What Ammo for M14

It will take a 308 no problem the heavier grain is hard on the gas system stay 168 and less or turn the gas chamber off and hand rack it if you use 180. the pressure is the issue not bullet weight or size nato vs 308

i don't know about you, but all of mine have been an absolute b*tch to open without the gas assist- i've done it a few times just to see what it's like- that list includes real m14s as well as norcs- there's just not enough steel on that tab to get a good grip and pull to the rear at the same time and i waited a few minutes between rounds to let the pressure in the chamber diminish- just stick to the 165-168s top end and you'll be fine- btw, with handloading, i get groups of 1 inch and under at 100 yards- about the size of a loonie for a 20 round mag
 
One of the beauties of casting lead boolits as you have a wider choice of bullets for your guns. At around 1800 fps my M 14 loves my 311291 Lyman boolits and they reun to 185 gr. Some of the guys and the cast Boolit forum have gone to 200 grainers with no ill effects on their M 14.

Remember these are cast lead bullets using gas checks and velocities range up to 2,000 fps but not much more. With the price of jacketed bullets going through the roof and surplus ammo becoming incresingly scarce shooting your own cast bullets becomes and attractive alternative. For shooting paper targets out to 200 yards or just banging away at tin cans at 50 shooting cast bullets can be a lot of fun.

I should add shooting lead bullets in your M 14 does not plug the gas system as some would think.

Take Care

Bob


I've wondered about cast bullets in my M-14 for quite some time. Do the Tips get messed up when they chamber? Does it make a big difference if they do? When I use lead tipped hunting amunition the ends always get sliced as they go in the chamber.

Nic
 
mercuryv8

No not at all. A friend of mine stateside has even shot the Lyman 311041 flat nose boolit out of his M 14 and it feeds them fine. I water quench my wheelweight alloy boolits and the gas check them. I like to keep my velocities around 1800 fps but would wonder to 2,000 chasing accuracy given the right powder/boolit combination. The boolits feed just fine.

Beyond that the M 14 is very capable shooting cast boolits and it is way cheaper than jacketed varieties.

Use cast in my Longbranch as well.

Take Care

Bob
 
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T-star your repeating your self I personally have never tried that turning off gas I have read it in previous threads Thanks for the info. By the way if you have any magic combos to get those groups pm me. Can always use the help when it comes to loading
 
Norc M-14 accuracy

1.75" or 1.5" group isn't to shabby for a $500 chinese semi... I'd be happy

I'm ecstatic, its better than I expected. Now the challenge is to see how good it will do.

It appears that the barrel isn't perfectly indexed in that to zero windage the front sight is all the way to the right edge of its base and the rear sight is about .040" left of center. The gas nut is about .007" loose as well but given how it shoots I'm not going to worry about these points.

I've been told that the indexing may not even be an issue, that it could be the flash hider/sight base that is not broached quite right and is a couple degrees off verticle.
 
I'm discovering that the type of ammo used makes a big difference. I started out shooting Canadian Milsurp 7.62 ammo made by IVI, shoots pretty good. Then I shot some Czech ammo, shoots ok, but not as accurate as the IVI. Then I shot some Federal Premium Vital shock 150's with ballistic tip. At 100 yards, bullseye after bullseye. Shoots much less than a 1" group. Even at 200 yards this ammo is hitting the 3/4" red dot half the time. I'm sold on this brand for hunting purposes.
 
when you see multiple posts of the same information from me, it's got to do with my server or something- i DON'T do it intentionally , nor does it inflate my post count- typically, what happens is that instead of posting almost immedately( i'm on a high speed dsl) it takes a good five minutes to post, and then posts multiples- as far as magic recepies goes, i use a 165 or 168 grain remmy( i get them in bulk) cci large rifle magnum primer, remmy case, and 43 grains of ww748- it's the same recepie as the m118slr but i use a lighter bullet to be "kinder"to the action-there's whole volumes written on 308 and 7.62 match loads both in hard copy and on the internet - you know you've got a 1/12 twist as standard , and from there it's just a matter of varying the powder charge up and down a bit till your rifle groups the best-provided you use the same bullets - if you change the bullets( either grain or manufacture) then you have to start all over-
basically there's no magic load and a lot of load development involved
 
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Grizzlypeg,
I'm glad you posted those 150gr ballistic tip groups.My hand loads duplicates
that Fed load and I'm getting the same results with a basically stock M14
with just minor(free)mods.But everytime I mention those groups I get laughed at and called a liar.Until they actually see the groups being shot.Of course
you need to have someone who can shoot groups that size.

regards
 
it's like a violin - there are those that play, and those that can REALLY play- i've still got the old chu wood on mine and it's an old issue- but i'm shooting benchrest , off a varmint rest-with the plate up, lmg style- if you're shooting offhand, YOU'RE contributing to the variables, not eliminating them- put on a 12-18 power scope , look at a 50 yard target, and see how much movement your breathing alone causes- it's about 3 inches or more- add to this the other variables in body geometry, maybe a flinch, and you soon see how groups grow
 
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