M14/M1A Availability

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cyclopsshooter

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I have a pipe dream of owning a surplus M14, are any out there? what do I look for? Price?

What about after market rifles? What are the good ones? looking for as close to milspec as possible with wood stock.

Which ones do you stay away from?
 
You better put that pipe dream to bed. Surplus M14s were auto and therefore out of the reach of most citizens, plus Clinton had a ton of them destroyed. You could get the stock M1A from Springfield Armory, which is probably the closest you'll get. And I'd steer clear of the Chinese M1As (I've never owned one, but I've never heard anything good about them either).
 
I don't think the government released very many surplus M14's, because most of them had full auto capability. I want to say there are only 100-200 of those in the US and they go for about $20,000 when on sale as NFA items. A small number are in law enforcement posession as well but are not transferrable to civilians.

Aftermarket, Springfield is the standard with the M1A, LRB Fulton armory are higher end but wait times are 9+ months for a new build, I believe.

check out www.m14tfl.com for more info.
 
What about after market rifles? What are the good ones? looking for as close to milspec as possible with wood stock.
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LRB is probably your best bet if you want "as close to mil spec as possible." The Springfield M1As are excellent too, but the receivers have ever-so-slightly different geometry due to investment casting vs hammer forging. Very good rifles, just not exactly mil spec. They do accept standard mil spec magazines and many mil spec parts, though.

I got a Springfield M1A for my money, and I couldn't be happier.
 
You better put that pipe dream to bed. Surplus M14s were auto and therefore out of the reach of most citizens, plus Clinton had a ton of them destroyed. You could get the stock M1A from Springfield Armory, which is probably the closest you'll get. And I'd steer clear of the Chinese M1As (I've never owned one, but I've never heard anything good about them either).
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I do not what get into that argument again,[not with you,of course]but suffice to say their owners think headspace gages are a routine part of a day at the range.
 
Springfield M1A "Loaded" model here . .couldn't be happier.

On the Chinese one's (Norinco) I wouldn't hesitate to buy one if the price is right. The recent "panic" made most Norinco's I've seen go for over 1k though so I'd buy a SA for that kind of money. When you could find Norinco's in the $500 range they were worth it as you could put some $ in it and have a decent rifle. (although you DO want to check them closely before shooting the . .IMHO)
 
Take a good look at the Springfield SOCOM-16 line of rifles. I have shot the M-14 many times, owned a couple of M1As and now have a SOCOM-16. Love it! Not up to the H-K 91 class, but a darned fine weapon, especially for use/carry in a vehicle.
 
LRB is probably your best bet if you want "as close to mil spec as possible." The Springfield M1As are excellent too, but the receivers have ever-so-slightly different geometry due to investment casting vs hammer forging. Very good rifles, just not exactly mil spec. They do accept standard mil spec magazines and many mil spec parts, though.
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All commercial M14 clones are different from the real USGI M14. This is done to prevent people from welding on a selector lug and then just adding the legal FA parts you can buy anywhere. People say the the Chinese and LRB M14s are closer in geometry but someone who does not know the differences and does not have a caliper would not likely be able to see them besides maybe the rear op rod dismount tab that all commercial M14 receivers have (USGI have the tabs in the center).

Like others said real transferrable M14s that are not rewelds are very rare and cost upwards of $30,000 though with the economy now you may be able to steal one for $20,000.

An LRB build with USGI parts is your best bet for an off the shelf purchase. SAI's also are very nice (I own a loaded). The Chinese M14s are diamonds in the rough and need a good examination before you can safely start shooting (Bolt replacement is recommended if not keep a close eye on the headspace to make sure your bolt is not soft. Overall receiver and bolt hardness testing and heat treat if needed s highly recommended or completely useless depending on who you ask).
 
Now for a regular Springfield M1A I have seen them everywhere lately. Supplies have caught up with demand here in south Texas. Not real hard to find.

Like lipadj46 real GI M-14s are trending down into the $20K range, but if you could accept a re-weld, or a M1A conversion you can save some bucks. Last I remember those were in the $13-$14K range.

Here is a real one for sale:
http://www.autoweapons.com/photos09/apr/2650m14.html
 
The parts are sourced globally, but the Springfield M1A is assembled and finished in the US. I think springfield deliberately conceals the origin of the parts, which isn't to say I think they're bad weapons, I really like my M1A scout, but am under no illusions that it's 100% american made. LRB or Fulton likely have a much higher % of american parts including the forged recievers.

Took this info from a post on http://m14tfl.com/upload/showthread.php?t=49384&highlight="made+usa" :

SA, Inc. standard contour M1A barrels are supplied by Wilson Arms (Branford, CT) and machined by SA, Inc.

M1A receivers are cast by Alphacasting in Quebec, Canada and machined in the USA (I don't have confirmation as to who is doing the machining so I won't post the name).

M1A bolts and operating rods are most likely made in the USA since Wayne Machine, Inc. (Taipei, Taiwan) is not making them.

Wayne Machine, Inc. makes the small parts including the sights, bolt lock, gas cylinder, etc.
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I've also heard that some recievers are cast by IMBEL in brazil, which makes sense because they manufacture a lot of 1911's for Springfield as well.
 
I have a M1A Scout squad and couldn't be happier! Super accurate and fun to shoot.
 
The Scout was my first and I do prefer the 18.0" barrel... What are they selling for these days?
 
mk14-DSCN1172.jpg

SEI recently sold a select fire MK14 SEI Mod 0 for $22,000.00

My opting out of the selector switch version allowed me to afford several SEI builds :)







For those that are looking, I saw one black Scout and two green SOCOM 16s on the rack at Clyde Armory today...







.
 
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