New to the M14 and the sport

Spectrel

Spectrel

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Ottawa Area
Hey guys I posted in the intro section but since I spend almost all my time in this section of the forum I thought I'd throw one up here as well.

My name's Ryan and I'm pretty new to shooting, although I did spend some time in PRES when I was much younger. After many years of not handling firearms I finally decided to get back into and took the PAL and RPAL courses. Seeing some pics of various M14 modded on this site was actually the final push to get me to do it. I knew I wanted something that was of military origin and also non restricted since I have friends with property which is where most of my shooting would be/is done, so really a no brainer. I plan on doing a couple different projects but am mostly just doing a lot of research and getting the necessary tools to do as much as I can myself.

I picked up a somewhat modded, never fired 2009 M305 here on the EE. It had the archangel stock with UTG tri rail setup and Magpul foregrip. This was how it looked when I got it:
m143d.jpg


I wanted to set this one up for as long range as practical. I really thought the archangel stock suited the look I was going for, so I ditched the for grip, added a rail mount bi-pod and Nikkon 4-9x 40 scope to get me started.
M14Scope.jpg

With bi pod mounted before a day of shooting:
photo.jpg


After a few hundred rounds with mostly trouble free shooting , and doing a lot more reading and talking to other owners I have made some changes to my original plans. A few things I learned early on:

*Its a b!tch to get the scope to hold zero and not move in the rings, especially the cheap ones I had.

*It's not going to be a precision rifle out of the box, and lots of USGI/aftermarket parts would be required for it to be the "long Range" rifle I wanted it to be.

* I need more practice and hopefully advice from more experienced shooters

* I wanted to change the type of shooting I was doing and take a couple courses.

Among other things I have been looking at doing Hungrys clinic when it's offered next as well as some tactical shooting courses next season with a couple friends. I've added Magpul BUSs and have been looking at what optic would be best for tactical type shooting at a reasonable price. I test fit my friends Bushnell Trophy red dot and liked it quite a bit. I especially like that I did not have to bridge it across the chamber, it seemed be just fine mounted to the front rail but I have not fired it in this configuration:
I should note that the MBUS are the perfect height and can be used without removing the optic.
photo-1.jpg


After having said all that, I do have quite afew questions. I have read all the stickies and have on order the literature recommended in them.

I'd like to have a gunsmith give it a once over, but not sure what the best way to go about this would be. I have had some intermittent issues with cycling plus sticky action lately. Obviously I would want someone who knows what they are doing. Any recommendations?
To my newb eyes it seems the the the bolt is not coming far enough back so it either does not chamber a round , or manages to push a round half way between the mag and the chamber. I would think gas pressure would be the issue BUT the actions is really stiff and seems to hang when I go pull the handle back. It seems the bolt unlocks fine and rotates back but as it travels farther back it gets REALLY sticky. Something def off.

What is a good optic that has enough eye relief to be mounted up front for a tactical build? No zoom? Fixed Zoom? variable? ACOG type?

Who in Canada can bring in the Troy stocks? Ultimately that is where I would like to go.

Any other comments would be great, I have already learned so much from what I have read here. Really a great resource!
 
There is a guy on this board called the M14 Doctor. You should be able to find him easily. He would likely answer every questions you have here and do the work I beleive.
 
I bet your zero problem has to do with using the clip mount. i've had two UTG rails systems over the years and neither of them i found to hold a zero when mounting a scope using the clip mount.

Try using a solid steel mount like an arms 18 for mounting your optics and invest in a reputable set of rings. what i find with firearms, you get what you pay for.

i'm sure you have already read the stickies about the different mounts, but might be good to review before making purchases.

if you decide to just rock a reddot on your UTG rails, i'd recommend a vortex sprac or bushnell trs-25 if your on a budget.

as far as scopes go with long eye relief, if i remember right the minox ZA5 has 5"of eye relief.

welcome to the wonderful world of M14!
 
bigbush said:
Try using a solid steel mount like an arms 18 for mounting your optics and invest in a reputable set of rings. what i find with firearms, you get what you pay for.
Click to expand...
He was going to try my ARMS 18. The problem with that is that the UTG rail is mounted using the receiver.

MNT_M14R02_APP_1.gif
 
bigbush said:
ditch the UTG! the rifle will be better balanced without it anyway.
Click to expand...

x2

I had a UTG and never liked it. Had to run Burris Zee rings just to be able to get it on target without maxing out my scope's adjustments. Got myself an Arms18 and some Arms22 throw rings and couldn't be happier!
 
Great info from everyone. I plan on just slapping on a red dot for now and using the back up irons until I get it cycling properly and reliably. A local forum member was nice enough to offer to help me get it sorted.

After that I may decide to ditch the rail although I'd like to avoid that if at all possible. Ultimately I really want to get into a Troy MCS so maybe I'll just save my pennies until I can make that happen.
 
Spectrel said:
Who in Canada can bring in the Troy stocks? Ultimately that is where I would like to go.
Click to expand...

Let me know when and if you'd be interested in selling the archangel stock, I'm down in Kingston and might be interested.
 
i don't know about the rest of you, but i find at 200 yards that the red dot completely covers the target- and if you're under 200 yards, you don't need a 14 anyway- or just use the irons-
 
but i find at 200 yards that the red dot completely covers the target
Click to expand...

Yeah, pretty much. They're really only for 100 yrds and in plinking fun.
My Burris Fastfire II would fill the target at 200 yrds and it was a crap shoot to hit the target.
At 300 it was a wild guess.....Irons would be better for longer yardage or a proper scope.
 
Spectrel said:
Hey guys I posted in the intro section but since I spend almost all my time in this section of the forum I thought I'd throw one up here as well.

My name's Ryan and I'm pretty new to shooting, although I did spend some time in PRES when I was much younger.

....

After a few hundred rounds with mostly trouble free shooting , and doing a lot more reading and talking to other owners I have made some changes to my original plans. A few things I learned early on:

* Its a b!tch to get the scope to hold zero and not move in the rings, especially the cheap ones I had.

* It's not going to be a precision rifle out of the box, and lots of USGI/aftermarket parts would be required for it to be the "long Range" rifle I wanted it to be.

* I need more practice and hopefully advice from more experienced shooters

* I wanted to change the type of shooting I was doing and take a couple courses.

Among other things I have been looking at doing Hungry's clinic when it's offered next as well as some tactical shooting courses next season with a couple friends.

...

After having said all that, I do have quite afew questions. I have read all the stickies and have on order the literature recommended in them.

I'd like to have a gunsmith give it a once over, but not sure what the best way to go about this would be. I have had some intermittent issues with cycling plus sticky action lately. Obviously I would want someone who knows what they are doing. Any recommendations?

To my newb eyes it seems the the the bolt is not coming far enough back so it either does not chamber a round, or manages to push a round half way between the mag and the chamber. I would think gas pressure would be the issue BUT the actions is really stiff and seems to hang when I go pull the handle back. It seems the bolt unlocks fine and rotates back but as it travels farther back it gets REALLY sticky. Something def off.

....

Any other comments would be great, I have already learned so much from what I have read here. Really a great resource!
Click to expand...

Hungry will teach you stuff you already know but never quite realized. He will not run a mike over the rifle and verify tolerances or performance. Hungry is a teacher not a tech. M14doctor is the wrench on this board. It used to be Rooster, but he has gone silent.

As for performance, there is no substitute for trigger time. The bench will give you a measure of accuracy that bipod or elbows can't.
 
I am definitely interested in sending my rifle to M14doctor but not until I pick up something else I that I can use while its away for months. Hopefully over the next few weeks I can get it working properly , then I plan on picking up an 870 so I will have to have something else to work with. My copy of "The M14 Complete Assembly Guide" arrived yesterday, should be very helpful for sure.

As far as the Holosight goes, I have seen a lot of other M14s go that route with decent reviews for shorter ranges so I'll give it a try. Worst case is I just put it on the 870 down the road.
 
Welcome to the club ;) .. These are a great rifle and alot of fun to learn about and shoot.
The scope mount has to be of a high quality for it to hold a zero and IMHO Arms18 is the way to go .
2009Polytech,Archangel stock,Arms 18,Harris 9-13 in swivel bas notched leg bipod with locking lever,Rauch op rod spring guide,Springfield Armory muzzle brake,Verticle foregrip.
mypolym-305x.jpg


My Norinco Shorty from Canam
NEA op rod spring guide,Garand rear sights,Springfield Armory muzzle brake,Turner saddelry AWS sling,Ultimak front rail,USGI stock,Bushnell TRS-25 (it will cowitness with the iron sights).
DSC05731.jpg


The last time these were together as I sold the middle Polytech a couple days ago
my3m14s.jpg
 
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Nice, I really like the shorty and love that muzzle break. Did you do the install yourself?

I snapped a pic with the side rails back on and new vertical grip and once the holosight gets here I am going to run it like that for a bit:
photo3.jpg
 
Ya I did that to both of them , easy job really.I am saving up for a good scope for the Arms 18, and I was thinking of using the Arms 22 throw rings
Brownells sells the muzzle brake with the castle nut wrench cheap.
flashhidermod16.jpg
 
chalkriver said:
Ya I did that to both of them , easy job really.I am saving up for a good scope for the Arms 18, and I was thinking of using the Arms 22 throw rings
Brownells sells the muzzle brake with the castle nut wrench cheap.
flashhidermod16.jpg
Click to expand...

Go with the ARMS22 for sure. I have em on both my scopes and can swap em on and off my M14. I just need a shorty to put my Millett DMS on now. It gets almost no love since I picked up a Leupold Mark4!
 
Those are exactly the mounts I would be looking for. As you can see from my pic, the easiest solution for me would be to mount a scope on the front rail only. So it would have to have enough eye relief to be up that far or be physically long enough to hang back over the chamber toward my eye. I would That may or may not require me to remove the rear BUIS, but that's no big deal. The are really there to work in conjunction with my holo or stand alone. Suggestions?
 
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