My M14 is a bolt action now?

from what i know about semi auto gas systems..... they should be carefully cleaned inside with non abrasives frequently, and run dry... no oil. I clean my rifles gas system with bore cleaner, then wipe dry, spray inside with g96 let it sit then clean it till dry with swabs.
 
Some of the manuals refer to oil and not grease for cold weather operation. I thinks it's more an issue of where its applied and how much. I intend to use my m14 in the winter and I'm going to use grease only on the bolt roller. G96 on all else. For all the rounds I'll put through it, I doubt I will wear it out.
 
I see some guys using transmission oil as gun lube on these rifles.... what'sup with that?

this is copied from skullboys thread on m14 FAQ's in the stickies.

DO NOT use any lube/oil on the gas assembly!!!!This is a dry gas system.If you use any type of lube here, powder residue will cake up and plug the gas system.You can use a little bore cleaner to clean the gas system, but them make sure to thoroughly clean afterwards.The inside of the gas cylinder nut and the gas piston need to be cleaned out periodically, or carbon will build up inside them and, causing the rifle to "bark" and cycle harder if left long enough.You can use a 5/16 drill bit TURNED IN YOUR FINGERS to clean out the carbon build up from the inside of the gas piston and gas nut.DO NOT use any drills or the like to clean out the inside of the gas cylinder assembly!!!You do not want to scratch the interior walls of the gas cylinder.I would say the gas system should be cleaned every 400 to 500 rounds.

The gas nut does not have to be "cranked" on super tight.Just snug it down enough that it won't loosen up from the recoil.Check the gas nut for tightness every so often
 
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I had the same problem with my m305, and had it checked over and all came back normal. It turns out that it was the surplus NATO ammo I was using was the 7.62 x 51, and not .308. I have been told that the NATO pressures are up to 25% lower. I reloaded some ammo to some M14 spec's I found online and the problem vanished. For what it's worth...
 
I had the same problem with my m305, and had it checked over and all came back normal. It turns out that it was the surplus NATO ammo I was using was the 7.62 x 51, and not .308. I have been told that the NATO pressures are up to 25% lower. I reloaded some ammo to some M14 spec's I found online and the problem vanished. For what it's worth...

Since these are military weapons designed to fire military rounds I can't imagine why using these rounds would cause it to cycle improperly. The guns were designed to cycle at the NATO pressure, not at commercial 308 pressures. I would think that you might be masking another problem by increasing the chamber pressure above what it should be.
 
What is the relationship between the weight of the recoil spring and the load fired? Lighter loads lighter spring? Heavier loads heavier spring? Its certainly that way with a 1911 pistol.
 
I am going to bump this as opposed to starting a new thread....

Today at the range my norc completely failed to cycle. It is essentially new, having only 100 or so rounds through it to date.

Last time I had it at the range it worked fine, only but about 60 rds through it.Ammo used was remington 150 gr. and Federal 150 gr.Same ammo was used today.

The only thing thast has changed since then is I have put a USGI fiberglass stock on which needed some clearancing to get the trigger group to latch shut properly and the weather which was -10 or so as opposed to 15 above the last time I was at the range.

Grease used was white lithium which I checked to see what cold would do to it by putting it in the freezer for a while and didn't thicken up at all so I think I can rule that out.

Gas nut is tight and the gas system is dry and clean.
I did notice though that my gas lock will go about 1/4 to 3/8ths of a turn past 6 o'clock position where before it only went about 1/8th of a turn past. The whole gas system seems to have some play that I didn't notice before(not saying it was tighter before just saying I didn't notice it). This leads me to believe the usgi stock is somewhat shorter than the original wood stock resulting in the play but is this enough for it to completely stop cycling?

Sorry for such a long post, just wanted to cover the obvious
bases. Any ideas/thoughts?
 
I don't believe the stock should play any role in how far the gas lock tightens. The barrel band just rests under the stock, it doesn't butt up against it, or at least shouldn't.
 
Darn ! :(

I wish I was near all of you to test out all these 'failure to cycle' rifles and rule out all the variables for myself.

Really hard to diagnose the failures without standing right there and having immediate access to the boomsticks and ammo...
 
Alot of good points covered here. I'll make a few suggestions.

Have you cleaned your chamber well, right up into the throat area .

Completely degrease your rifle.

Try another type of ammo, like American Eagle.

If you handload try a 150 gr. bullet and some imr 4895 or 4064.

I think these powders will give the optimum port pressures needed for reliable cycling.

The gas nut does not have to be "cranked" on super tight.Just snug it down enough that it won't loosen up from the recoil.Check the gas nut for tightness every so often

Wrap a small amount of teflon tape around the gas nut threads to keep it from backing out.
 
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