Need help from the M-14 gurus...

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Paul Morrison

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I have taken my M-14 to the range a couple of times lately, and I am noticing an odd problem I cannot explain.

Its an M-14S, not been bedded, in a USGI walnut stock and walnut handguard. Shooting from a bipod.

When I shoot, the first 10 shots are bang on zeroed. Of my first ten the first shot was high, three clicks to bring it down, then a little low and right, one click up, two left, next shot in the 10 circle of a 5.5" target at 100 yds. Next 6 shots are in the 10 circle too. Last one is 2" low.

Reload, change target, first shot is on the paper, barely at the bottom. Next two shots are 3" below the paper, 4 clicks up and I'm back where it should be. Stop to reload again, shoot again, now I'm three inches low again.

Come back next week, and it does the same thing.

The mount is rock solid, and the scope is too.

The ammo is cheap NATO stuff, but then I would expect random fliers, not consistent come ups after shooting 10 rds.

Anyone got any ideas?
 
Is there any tension between the barrel band and the stock ferule? Maybe it was just dropped into a walnut stock and fitting ended when the trigger assembly could be installed.
 
Is it that SA 7.62 x 51mm crap? If so have fun trying to figure that out. But if not you would have to check a few thing on your rifle first.
1) Flash hider, do you have one? Is it securely fasten on the threads?
2) Disassemble the rifle and check the following for any thing out of the ordinary;

  • bolt carrier
    firing pin
    recoil spring assembly
    All pins should fit snugly
    All screws tight and if possible use lock tight
    examine the magazines for any irregular abrasions
If this all comes back mint then it will leave you no choice but to try different grain\tipped ammo.
eg;
I have a Remington VTR in .308 & a Norinco M14 in 7.62 x 51mm. My Norinco loves Barnes X Triple Shock 150gr bullets but on the other hand my VTR loves anything 180gr Soft Point. Excluding the fact that they are different platforms all together they both fire the same calibre and both get different results. As for one of my buddies M14 that is the Springfield version, it loves 162gr Full Metal Jacket.
Hope this helps you out! By the way I started losing control over my shot placement well after the 1000 round. So I striped the rifle all the way down and I noticed a 1/4" hole through my bolt carrier and could see my firing pin. Replaced that part and have been laughing ever since.
 
I had a similar problem with a particular scope mount of mine. The mount "seemed" solid and the scope was an excellent scope but what was happening was that the ejected shells were hitting the underside of the mount and throwing it off more and more. If this is the case, you should be able to see dings on the underside of the mount.
 
There's nothing wrong with the mount, and the brass is not hitting it.

Everything is snug.

And I think bedding with fiberglass is overkill. It fits very tightly.

I think the flashhider suggesting might be on to something, its a little loose.
 
Paul Morrison said:
There's nothing wrong with the mount, and the brass is not hitting it.

Everything is snug.

And I think bedding with fiberglass is overkill. It fits very tightly.

I think the flashhider suggesting might be on to something, its a little loose.
Click to expand...

Thats most likely it then. I had the same problem with my cz 858 falsh hidder it was just put on an after the barrel got nice and warm the bullet progetiles started to go all wonkey. So one guy on this site told me to put plumbers tape on it or lock tight and ever since then it always shoots the same. I chose plumbers tape just because if I ever wanted to change the flash hidder it would be a peace of cake!
 
Here's my $0.02...Try shooting it with the original iron sights. If the problem goes away, its the mount or scope. If it persists, try different ammo. I hope this helps :)
 
Could be something as simple as this -
Try 3 shots - wait for the barrel to cool then repeat. POI changes with a hot barrel.
 
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