M14se 16.25

[H2O MAN]

I'm getting ready to ship my kit off to SEI. Ron and I spoke on the phone this week about my build and made two changes to my work order.
Ron convinced me that his new NM rear sight with a standard USGI aperture combined with 1/2 MOA knobs would be best suited to the 16.25s
reduced sight radius. He was a little leary about the UltiMAK optic rail and Micro T-1, but I convinced him to try it out. I'll keep you posted

CANCELED!

 

[Lazerus2000]

OK, I've said this before ....
Much as I love the M-14, and respect it as a BATTLE rifle,
[especially chopped into a versatile, compact 19" "shorty" with a folder ]
IMHO [:{)
an M-14 with a barrel length of 16.25" wastes too much powder,
has too big a muzzle blast,
and is too heavy for serious CQB stuff.

So what exactly is the tactical role for such a beast??

Why not get a Mini 30 in 7.62 Russian instead?
or an AR 15 in .300 Whisper?
or even an SKS??
or an AR 10 shorty Variant?

I've had all of the above, and in my experience, with a timer on 25 yd and closer targets, any of those will be MUCH faster on very quick, repeat shots at multiple targets, than will the M-14 with full powered 7.62 BALL.

Much as I love .308/7.62 BALL, it does not make sense for this role.

Unless of course you download ...
say the Hornady TAP Urban load
or do what I did ...
load 125 Gr HP to 2450 FPS [ which by the way almost exactly duplicates 7.62 Russian ballistics ].

Curiouser and curiouser??

LAZ 1

 

[H2O MAN]

The #1 reason I'm building it is because I can, reason #2 is that I don't own a SOCOM.
I currently own two 22.0" and two 18.0" M14 rifles. All have 4 grooves and a 1:10 ROT.

SOCOM M1As are very popular and reliable here in the states. Owners love them.
The one and only SOCOM I fired was in a TROY stock and it was a sweet shooter.

My M14SE 16.25 will be a better SOCOM and the only Springfield part will be the 6 groove 1:11 ROT barrel.
110 or 155 grain Hornady TAP may be the best factory loads for this rifle...

The 110 grain TAP delivers 3,165 f.p.s. and 2,446 ft.-lbs.

 

[tiriaq]

Obviously you know what you are doing, and why. Have fun.
I recall photos of a customized shorty 14 being posted - it had every possible bell and whistle, three sighting systems - irons, high powered scope and dot, plus whatever got hung on one of the numerous rails. All up loaded weight was over 14 lbs. Chap was very proud of his creation. I thought the thing was just silly, and would have been a poor performer at short, medium or long range.

 

[slushee]

Not to hijack the thread, but I'm looking at doing pretty much the same thing with my m14.

I have the stock, rail and red dot incoming, but i'm curious if my original front sight will be in the way, or if i can use it as 'back up irons' through the scope.

PM incoming laz, i'm interested to hear about those light loads for a socom m14!

 

[H2O MAN]

Your comments made me decide to assemble SEIs SOCOM kit on the barrel and compare it to one of my 18.0" MK14s.

The OAL of the 16.25 is only 1/2" shorter than my 18.0" action... this realization demotivates my going forward with this project.

Don't get me wrong - it's great kit for the SOCOM owner, but I have two 18.0" actions and don't need the 16.25.

Here is a picture of the 18.0" over the 16.25"

 

[suprathepeg]

Take the FH off and its shorter. I have a rule about guns (and don't get me wrong I have spent quite a bit on them) and it says that: all my rifles need to be practical in application (to a degree). This makes the SOCOM 16" a non starter for me.

 

[Lazerus2000]

H2Oman ...
If I recall correctly,
Ron Smith and ?Tim LaChance? built a Full Auto M 14 with a ten or eleven inch barrel, using an M-60 gas assembly, and shooting 7.62 NATO ball. They obviously thought it was worth the effort, but how useful would such a monster be in the real world?

If you want some fun, try Remington Accelerator Sabot loads in your M 14 shorties. I've shot off a few boxes of these through an AR 10, with perfect functioning and very respectable accuracy. I've tried a few of these out of a 14 as well, and they functioned, but that particular 14 did not like them for accuracy. In an Isreali Mauser 98 converted to 7.62 NATO, I would get sub MOA with the accelerators. So, as usual, YPMMV.
[;{)
LAZ 1

 

[H2O MAN]

H2Oman ...
If I recall correctly,
Ron Smith and ?Tim LaChance? built a Full Auto M 14 with a ten or eleven inch barrel, using an M-60 gas assembly, and shooting 7.62 NATO ball.

That was the M14K. It is said to be a real pussy cat in full auto.


I have decided to kill my SOCOM build... I just can't justify building a rifle that has
1.75" less barrel than my MK14s, but ends up being just 1/2 inch shorter in OAL.

I appreciate your comments and suggestions