Happy Birthday M14!!!

[82Rigger]

On May 1, 1957, the M14 was adopted as the Service "A" Standard rifle of the U.S. armed forces, replacing the M1 Garand.

The M14 is an evolution of the M1 rifle; in the design of the M14 many of the shortcomings of the M1 have been eradicated. The basic action of the M1 remains, but the troublesome eight round en bloc clip has gone. The hanging of the gas cylinder on the end of the M1 rifle's barrel gave some accuracy difficulties; these have been overcome in the M14 by moving the gas port and gas cylinder back about eight inches from the muzzle, The gas cutoff and expansion system used on the M14 lends itself to better accuracy because its action is not as abrupt as that of the M1. Various other changes were made to give the Army a basically better weapon than the M1.

[Keith_Hixson]

Powerful, Accurate, Reliable.

Downside. It was heavy.

I liked it better than the M-16.

I salute the M-14, in my opinion the best infantry rifle of all time.

Keith

[Keith_Hixson]

I miss your quizzes!

Keith

[larrysearight]

Great rifle, had the M-14 in boot camp and qualified with it. Also used it in ITR. Was heavier then the M-16 but could put 20 rounds in a magazine instead of 17 or 18. Didn't jam up like the M-16.

Semper Fi,
Larry

[Andy]

I loved the M-14 in Basic. In AIT we used the M-16 original and hated it. The 14 was heavy and you could not carry as much ammo but when you pulled the trigger something came out of the other end. I usually carried an M-60 so can't complain much about the weight of the 14. It's sort of a shame they gave us the 16 while they were still experimenting and refining it. We've all heard stories about guys with jammed 16's in a firefight who ended up dead. Seems like they should have let us keep the 14's until all the kinks were worked out of that little black plastic thing.

Here's to the M-14!
Stay healthy,
Andy

[usmcsgt65]

I went to war with the M-14 - love it. Never used the M16, only tested fired the M15. In snipers we used the match M1-D and the Remington (M40). But the new fangled stuff on the M16 makes wish it was avaible to us.

[frisco-kid]

The biggest thing I was looking forward to doing in basic training was, of course, shooting a rifle. Thought it was so cool when one was finally issued to me and I had to memorize it's serial number. Couldn't wait to shoot it. Qualified EXPERT. Not bad for an inner-city kid.

[Keith_Hixson]

Tom,
Qualified Expert on Both M-14 and M-16. Those pop up targets reminded me of shooting ground squirrels on the back forty. When you have been shooting a single shot .22 since 8 its was a chinch to hit them targets. I have a hard time following fast moving game in a scope. Scopes are great for slow moving and standing game but I'd rather have a peep or open sights for fast moving game. Anyway, the M-16 has proven to be an effective weapon, but I preferred the M-14.

Keith

[Packo]

I was lucky enough to have used both in Vietnam, even though it was 69' and the 16 was standard issue. When I got with the Korean Unit, 38th Regiment/9th Korean Inf Div, I had my choice. They also carried both and the old M-1 Carbines. Liked the weight of the 16 and agree with Andy about being able to carry more ammo, but when the spam was in the fan......give me the 14. Mine had the funny selector switch that made it also full auto. Must have been like the old BAR cause' it was fun on Rock and Roll.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY M-14 AND THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!

Packo

PS: You can still buy them from the Rock Island Armoury. Andy, they also sell M-60's incase your looking for home protection.

[Andy]

Thanks Packo, an M-60 would be nice however I have the feeling the Governor might frown on me walking around with a 60. For years, too many to count, I?ve been carrying a .38 snub nose, however my vision isn?t what it used to be. Anyone have an idea where I could get an M-79? Just for personal protection of course. H.E. is fine but I prefer W.P.

Stay healthy,
Andy