Review of Rauch Tactical Op Rod Spring Guide

Hungry

Hungry

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I just received the newly mfg'ed Op Rod Spring Guide by Rauch Tactical or suprathepeg... you know.. the dealer that brings you all that cool CZ or VZ58 (sp?) stuff?

The dimensions are perfect! They fit both Norinco M14 spring and USGI M14 Spring ... no worries, you will be well served with either spring you choose to employ in your M14. Those of you who are not aware, the Norc M14 Op Rod Spring (recoil spring) is about 0.5 inch shorter and a few thou tighter in diameter from the USGI spring.

Does one need a USGI spring? Only if you don't want yer dic...(you knew that was coming....) Nah, save yer money and use the Norc spring... I know I am...

Take a look at the pics.... The Marstar.ca version is identical but with a few leftover machining marks that don't take away from the intended performance. The Rauch Tactical (suprathepeg) version is finely finished without any burrs or sharp edges! Way cool...

DSCN1722.jpg


Now have a look at the other side:

DSCN1724.jpg


Dimension wise, both the Marstar.ca version and the Rauch Tactical will fit perfectly into the slot of your M14. No hangups, no nasty surprises from both units. I deliberately left a USGI from a TRW sourced M14 for you to compare. Rauch Tactical certainly did their homework here.

Both Marstar.ca and Rauch guides are machined from ONE piece stainless steel which means that there are no welds to break on you during a rapid fire (competition shooters, take note) string. I've seen the Geneseo, Illinois versions break during our NRA High Power matches 20 years ago.... :rolleyes:

I have shot my M14 with both stainless op rod spring guides and did not experience any failures to fire, extract, or insert/remove my 5/20 magazines. :D Life is good. The Rauch Tac version works exactly as he (suprathepeg) says it will and it's first rate quality.

So, some of you newbs might wonder why we even spend some/any money on this upgrade?

Remove the trigger group and stock from your barreled action RFN (right now) and examine what happens to the spring under compression (rack your op rod, foo :eek: ).... Notice how the spring does a serpentine pattern?

I will vouch that you will immediately experience (#### loss, no ; just joking....) tighter groups with this upgrade because the op rod spring will now compress in uniform pattern (read: shot 2 shot consistency). That's why you need one of these; accuracy! Now if you are using your shorty/chopmod/Sopmod M14 for a bear defense gun or maybe the next zombie invasion (insert Jacko Wacko Thriller YouTube video here....) then save yer money and use the flat stamped factory version! :rockOn:

For the rest of you accuracy buffs, you will be well served by the Rauch Tactical op rod spring guide, or Marstar.ca version.

Price? I got my Marstar.ca guide for $ 40 plus shipping and taxes here in Bantario. PM Suprathepeg for a price on his version!

Peace be to journey :cheers:

Barney
 
Very nice. Any harm in taking some 1500 - 2000 grit paper and taking them to a mirror like shine?

Waste of time...or?
Hungry here: No problem putting on the mirror shine for appearance and an improvement (real or perceived) in performance. I have never noticed a group shrink with a polished op rod spring guide. One thing is for sure; if you do upgrade to a cylindrical shaped op rod spring guide, your groups will shrink immediately. This is old/ancient research done way back in the early 70's.
 
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Hungry is the defacto guru along with some other very knowledgeable guys on the M14.

I am not one of them.

I am however a huge believer in common sense. I don't believe it will substantially improve anything by polishing up the Marstar oprod spring guide. From the ones I've handled, and own, the tooling marks are generally at the taper bit where the spring doesn't really ride along anyway. Additionally, some of the US guides are parkerised surfaced NM spring guides anyway.

You're probably going to have goops of lube on the surface of the metal anyway.

I'd say, if you have a Marstar, don't throw it out to by a Rauch.

If you have neither, buy one now....either one.
 
I changed my original op rod spring guide to the Marstar one and my Norc M14wouldnt cycle properly. Changed it back to the original thin one and no problem. Try it again and first make sure everything is tight? Any thoughts?
 
halhunt said:
I changed my original op rod spring guide to the Marstar one and my Norc M14wouldnt cycle properly. Changed it back to the original thin one and no problem. Try it again and first make sure everything is tight? Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

-Install spring guide again and try racking the oprod with the rifle out of the stock.

-See where the bind is occuring.

-Assess and take a pic to confirm on the board.

My first guess would be that your barrel is out of index and therefore oprod guide and oprod are slightly out of index as well. The original flat spring guide might allow a little bit of play. The Marstar or similar NM style will align the spring better and might cause a bind if the oprod is slightly out of index.
 
Winz said:
Hungry is the defacto guru along with some other very knowledgeable guys on the M14.

I am not one of them.

I am however a huge believer in common sense. I don't believe it will substantially improve anything by polishing up the Marstar oprod spring guide. From the ones I've handled, and own, the tooling marks are generally at the taper bit where the spring doesn't really ride along anyway. Additionally, some of the US guides are parkerised surfaced NM spring guides anyway.

You're probably going to have goops of lube on the surface of the metal anyway.

I'd say, if you have a Marstar, don't throw it out to by a Rauch.

If you have neither, buy one now....either one.
Click to expand...

I wasn't suggesting that it would make a SUBSTANTIAL improvement in performance, but I'm the kinda guy who likes attempting to make anything perform better. I like making stuff work more efficient, even if the result isn't measurable. As long as I'm tinkering I'm happy. I see a lot of people commenting about tooling marks and such. A little elbow grease would get rid of such imperfections.
 
-DeerStalker- said:
I wasn't suggesting that it would make a SUBSTANTIAL improvement in performance, but I'm the kinda guy who likes attempting to make anything perform better. I like making stuff work more efficient, even if the result isn't measurable. As long as I'm tinkering I'm happy. I see a lot of people commenting about tooling marks and such. A little elbow grease would get rid of such imperfections.
Click to expand...

Have at 'er! Shouldn't take long to polish it right up with some fine grit sandpaper wrapped around.

Most spring guides aren't hardened to my knowledge.
 
Winz said:
Have at 'er! Shouldn't take long to polish it right up with some fine grit sandpaper wrapped around.

Most spring guides aren't hardened to my knowledge.
Click to expand...

You can use emmory cloth to get a fine shine, or buy the rauch spring guide. We do his manufacturing, so his gear is made to aerospace grade standards.
 
FYI all if you are interested in these the retail price will be $40 plus shipping. I am expecting my production lot soon.

If you would like me to add your name to the already expanding contact list then be sure to shoot me an email and you will have first dibs on them when they arrive. sean@rauchtactical.com

Cheers all,

Sean
 
The following review of the Rauch SS one piece round op rod spring guide, is primarily about whether or not a round op rod spring guide actually makes any significant difference in ACCURACY ...
OR NOT?

Hungry and several others have already extolled the virtues of the machining, fit, top notch quality, competitive price, etc, of the new Rauch guide, and I agree with them up to a point. I know HUNGRY has a lot more experience at formal target shooting than I do, and he STRONGLY recommends the round op rods as an "instant accuracy improver". But my previous testing of other round op rod spring guides did not support this conclusion. So, just to reconfirm or rebut my previous test results, I did another accuracy test today using the new RAUCH SS one piece op rod spring guide.

While I strongly recommend the use of ROUND one piece op rod spring guides for the M14 rifles, I recommend these ONLY for improved spring movement CONSISTENCY, DURABILITY, and RELIABILITY. I personally remain unconvinced that these op rod spring guides actually make any difference in ACCURACY.

Years ago, when I was building MATCH M14 rifles, I ran a series of accuracy tests on several individual M14 components and suggested M14 accurising procedures. These tests involved a 20X scope, MANY different types of .308 WIN and 7.62 NATO ammunition, and many carefully shot 5 rd groups, using several different M14 type rifles, including GENUINE M14s, M1As, and Polys and NORCS.

These rather extensive tests are where I got many of my opinions about what actually makes a difference in accuracy on an M14 build. I tested things like unitising the gas system [ did not make a significant difference ], staking/tightening the gas assembly and flash hider [ helps a bit ], etc. etc, and I specifically tested for accuracy with and without the round op rod spring guides. In my previous tests, the round op rod spring guides did NOT make a BIG difference.

What DID make a BIG difference in accuracy?

A properly fitted USGI bolt, lapped in for even lug bearing and proper headspace,
a decent trigger job,
a GOOD scope mount [ or for those still young enough to use them , better iron sights ]
a properly fitted USGI fiberglass stock,
AND,
AMMUNITION.

The M14 type rifles are incredibly sensitive to variations in ammunition. Test groups ranged from sub MOA to 4" with the same gun, with no other change than ammunition. Each individual rifle tested had its own individual preferences. Finding the ammunition your individual rifle prefers is one of the cheapest and most effective "accurising" tricks available for the M14, which is why I keep harping about the M14 and AMMUNITION SENSITIVITY to anyone who will listen.

BUT this doesn’t seem to be working too well.
I still see the majority of M14 seminar attendees show up with rifles that are already modified [ or plans to spend big bucks on modifications ] WITHOUT EVER SHOOTING THEIR RIFLES. EVEN ONCE!!!

Can we all say the words …
SAFE QUEENS?

The M14 is supposed to be a field rifle.
Shoot it.

Don’t sit around at nights reading SWAT magazine,
with cosmoline on your right hand,
looking at that safe queen with lustful thoughts,
dreaming about the next paycheck you are going to blow on tarting her up even more.
Take her out and shoot the damn thing!!!

Find out what ammunition YOUR baby prefers. if you want to spend more $$$ on her, start small ... believe it or not, I personally have seen some fantastic groups from out of the box Chinese M14 rifles. And they may get even better with just a few simple FREE tweaks you can learn about here on the CGN site, or from seminars from Hungry, M14Doctor, or Moi.

In my experience, most of the many "accurising" tricks and tweaks used on the M14 subtract only fractions of an inch from a group, and added all together [ at a cost of perhaps THOUSANDS of dollars in parts and labor ] they can make an M14 almost as accurate as an off the shelf, cheap, ho hum, bolt action rifle.

Keep this in perspective before dumping BIG $$$ into your 14.

My test results today with ONE specific near stock 2007 NORC M14S, confirmed my multi rifle test results from several years ago ....
there was no significant improvement in accuracy from dropping in a round op rod spring guide.
In fact, with this specific rifle, the group size was a 12.5 % LARGER with the RAUCH SS round op rod spring guide, than with the stock NORC cheapo stamped OEM rod. This particular rifle has been through the one of the Westcoast M14 Seminars, and was properly tweaked and tightened by the notorious M14 Dr himself. Nothing special, only thing besides tightening was a Sproingfield bolt on compensated flash hider, and a USGI op rod spring.

With the original Norc mystery wood stock and the original Norc stamped steel op rod spring guide, it actually shot MUCH better than anyone could expect. About 1 1/4" with 168 Gr Federal HPBT Match.

And if that ain't good enough for a cheap chinese rifle, then you could spend THOUSANDS more getting it to shoot sub-MOA reliably.

Can we say,
The point of diminishing returns?

Of course, the M14 rifles are notoriously individualistic, and results from one rifle may not be accurately extrapolated to any other different rifle. But once again, I performed similar testing of a different brand round op rod spring guide, using several different M14 type rifles, and that previous test didn't show any significant accuracy improvements either.

SO,
YPMMV
and although I will still be strongly recommending round op rod spring guides for reliability and durability, I still will NOT be claiming any MAGIC accuracy improvement from the round guides.

However,
this thread could be a great forum for others to contribute their experiences with the round op rod spring guides. Maybe others out there have had more positive experiences accuracy wise, and we can get some solid feed back documenting this?

ENQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW!
So if you have experience with accuracy changes, plus or minus, due ONLY to a round op rod spring guide, let us know. And if you have had reliability issues with either a round ORSG or the stock flat design, let us know that too.
Thanks
[;{)
LAZ 1
 
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Laz I wonder if you would get getter results from using a Norc spring? This guide is speced for the slightly smaller Norc springs and it looks like you were using the larger dia USGi springs?
 
A properly fitted match op rod guide prevents recoil spring kink and drag so it contributes to consistent harmonics from shot to shot , which in theory contributes to consistent shot placement.
I use them in all my builds.
However - U.S. military match guns did fine without them for years at Camp Perry. I doubt whether white feather had one when he won.
 
Sean,
you may be right about the difference in springs. Because of the critical importance of the op rod spring to relliability, I use ONLY USGI or Wolff aftermarket springs in my 14builds. The Norc springs use the same diameter wire, but the Chinese wind it about .010" tighter [ smaller ID].

The reason I don't use Chinese springs goes wayyyyy back, to the original Polys and Norcs that arrived in the 80s and 90s. With these rifles, there was a definite problem with the Chinese op rod springs taking a set [ going flat ] fairly quickly. Also, even though I have had dozens of Chinese 14s, these days I rarely own any one 14 long enough to do a long term torture test on the op rod springs.
SO,
Maybe op rod spring quality has improved with the new Chinese 14s?

Maybe someone out there can post about the thousands of rounds they have shot with the original Chinese op rod spring, without the spring taking a set??
NOTE: The Rauch SS round one piece op rod guide spring is designed with the correct OD for the smaller ID of the Chinese springs. Most round guides sourced from the US are designed to fit the larger ID of the US GI springs, and will often bind, and cause unreliability, if used with the tighter Chinese springs.

Obviously Rauch had to make a choice here on sizing, and chose the size that would be correct for the CANADIAN M14 market, which is made up primarily of Chinese 14s. Rauch chose the op rod spring guide size that would work reliably for BOTH spring sizes. But be aware that this choice may make the fit a bit sloppy when used with the larger US GI or US aftermarket springs.

I'll do another test to compare the accuracy performance with the original NORC spring next time out.
LAZ 1
 
Exactly what Laz says! Save yer money before dumping a $ 1k note on the boomstick! By all means, come out to your Service Rifle matches hosted by your Prov Rifle Assoc.... Just like Ton45-II.. No wait! :eek: He drove from Quebec to shoot in Ontario! :rolleyes: And he still kicks ASS with his Chu Wood Norc M14! :D
 
Today I went to the range to retest the Rauch SS round op rod spring guide with a Chinese spring instead of the larger/looser GI spring I used the last test.

So,
five shots of SA 7.62 BALL to warm up the barrel, blow out the cleaning fluids, and reset the action after a detailed cleaning, and to confirm scope zero.

Then,
5 shots of FED 168 Gr HPBT Match with the stock Norc op rod spring and guide.

Then,
swap in the Rauch round guide, and another 5 shots of FED 168 Gr HPBT Match .

This time around at the range [ overcast with dizzle ] all the groups were a bit larger than last time with a near perfect sunny bright day,
and this time the Rauch round op rod spring guide showed better group size than the stock Norc op rod spring guide.

SO,
I can confirm that in my limited testing,
that this one rifle prefers the Rauch SS round op rod spring guide.

And for those of you who would say,
"one rifle and a few rounds of Federal 168 GR HPBT match are not a very large or valid test",
I say unto you,
if you want more valid results.
at the outrageous prices now charged for Fed 168 GR HPBT match,
you go out and buy your own ammo,
and do your own tests with your own rifle.

Shoot up as much as you want, or can afford, and maybe post back here sharing YOUR test results.
[;{)
LAZ 1
 
They have finally arrived!

The finish is fantastic much better then the samples which were quite good. The finish on the rod portion is nearly mirror smooth. Here are some pics.

DSC_0178.jpg

DSC_0179.jpg


Cost is gonna still be $40, send me an email if you're interested. sean@rauchtactical.com

For those on the contact list I will get to you later this week, I have had to move out of my office/shop due to a massive mold problem in the building so my access to files is a bit limited taking me more time then usual to send out contacts. Dealers please contact me via that email as well for details.
 
Sean: Thanks for all that you do (and risk) to satisfy our M14 addiction(s)!

Laz: Thanks for your excellent advice! Our dicks are no longer at risk! :p

:cheers:

Barney
 
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