The M14 rifle: A brief history

[RonJ]

Like others here I trained with the M14. I forget the distance but we had to march to the rifle range with the rifle slung over our shoulder. It was a long march. Sometimes the XO would would make us march at double time with the weapon at port arms! Sadistic $%^&!!! But hell, I was 18 years old and could handle strain pretty easy. I didn't like it, but I could do it.
But boy, how I loved it when I got to the firing line. After sighting in we worked our way out to 300 meters. Then the sneaky dudes threw in 400 meter targets on qualification day.
The 14 had no trouble with that. Some guys said that they were hitting the ground in front of the targets and thrown gravel was knocking them over. I saw no evidence of that.
My favorite hi power rifle ever.

 

[crows]

I got mine late, carried a Winchester in 2004 in Iraq. Yes it is heavy, along with some other complaints against it being true, difficult to add optics, wood stocks can compress and the actions fit loose, etc. However I loved it and was happy carrying it in the warm Iraqi weather. I did have a little background with them as my dept picked up some of them from the government in the '90's and I played with them some.
As I have used them from the '80's on, my experience has been that the AR15/M16/M4 platform isn't that bad, in fact it has a number of superior characteristics. I won't try to speak about the design prior to that as I simply don't know. Having said that, I still would prefer to be carrying an M14 if I found myself in Iraq or Afganistan.
If someone wants to use optics, give the long eye relief scout mount a try. It doesn't screw up the beautiful balance of the rifle as much as an over the receiver mount does.

 

[zzzippper]

You might want to edit this: "The M14 acquitted itself well in Vietnam, where many servicemen remember it fondly and preferred it for its reliability and power over any other weapon." to read "over any other hand held weapon" since I trust that the M2 .50 was relatively as reliable and certainly more powerful.

 

[Grayfox]

High School ROTC. First year we drilled with the M1. Second year they replaced them with M14s. Never got to shoot them. Heck they were just drill rifles and had no firing pins. But I did become very familar with both and gained a great appreciation for what fine weapons they were.
1972 and Uncle Sam handed me a M16A1. I soon came to hate the damned things. Yeah, they were accurate. When you could keep the piece of junk working. Still can't bring myself to trust one to this day.
I always wanted a M14 type rifle, but couldn't afford one when I was young. Then in the late 90s at a gun show I ran across a guy with a Federal Ordnance M14A at a price I could afford. Turns out its one of the good ones. Early four digit serial number, excellent reciever and the rest is all G.I. parts. First time I pulled the trigger I was in love!
The rifle had an aftermarket laminated target stock. It sure was pretty, but dadgum it was heavy! A couple of years ago I swapped it out for a Springfield composite stock. That took about 2 pounds off of it right there.
Sadly aging eyes and iron sights don't work real well together. So now it has a scope. But that old rifle will still shoot 1/2" or better at 100 yards.
My younger son spent his last two years in the National Guard as a Designated Marksman. So he's kind of adopted the old Fed Ord for himself. No problem. Last year I bought myself a Socom 16.

This pic is a little out of date. The Fed Ord now wears a 3X9 scope and the scout scope has moved to the Socom.

 

[zzzippper]

Superlative post, John. Amazing how you've crowded so much information in such little space. GREAT article.

Geat gun, too: I only carried one for a couple of years and only qualified with it once: shot Expert.

Now I have a Springfield Armory M1A, NM version, circa 1970s. Also a great rifle and uncanny accurate. The 168 gr Sierra MatchKing bullet and some 4895 powder can't be beat. A French friend who has shot a lot of everything shot it and said it's better by far than the Dragunov.

In my opinion it is the best rifle for NRA high power competition. I wonder how your friend would compare it to the FN FAL?

 

[got2hav1]

My older brother served in Vietnam, shipping out in Nov. 1965 with 1st Infantry Div. and also trained at Fort Gordon Georgia. I have his graduation album. I also have a photo of him in Vietnam with his M14. Pretty cool. Unfortunately he passed away from liver cancer two years ago. We all miss him greatly. I have always liked the M14, it is a cool looking firearm.

 

[Donald Paul]

Basic training in SC at Fort Jackson 1963-64, tank hill {C-7-2}.Anyone there with me?
Trained on the M-14.
Have handled many rifles in and out of the Army, and I'll say that {IMHO} nothing will compare to the 14.
- Don

 

[Bullet Bob]

The only comment I can make is that you should include a little of the less than positive aspects about the rifle.

If it was that good, it wouldn't have ben one of the shortest serving weapons ever. There is plenty of public data from government testing in the 50's that are less than positive, as well as from users.

I'm not knocking the M14, but hardly ever is everything all roses. Of course, the company you publish for may not want that type of reporting.

The best comment from a 1950's or 1960's Gun Digest was from a tester who said the only reason he could figure why the FN FAL wasn't adopted was that it didn't cost enough - only slightly tongue in cheek.

 

[PALADIN85020]

The only comment I can make is that you should include a little of the less than positive aspects about the rifle.

If it was that good, it wouldn't have ben one of the shortest serving weapons ever. There is plenty of public data from government testing in the 50's that are less than positive, as well as from users.

I'm not knocking the M14, but hardly ever is everything all roses. Of course, the company you publish for may not want that type of reporting.

The best comment from a 1950's or 1960's Gun Digest was from a tester who said the only reason he could figure why the FN FAL wasn't adopted was that it didn't cost enough - only slightly tongue in cheek.

I think we would have been well served with either the FAL or the M14 as a battle rifle. The M14 was heavy and over-powerful for the distances over which it would be used in Vietnam. Also, its action, open to the elements, was susceptible to the introduction of water, ice, mud and dust. This was a characteristic shared with the M1 rifle, but in spite of this, both rifles proved their mettle in unfavorable environments. The siege of Bastogne during WWII comes to mind when M1s were used in heavy winter snow. The AK-47 was showing the superiority of the true assault rifle concept, and so the AR-15/M16 series was thrown into the fray soon after the adoption of the M14. Still, the M14 can do things the M16s/M4 Carbines can't, and that has been proved out in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I like the FAL, and own one. Ergonomically it easily beats the M14, and has some useful features. I'm privileged to have handled and field stripped an original T-48 FAL which was in the non-display collection at Aberdeen Proving Ground. I was given a personal tour there by Dr. Bill Atwater, then the curator of the museum, on request by a friend of mine who was then serving as the civilian security director at Aberdeen. The T-48 was a bit clunkier than the the later FALs and had wooden stocks, but it was still an impressive rifle. I think the M14 was picked over the FAL because of "NIH" (Not Invented Here), and the fact that most of the M14 parts could be made on machinery formerly used for the M1 rifle. Also, those who had trained on the M1 could easily transition to the similar M14.

John

 

[Maximumbob54]

My only question is why did they come with that skinny little green canvas sling??? Carrying that thing all day on your shoulder was murder. A good sling would have been easy to come up with.

 

[Pilgrim]

I started a military collection a few years ago and got to the point where the M14 was finally on my 'to get next' list. I wanted something as close to the one I carried in the Army as possible. I got a Springfield version:

I qualified expert in 1967 with one, and always thought it was the finest rifle ever made...still do. I guess the military thinks so too as it's been in use from the 50's to the present. I was in the Army from 67-71 and was never issued anything but the M14....never even picked up an M16.

I've got a story about the M14 that still gives me a chuckle even after almost 50 years.

As everyone knows who served back then, we all had to learn the nomenclature of the rifle, and learn how to field strip it.... in the dark... before we could fire one.

After we learned that, we went to the range, which was a huge place with 'control towers' and room for 50-100 guys (forgot exactly how many, but it was a lot) on the firing line simultaneously.

We would be given a full mag, told what position to get into, lock and load, then the tower would announce over loud speakers, "Ready on the left, ready on the right, the firing line is ready ! Fire one round !"

The first time I pulled the trigger...."bang,bang,bang,bang" in less than a second. The Sgt came up to me and screamed at me, "You were told to fire ONE ROUND private !" I told him I only pulled the trigger once. There's something wrong with the rifle!

He said you will fire only one round!

Then from the tower, ""Ready on the left, ready on the right, the firing line is ready ! Fire one round !"

Again I pull the trigger once and ...."bang,bang,bang,bang" in less than a second. The Sgt came up to me and screamed at me again, "I told you to fire ONE ROUND private !" I told him again that I only pulled the trigger once. There's something very wrong with the rifle!

He said 'Don't do that again!" I couldn't understand exactly what he meant, still don't.

Then from the tower, ""Ready on the left, ready on the right, the firing line is ready ! Fire one round !"

A third time I pulled the trigger, once, and ...."bang,bang,bang,bang" in less than a second. The Sgt had given up I guess because he just looked at me.

We were then all told to put our rifles in the racks over near the chow line and go eat.

I put my rifle in the rack and waited for everyone to get in the chow line. Then I reached out with both hands, grabbed the trigger guard of my rifle and the one next to it, lifted the guards, and pulled out the whole trigger groups, did a quick swap in my hands and reinserted the trigger groups into the other rifle. I then got into the end of the chow line.

Back on the firing line, from the tower, ""Ready on the left, ready on the right, the firing line is ready ! Fire one round !"

I pulled the trigger once and fired one round.

To the right of me I hear...."bang,bang,bang,bang" .

It was and is a fine rifle...perhaps the finest we ever issued.

 

[Nick B]

Ft. Campbell, Ky. The year was 1977 . My issued rifle was an H&R,serial number 1558092 .