garand to look for for best accuracy. I've built a number of the 7.62 conversions with Tipo 2 parts and find them excellent for both reliability and accuracy.
Travis Bickle
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Upper Lower Middle Alberta
Band of Brothers fetishism aside, there is nothing the M1 does that the M14 can not do better, cheaper and more efficiently.
The M14 is an M1 Garand with all the wonky design flaws tweaked out.
M1 = odd archaic enbloc clip system that cannot be topped up without springing it out and rounds flying all over or with so much care that it's a serious PITA. Seriously this alone is the worst part of the design which is ironic because it's the most iconic part of the rifle. The "ping" of the empty en bloc.
M14 = Practical detachable magazine that can be topped up right from the top of the receiver with the bolt locked back. (also there is now A1A mags available, enough said on that)
M1 = tiny, jigsaw puzzle piece operating rod/feeding system. PITA to strip and re-assemble.
M14 = greatly simplified and much beefier operating system.
M1 = Ammo! Sensitive to ammo types, propellant types and projectile weight because of reason above. No such thing as "bulk" 30-06. It's all commercial and it's all facking expensive. Even handloading is touchy due to the specific types of propellant burn rate types that have to be adhered to for reliable functioning and to not batter the op rod/feeding system.
M14 = Will eat anything you put in it up to 168gr. Will shoot higher projo but starts getting hard on the operating system and action. Bulk 7.62mm/.308 all over for affordable prices.
M1 = Extremely expensive these days. 5 Million plus made in USA alone but they are pricey even for a dirty shooter grade one for some reason. They used to be cheaper before the Band of Brothers trend thing a few years back, then all of a sudden they started commanding premiums.
M14 = Dirt cheap in comparison, Norincos can be had for around $500 on the EE and tuned up in your basement for very little money and little elbow grease.
The Garand is a great rifle, don't get me wrong. But the M14 is better in my opinion. I've shot both quite a bit but for the reasons above is why I have an M14 in my small locker and no M1. Those are the points I see as a recreational shooter in Canada. Armchair commandos argue the merits of each rifle as a battle rifle all day long in the interwebs. It's irrelevant to be honest.
Hope that puts it into relative perspective.
The M14 is an M1 Garand with all the wonky design flaws tweaked out.
M1 = odd archaic enbloc clip system that cannot be topped up without springing it out and rounds flying all over or with so much care that it's a serious PITA. Seriously this alone is the worst part of the design which is ironic because it's the most iconic part of the rifle. The "ping" of the empty en bloc.
M14 = Practical detachable magazine that can be topped up right from the top of the receiver with the bolt locked back. (also there is now A1A mags available, enough said on that)
M1 = tiny, jigsaw puzzle piece operating rod/feeding system. PITA to strip and re-assemble.
M14 = greatly simplified and much beefier operating system.
M1 = Ammo! Sensitive to ammo types, propellant types and projectile weight because of reason above. No such thing as "bulk" 30-06. It's all commercial and it's all facking expensive. Even handloading is touchy due to the specific types of propellant burn rate types that have to be adhered to for reliable functioning and to not batter the op rod/feeding system.
M14 = Will eat anything you put in it up to 168gr. Will shoot higher projo but starts getting hard on the operating system and action. Bulk 7.62mm/.308 all over for affordable prices.
M1 = Extremely expensive these days. 5 Million plus made in USA alone but they are pricey even for a dirty shooter grade one for some reason. They used to be cheaper before the Band of Brothers trend thing a few years back, then all of a sudden they started commanding premiums.
M14 = Dirt cheap in comparison, Norincos can be had for around $500 on the EE and tuned up in your basement for very little money and little elbow grease.
The Garand is a great rifle, don't get me wrong. But the M14 is better in my opinion. I've shot both quite a bit but for the reasons above is why I have an M14 in my small locker and no M1. Those are the points I see as a recreational shooter in Canada. Armchair commandos argue the merits of each rifle as a battle rifle all day long in the interwebs. It's irrelevant to be honest.
Hope that puts it into relative perspective.
Last edited:
Greenhorse six
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Enfield mags , 303 or 308 ?
Yes and they work good they don’t latch in 100 % more like 80% one thing you might want to grab an m1 before the call of duty ww2 crowd wants one for reasons. I had an m1 308 it was great but I like optics so it was great for what it was northern republic magazine sells the enblocks for the cheapest and possibly the e lander Mags. The m1 doesn’t have the accuracy potential of a glass bedded m1a either and there is no weight difference if anything the m1 is thicker and feels like a real mans rifle not sure how they packed that sucker around for miles and miles it’s heavy.
My Garand is in 30/06. I have a friend, fellow gun club member, who has several Garands in both 30/06 and 7.62x51. He has warned many people about the 7.62x51 Garands by telling that we need to be sure to get the magazine filler block. Not because the M1 won't feed without it, it will very nicely. But that it keeps you from inadvertently sticking a clip of '06 in an '08 chambered rifle and then having an '06 round jammed in that '08 barrel. A real pain to clear.
Just do what I did and get both.
The .308 Garand was followed by an Israeli K98k in 7.62x51, and they pair up nicely with my M-14S
It's nice being able to buy .30 call stuff in bulk and enjoy slightly lower prices, than it would be if I were stuck reloading for the original calibers on each of those fire arms. I still segregate brass, but that's the only head ache.
The .308 Garand was followed by an Israeli K98k in 7.62x51, and they pair up nicely with my M-14S
It's nice being able to buy .30 call stuff in bulk and enjoy slightly lower prices, than it would be if I were stuck reloading for the original calibers on each of those fire arms. I still segregate brass, but that's the only head ache.
Vietnam fetishism aside, there is nothing the M-14 can do that the M1 cannot. Unlike a real M-14 (which are all prohibited) you can still find an M-1 in original calibers of 30-06 or 7.62. With the M-14, you are generally limited to Norinco M305s (which offer good value for money, but can leave you wanting for quality) or commercial variations of the M-14 which are mostly overpriced.
The M1 is in its original brilliant state and the M-14 is the bastard child that should have been still born; owing its’ life to stubborn American pride when they should have adopted the FAL.
M1 = a simple internal magazine with enblocks that can be easily topped up (if you possess the know how), carry 8 or less rounds (if you hunt and are limited to rounds in the rifle), and does this in a fairly sleek design.
M-14 = limitations to either bulky 5/20 round mags that are clunky in the bush or 5/5 mags that suck getting out of the gun with mag changes. Or you can surpass the 8 round internal mag of the M1 by using enfield AIA mags that friction fit into the mag well for two whole added rounds (whoopty do).
M1 = a brilliant internal magazine and gas system that were designed in conjunction with one another.
M-14 = red headed step child that it’s creators smashed together borrowing heavily off the M1 because its designers were too lazy and or stupid to compete with or adopt the FAL.
M1 = chambered in 30-06 or 7.62, and can run on a variety of bullet weights with the right powder. Still, after close to 70 years since its intro, ammo is still being produced for it in commercial form.
M-14 = poor little girl was chambered in 7.62 when all she wanted was 5.56.
M1 = A true military surplus rifle who’s value has steadily climbed much like the rest of the military surplus market. Value will likely to be retained now and into the future. You can invest with a good chance that value will increase.
M-14 = your prohibited H&R will continue to sit in your safe until either you cut it up into a ‘#### n’ click’ or your loved ones send it in to be melted down for hubcaps. If you own a rediculously overpriced commercial version, you can take it out of the safe now again and rub it down with a diaper or shoot it, but if you shoot it, know that you’ll be bumping your EE ad forever if you ever decide to sell it for any amount of money you originally paid for it. If you go with a Norinco, happy days! Shoot it until it’s bolt decides to separate which could be sooner rather than later.
The M-14 is a great rifle, don’t get me wrong, but I luv the M-1...
Ahh, who am I kidding.
I own both and love both.
There are enough differences between them that there is good reason to own both.
If you are stuck on only owning one, or make excuses to draw disparity between them I feel genuinely sorry for you.
The M1 is in its original brilliant state and the M-14 is the bastard child that should have been still born; owing its’ life to stubborn American pride when they should have adopted the FAL.
M1 = a simple internal magazine with enblocks that can be easily topped up (if you possess the know how), carry 8 or less rounds (if you hunt and are limited to rounds in the rifle), and does this in a fairly sleek design.
M-14 = limitations to either bulky 5/20 round mags that are clunky in the bush or 5/5 mags that suck getting out of the gun with mag changes. Or you can surpass the 8 round internal mag of the M1 by using enfield AIA mags that friction fit into the mag well for two whole added rounds (whoopty do).
M1 = a brilliant internal magazine and gas system that were designed in conjunction with one another.
M-14 = red headed step child that it’s creators smashed together borrowing heavily off the M1 because its designers were too lazy and or stupid to compete with or adopt the FAL.
M1 = chambered in 30-06 or 7.62, and can run on a variety of bullet weights with the right powder. Still, after close to 70 years since its intro, ammo is still being produced for it in commercial form.
M-14 = poor little girl was chambered in 7.62 when all she wanted was 5.56.
M1 = A true military surplus rifle who’s value has steadily climbed much like the rest of the military surplus market. Value will likely to be retained now and into the future. You can invest with a good chance that value will increase.
M-14 = your prohibited H&R will continue to sit in your safe until either you cut it up into a ‘#### n’ click’ or your loved ones send it in to be melted down for hubcaps. If you own a rediculously overpriced commercial version, you can take it out of the safe now again and rub it down with a diaper or shoot it, but if you shoot it, know that you’ll be bumping your EE ad forever if you ever decide to sell it for any amount of money you originally paid for it. If you go with a Norinco, happy days! Shoot it until it’s bolt decides to separate which could be sooner rather than later.
The M-14 is a great rifle, don’t get me wrong, but I luv the M-1...
Ahh, who am I kidding.
I own both and love both.
There are enough differences between them that there is good reason to own both.
If you are stuck on only owning one, or make excuses to draw disparity between them I feel genuinely sorry for you.
