So I think I had a slam fire with my M305??

Well since the round didn't eject it could of been a bump fire as you could of been holding it incorrectly that caused it to bounce around and not cycle the bolt enough. You might want to take it apart and clean it make sure the gas system is working properly stuff like that as it might need to be calibrated. Is the rifle new out of the box or used?

It could also be ammo related as well as I've found Winchester ammo to be garbage for quite some time. The PMC steel case ammo works better then the Winchester ammo.
 
As someone without a whole lot of experience with M-14's can you explain what you mean by this?
What exactly should be avoided and what are the consequences of not doing so?

What happens is people load a magazine put 1 extra round in it then the round in the magazine slams into the round in the chamber. if it hits hard enough it goes bang since some ammo have a pointy tip and they're hard metal
 
I'm at the range as I type this and I believe I just had another "slam fire". This time the round ejected and I was not wearing gloves. I am using commercial ammo, Remington Express Core-Lokt 150gr 308 WIN. The rifle appears clean but I have never cleaned out the firing pin / bolt. The bolt itself and receiver are all nice and greased up and I did the "trigger test" before leaving home and when I got to the range, the rifle passed each time. I just did the test 3 times and again the rifle passed 3 times. I should note that when I shoot I use follow through on the trigger and hold the trigger all the way back until I have reset my sight picture. I've fired another 6 rounds with no further issues.

Suggestions?
 
When you bought the rifle, did you clean the goop out of the inside of the bolt with brake cleaner? You may have a sticking firing pin and indeed be experiencing a slam fire. Firing pins can be stuck with bits of brass, dirt and debris. One of the downsides to the garand action is the floating firing pin. I have had one with my m14 - and it was due to debris inside of the bolt. I cleaned with brake cleaner on a clean paper towel. I was amazed at how much debris (bits of brass and grit) can accumulate in the bolt.
 
Not reading thru the entire thread but two things stand out to me that are worth mentioning.

First, and as a long time M14/M1A enthusiast, everytime I pick up the rifle for the first time on any shooting day, I rack the oprod, squeeze the trigger , which should "fire" the hammer, hold the trigger squeezed and rack the oprod hard again. Release the trigger ... Then squeeze and hammer should again "fire"
If it fails to "fire" , the rifle has exhibtted hammer follow and is unsafe. Doubles, slam fires, out of battery fire and uncontrolled fire are all symptoms and whenever they happen, the first thing to verify is the above test.

Does not matter how many outings you've safely had with a given rifle, chinese or not, this test should be performed on all M14/M1A rifles before inserting the first mag of the day. I can not stress this enough, to newbies or long time M14 shooters.

Stock fit or broken trigger parts are the common causes of a rifle failing this test. With stock fit it is generally a simple remedy.

2nd thing, Gas system being unitized would not have anything to do with the problem.

And I also have seen many a new to the platform shooter do the surprise and unintentional bump fire...
But, after all the above said... the second round failure to eject thing does kinda have me scratchin the head a little
 
I can't find my brake cleaner at the moment but as soon as I do I'll clean out the bolt. Hopefully it's a simple fix, 150gr Remington and Winchester store bought ammo performed quite well today, 3" groups at 100 meters when I did my part!
 
Its not very common but it can happen

If by not very common you mean nearly astronomical odds of it being possible. Then yeah.

Take two dummy rounds and try it out. I will post pic as soon as I get my M14 back from TacOrd. Basically the rim of the cartridge is not all the way into the chamber and sticks out. As the the next round feeds it will get caught by this lip as it goes up the feed ramp.
Either stopping there or slipping to the right or left depending on which side of the mag it was feeding from.

Shawn
 
I found my can of brake cleaner and have the bolt a good spray-down. A good size puddle of black crap came out of the back of the bolt so I wonder if the problem has been solved. I don't know how to take the firing pin out so I just resorted to spraying the cleaner into whatever holes I could find.

Is there a more formal method of cleaning the bolt?
 
I found my can of brake cleaner and have the bolt a good spray-down. A good size puddle of black crap came out of the back of the bolt so I wonder if the problem has been solved. I don't know how to take the firing pin out so I just resorted to spraying the cleaner into whatever holes I could find.

Is there a more formal method of cleaning the bolt?

Taking the bolt apart without a bolt disassembly tool can be done easy enough , its putting it back together that is harder. Try and find someone in your area that has the correct tool and the job is easy.
I just took mine apart the other night ,trimmed a few coils off the springs and put it back together in about 5 min....using a bolt disassembly tool. If you cant find a tool to use I think the brake cleaner method you used will suffice.
 
I'm at the range as I type this and I believe I just had another "slam fire". This time the round ejected and I was not wearing gloves. I am using commercial ammo, Remington Express Core-Lokt 150gr 308 WIN. The rifle appears clean but I have never cleaned out the firing pin / bolt. The bolt itself and receiver are all nice and greased up and I did the "trigger test" before leaving home and when I got to the range, the rifle passed each time. I just did the test 3 times and again the rifle passed 3 times. I should note that when I shoot I use follow through on the trigger and hold the trigger all the way back until I have reset my sight picture. I've fired another 6 rounds with no further issues.

Suggestions?

Since you said you're using commercial ammo, I think your "problem" may be due to the primers.

Commercial primers are usually softer than military-spec primers, so a slamfire or doubletap is more likely if you're using commercial ammo.

If you can, try some military surplus ammo in your rifle and see whether that makes a difference.
 
Mines doubled on me before, pulled it all apart found nothing. Put it back together and it shot 2-300 rounds before it did it again.. I was never overly concerned about it.. I figured the 10yr old that put my rifle together likely was having an off day.. The FTE is what has me concerned and leads me to believe it was an ammo based problem.. Poorly seated primer?
 
I'm still puzzled. This would be 2 occurrences in perhaps 100 rounds. So long as someone can reassure me that I won't have my Norc explode in my face I honestly won't be too concerned.
 
Tikka223, I don't know how much experience with recoiling, center-fire semi-autos you have, so I'll suggest something for you to try. Ensure you have a firm grip on the trigger hand. Push your thumb in- line behind the receiver and press the trigger with tip back into center line of stock. Remember to control the rifle with your strong hand(trigger hand), and support only with the other. This method I feel does two things with this rifle in particular. One,..it helps control windage dispersion of your rounds from a push or pull against the trigger and the resulting groups if you like to shoot prone unsupported, and two,...it allows my controlling hand to recoil in unison with the rifle and allows for a nice follow through and positive trigger reset.

If your rifle is performing as designed, then this strong hand control technique will ensure no more doubles.

You said you are getting 3MOA, so I know you have marksmanship abilities,..... I'm just thinking you are trying to be too relaxed on the trigger hand like a precision bolt gun shooter, and consequently allowing a double inadvertently like someone trying to bump-fire.

May help, it does for me, others may suggest other grip techniques, but I know you have to control these rifles with your strong hand like most center fire semi autos.


:canadaFlag: Happy Canada Day to you and yours,....... and never forget the Somme, July 1st, 1916.
 
Back
Top Bottom