Not sure what to do

Rossiter93 said:
I'm really torn as to what to do, I really want to build up the M305 since I already have it, it does already have the S&J Hardware spring guide and main spring switched out, and I do like to tinker and learn as I go. I can't lie, I'm a little nervous to get into peening JB welding the op rod guide in place, or messing with the trigger at all, the former sounds like an expensive fix if I screw it up and the latter dangerous to play with as I have no experience. Where I'd be scoping the rifle I'm not worried about the indexing (unless I'm wrong and that should be dealt with even on a scoped gun) and I have no idea what the headspace is, other then having a general idea from having to do a fair amount of resizing and trimming brass fired in it.

My other main concern in reloading for it. I've read that reloads can be dangerous in this platform due to the floating firing pin, and if the primer isn't seated deep enough it can fire out of battery. That scares the hell out of me and I haven't loaded any ammunition for it yet for just that reason. Is there merit to that? And yes I know this is the wrong forum for this question, but is there a way other then just eyeballing it to tell if a primer is seated deep enough for it? I've got ~100pcs of once fired brass prepped and ready to go, and some CCI 200 primers and IMR 4895 but I've been too hesitant up till now. That's mostly why I wanted a bolt gun to play with, I'm more comfortable reloading for it
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Firstly, there is very little that you could do to the rifle to destroy it with hand tools..... Add some heat or a grinding wheel, and ya you can do stuff that is not "reversible"...... If the rifle functions fine as she sits, then I wouldnt do a thing until you feel comfortable with it. Take your time, go through the stickies, watch every video by tonyben3 (and there are lots) on YouTube. Tonyben does a very good job of explaining everything.

Fine tuning the rifle will make it more consistent from shot to shot, more repeatable and thusly your groups should shrink. This will be the same with a scoped rifle or one with irons.

The biggest problem with loading for the M-14, is brass life is not good.... 3 firings, maybe 4 if you are able to examine and understand your brass and have a tight chamber. And you don't wanna hot rod your loads, bent operating parts are no fun to replace.... Pick any 150gr jacketed Bullet, add 41.5 gr of IMR 4895 to your prepped brass and try it..... I recommend a Hornady manual as they have special load data for service rifles.

I've heard of the "primer issue" before, I'm not saying it's a non-issue, but if you are not able to do your own QC on your own handloads before placing them into a magazine and firing it....... I have nothing that can help ya! ;) personally I have a RCBS case prep centre. I uniform all my primer pockets before seating primers.... This naturally positions the primers 2 thou below flush, which in theory should help mitigate any "floating firing pin" issues.... I also use Winchester primers (mostly because they are what is available in quantity locally) they are supposed to be a bit harder than federal primers. Federal primers are apparently "soft" but I know several loaders that use them, and have had good results, with no KBs..... The CCI primers you have are generally regarded as "best in the M-14". So you're good to go!

Cheers!
 
Okay I figured what the hell why not get into it today so I completely disassembled the rifle within the intent of trying to peen and JB weld the op rod guide in place. Now that I'm sitting here with it all apart I just clued in to ask if indexing is a huge issue since it's going to be scopes and irons won't be used anyway, and if it is an issue, should I wait to do the ORG until after I can either find someone around here to check/reindex or send it away to have it done? I just don't want to do it now if it's going to be a hassle and make indexing a pain/more expensive.
 
well, since it's going to be scoped anyway, I would advise the MINIMUM work done- shoot it and see what groups you get- a LOT of the marstars work fine RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX- same with the so called cci 34 primer- it's a MYTH and most of the time unobtainable anyway- all I've ever used are STANDARD loads for the 308 win , watch for pressure signs, and put 165-168 as the maximum bullet weight - and WAIT for BARNEY to make one of his forays into your neck of the woods- that man knows everything there is to know about the m14 platform- imo, the rest of the guys are either GUESSING or wont do the work at all- with the possible of 45 acp king or someone he recommends-- and I've seen a LOT of trigger groups need to be replaced b/c someone stoned the sear angles WRONG trying to lighten the trigger or some such thing
 
Re-indexing shouldn't be too much of an issue on a Marstar rifle. It may not be perfect, at most it will only be out a degree or 2. If the front sight is bang in the middle of the front sight base and the rear sight is centred in the pocket, then likely you won't be able to tell a difference with out blocks and angle finder gauges.

I would defiantly re-index (or check indexing with some gauges) before bedding the rifle. I would also get the gas system unitized before bedding.

I "always" at the very least check indexing before locking in the op-rod guide. I'm I'm an anal SOB when it comes to the little things..... One of the advantages (or curses) of having the tools in the tickle trunk!

Cheers!
 
I got in touch with Casey at TacOrd earlier and he quoted me a LOT less then I was expecting to have the basics done to it, check headspace, check indexing and reindex if needed, trigger job, and permenantly align and attach the op rod guide. He said he'd also mount a CASM for me if I send it to him NIB with the rifle, which I'm confident I could do myself but its just a lot less hassle and this way I have confidence that it is done properly. So for now I'm just going to reassemble the rifle and wait for my tax return and ship it out to him. I've heard nothing but good things about his work and his pricing was super fair, even factoring in the shipping costs from central Nova Scotia.
 
I have no clue about the RCMP but I was in the same boat regarding your choice.

I'm back to school after a work injury and my budget is limited too. I started hunting a couple of year back and then found out about the M305 while looking thru here. I always wanted a M14/M1A for some reason, I love history and I guess this one had a special aura that always appealed to me.

I went hunting with it this year and was not really happy to be honest, it's long, it's heavy and it's noisy.

I'm keeping the rifle as it is much fun to shoot, but I took off the optics and bought a .308 Weatherby Vanguard S2...


I will probably try and put an optic back on it at some point or get another one and do it, I don't know. But for now with the budget, that was the best option IMO.
 
I came into my m14 as part trade. Still not fully sure on it as I want to dump some cash into it. Shoots good and has no issues that I have discovered yet. Put a CASM mount on it and it's solid too. I was hauling it around deer shooting this season gone and my brother was carrying my 10tr and I was more comfortable using the savage to take a buck at 350 yards. No doubt solid rifle but was more confident in my savage for clean kill at that range
 
Not sure I would call a civilian M14 easy to convert to full auto. At least not properly. Remember the Mini 14 (I should say Marc Lepine) started the whole thing and it's not a prohibited rifle. It would burn my briches if an M305 caused us to loose our LRB, JRA and M1A rifles.
 
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