M305 Accuracy “to do’s” ?

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Slimshady

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M305 Accuracy “to do’s” ?

O.k., so we all know the M14 clones aren’t sniper capable out of the box, so what are the go-to tips, tricks and add ons to close up those groups? Aside from barrel indexing and shimming (done), what’s next?
I’m seeing 4 MOA at best and would like to get things down to at least 2. One thing I noticed was the muzzle is quite roughly finished and doesn’t look properly crowned - step one on my list...
Any other tips and advice?

Thanks guys!
 
Start by handloading and see what accuracy your rifle is capable of before pouring $$ into it,,41-42 gr of imr 4895 0r 4064 with a good 150/168 gr bullet is a good place to start,,

Easy and cheap things to do,,, upgrade the op rod spring guide and make sure the op rod guide is tight on the barrel and centered. (details of this are in the stickies)


Good luck,,
 
Like Liberty already said; start with a base group, and then little things.

-op rod spring guide
-shim and unitize the gas system

There's other stuff you can do like use ANY STOCK other than the plastic Norc one, bed the receiver, polish up the trigger group, or if you've got the coin, get the EBR trigger shoe (so nice!).

2016-12-30%2010.47.58_zpsgupihsr3.jpg
 
^^^THIS!!! (and attend one of Tactical Teacher's M14 clinics)

You'll likely see a major improvement in the accuracy of your rifle. Next up for me would be a trigger job. I had 45ACPKING (back when he was M14Thomas) put about $500 worth of work into my M305 (when they were $399 and I got it on sale for $349 :p), including shimming, barrel indexing, a trigger job, and other work (had him shorten the barrel because I wanted a handier bush rifle - this was before the factory shorties were available) - the difference was astounding, especially using good hunting ammo and a 3x9 scope.

That said, 4 MOA with isn't bad for what is really a Chinese-made reverse-engineered battle rifle.
 
The M14 is a tinkerers dream, problem is at some point you will require some special tooling of some sort to get you where you want to be.

If you just want a point form list of things you can tinker on at home, because we all love to tinker, heres a start.


-index barrel. (This is priority #1, You will want a non canted flash hider for this, if yours is straight proceed, if canted, buy a USGI, should run 80-100 bucks).
-Index and loctite the oprod guide (knurl the barrel where the guide sits first if able).
-Shim the gas cylinder for a tight fit.(check gas alignment with barrel).
-Peen the splines on the bottom of barrel where gas cylinder sits for an even tighter fit.
-Peen the splines at the flash hider for??? You got it! A tight fit!
-Bed the trigger group for a tight lockup.
-bed the action for a solid platform and zero movement in the stock.
-Bed the action with barrel draw pressure to ensure mechanical zero shot to shot.
-ensure no barrel contact at the stock ferrule.
-ensure a gap between stock ferrule and front barrel band.
-Tune the trigger for crisp, creep free 4.5-5.5# pull.
-replace bolt with usgi for tighter headspace.
-make handloads with once fired brass and bump the shoulder 2 thou only. USE THESE LOADS IN THIS RIFLE ONLY.
-dont get carried away with buying upgrad parts, use what ya got first!

I'm sure there will be more suggestions of things ive missed.

Ask questions!! LOTS of knowledgeable people here.

Have fun and shoot lots, shooting skills will always out weigh rifle upgrade benefits!
 
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Upgrades I've done are:
Wolff spring kit
SJ guide rod
USGI walnut stock
Trigger job
Adjustable gas block

Im going to be aligning the op rod guide soon and I recently did a crown job on mine. It shot very well before but the crown did look awfully crusty. I haven't shot it since.

I did a home crown job. Find a big round top BRASS screw, chuck it in a drill and use a little lapping compound. I used 800 grit because that's what I had.

Then I used some 600 grit sandpaper paper on a flat file to surface the face of the barrel ever so slightly. I did chamfer the edge a very small amount as well.

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"That said, 4 MOA with isn't bad for what is really a Chinese-made reverse-engineered battle rifle." [/QUOTE]

- Shredder, are you sure? i thought the bulk of the M14 tooling was sold by the U.S. to china.
 
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i appreciate the advice, guys, (John, that was above and beyond the call of duty - thanks).

i'll be picking away at it.

previous owner said he did one of hungry's clinics and got a thumbs up - no shimming needed and bbl. indexing was o.k.
that said, i should probably do an M14 clinic for myself too.
 
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jonh172 said:
The M14 is a tinkerers dream, problem is at some point you will require some special tooling of some sort to get you where you want to be.

If you just want a point form list of things you can tinker on at home, because we all love to tinker, heres a start.


-index barrel. (This is priority #1, You will want a non canted flash hider for this, if yours is straight proceed, if canted, buy a USGI, should run 80-100 bucks).
-Index and loctite the oprod guide (knurl the barrel where the guide sits first if able).
-Shim the gas cylinder for a tight fit.(check gas alignment with barrel).
-Peen the splines on the bottom of barrel where gas cylinder sits for an even tighter fit.
-Peen the splines at the flash hider for??? You got it! A tight fit!
-Bed the trigger group for a tight lockup.
-bed the action for a solid platform and zero movement in the stock.
-Bed the action with barrel draw pressure to ensure mechanical zero shot to shot.
-ensure no barrel contact at the stock ferrule.
-ensure a gap between stock ferrule and front barrel band.
-Tune the trigger for crisp, creep free 4.5-5.5# pull.
-replace bolt with usgi for tighter headspace.
-make handloads with once fired brass and bump the shoulder 2 thou only. USE THESE LOADS IN THIS RIFLE ONLY.
-dont get carried away with buying upgrad parts, use what ya got first!

I'm sure there will be more suggestions of things ive missed.

Ask questions!! LOTS of knowledgeable people here.

Have fun and shoot lots, shooting skills will always out weigh rifle upgrade benefits!
Click to expand...

I have nothing to add to this list.... lol

John
 
Slimshady said:
- Shredder, are you sure? i thought the bulk of the M14 tooling was sold by the U.S. to china.
Click to expand...

I recall one set of M14 production tooling was sold to Taiwan, who used it to produce their Type 57 version of the rifle. It is not believed that any of this tooling or knowledge made its way to China, and the Norinco production is thought to be entirely reverse engineered.
 
This platform has given me lots of fun. The best advice is above here and I love the members willingness to help the new folk to the scene.
 
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