Finally Gots My M1A[Wanted It Since 1985]

BluesJunkie · 10-28-2004, 09:46 PM

Finally Gots My M1A! I Went To Paris Island In 1985[Inivited By The USMC As A PR When I Was Teaching College]. Got To Shoot The M16/A1, The Soldier That Assisted Me, Said I Hit Target Very Well. Any Way I Went To A Museum That Showed A Soldier With A M14. I Commented To My Associate That I Like That Rifle Because Its The GrandFather Of The Mini14. Meanwhile A US Marine Officer Heard Me And Came Over To Us And Proceeded To Tell His Experience With The M14. Also, That He Owned A M1A That He Target Shot And Hunted WoodChucks. My Love Affair With The M14/M1A Started At That Moment...Crazy How Our Minds Work. As Time Went On; Several M1A Deals Did Not Materialize Because Of Funds, Poor Timing, Bad Decisions, "Priority Adjustments". A Few Weeks Ago Got A Deal On A SpringField With NM Sights And Trigger Orginal Stock Glass Beded And NM Stock With 2 USGI 20 Rd Mags. Boy I Love This Rifle, Being New To This Rifle I Sure Have Got A Lot To Learn About The M14/M1A. I Gots 5 Imported Mags From The "ammomanDOTcom" Wow Are They Nice Mags I Tested One And Works Perfect. So If AnyBody Out There Has Any Suggestions For A "M1A Newbie" I Sure Would Appreciate Guidance.

PAPA G · 10-28-2004, 10:48 PM

grease her up good and buy lots of ammo :right:

enjoy...enjoy...enjoy :ballons:

Gyrene · 10-29-2004, 12:12 AM

PAPA G - You took the words out of my mouth!

BluesJunkie - What PAPA G said! Keep in mind the lubrication, it is a machine, and machines run well with grease (I am not talking about extreme sandy conditions or extreme cold conditions), oil won't do. Get a military Tech Manual on the M14, and as many other manuals and books as there are. Some repeat the same things except that they address maybe one item that the other books don't address (you get the idea). Once the rifle has been used, it is relatively easy to tell what needs greasing, the parts start shining up, and that is where grease goes. THE INSIDE OF THE GAS CYLINDER HAS TO BE LEFT DRY!!! It is OK to clean it, and even a lightly oiled patch used on the insides if you are going to store it for a while, otherwise keep it dry.

If you got the M1A new, it would have come with some offers for tools, slings, scopes and other accessories. The prices on the offer are very good, too good to pass up if you have the money. The quality of the items offered is very good.

If you didn't get it new, then keep your eyes open for the special M14/M1A tools that include the Castle Nut Wrench, (to enable you to pull off the Flash Hider or Muzzle Brake, and front sight), the Gas Cylinder Wrench, (to keep from putting too much stress on the Gas Cylinder, the Operating Rod, and the Operating Rod Guide, when you need to pull the Gas Cylinder apart to clean it), the universal tool that was issued with M14's, which has provision for a segmented cleaning rod (DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT USING A SEGMENTED CLEANING ROD, get a full length one either teflon coated or Stainless Steel, and a Cleaning Rod Guide), and the "Box End Wrench" on the end of the Universal tool, for pulling off the Gas Cylinder Lock Screw, the Cleaning tool for the Gas Cylinder (obvious), the Handguard removal/installation tool, and other tools. Slings are always needed or at the least useable (the ones offered by Springfield are very good, and priced well in the offer).

If you got imported magazines for the M1A/M14, they are probably Chinese and work exactly the same as the USGI magazines. I have both and I have to look at them to tell if the one I am using is USGI or Chinese. The difference is that the USGI will have a manufacturers' logo or name, and the Chinese ones are blank, with plain vanilla parkerizing.

Sounds like the sights will be OK, and trigger group.

What to watch for, and you may not have the problems, because it sounds like the NM parts may have rid the rifle of the potential problems: Some of the M1A's drop either the Trigger Group, or the Magazine, or both, when the rifle is fired. Looks as though the Trigger Group should be no problem, and when the Operating Rod, Operating Rod Spring, Operating Rod Spring Guide, and Operating Rod Guide, are properly lubed, the magazines seem to stay in place when they are supposed to.

They seem to have tight chambers, and while either .308 or 7.62 x 51mm ammo works when new, once fired brass (when reloading) needs to be resized with "Small Base Dies", before reloading, unless they were fired in your M1A. This will assure proper feeding and extraction. DO NOT USE HUNTING .308 AMMO! The M1A can have a problem with the burn rate and the gas port timing with hunting ammo. Limit the bullet weight to 180 grains or less, down to 147/150 grain which is like USGI ball ammo.

Do not use corrosive ammo, if you can avoid it. While it is not the end of the world, and you have not destroyed your rifle if you use corrosive ammo, you do have to take precautions, for instance, if you shot corrosive ammo, you need to clean the bolt face, and the firing pin tip, the rifle bore, and the whole Gas Cylinder Assembly with an ammonia based cleaner, or just plain HOT SOAPY WATER, pour boiling hot water over the parts to make sure the soap is gone, and the Boiling water helps dry the parts, then do a regular oil based cleaning, and check it for rust over the next week or so. This is done to remove the sulpher deposits from the corrosive primer, so that sulpheric acid doesn't form on the parts and pit and corrode the parts, making some of them unuseable. THIS MUST BE DONE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AFTER SHOOTING THE CORROSIVE AMMO!!! At least the very same day!

These comments may or may not make sense to you, but after you have shot it a while and cussed and discussed things with other M1A/M14 owners, it should help you to make decisions on what to do and what not to do with your rifle.

BluesJunkie · 10-30-2004, 07:15 PM

Hey Guys: Many Thanks For The Info. Ill Check Out The Manuals And Tools.

7mmag6 · 10-31-2004, 01:41 AM

Listen to gyrene, hes a smart man, cmp has lake city 762X51 for 180 bucks a thou, also I dont know if this helps but back in parris island we cleaned the rifle up-side down to keep the gas cylinder dry, I kinda remember something about it bieng sensitive, and must be absolutly dry to operate correctly, Ive put 300 rounds through mine and it seems happy,Im tll post some more tomorrow after I hit the range, I found the dope on mine 3 clicks high at 200 yards, shoots better than I can aim with my old eyes, I have a hard time offhand the sob is heavier than I remember or Im probably just a lot weaker. Gyrene is right on the tools you will need em, I bought mine new and had a coupon for them at 70% off, so I bought just about every thing. Im over careful with mine and do not shoot any 308 civy stuff in it, only mil spec ball, be careful not to disturb the glass when you break it down, just be very gentle, good shooting

Gyrene · 11-01-2004, 12:22 AM

7mmag6 - THANKS! I always forget to remind the people when they clean the M1a/M14/M1, to be sure to have the rifle upside down, to keep the solvent, etc. from getting inside the gas cylinder and into the receiver parts, while you are cleaning the bore. It is such a routine with me I forget that others do not have the experience with these things.

While I always tell people that no matter what Springfield Armory (Commercial) in Geneseo, Illinois tells you about not taking your M1A apart, YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT APART TO CLEAN IT AND TO LUBE IT!!!

It is a machine that needs some regular maintenance, and cleaning and lubing it is, or should be, a part of your routine. This routine maintenance is something you will need to figure out for your rifle, and it is dependent upon many factors, including the amount of dust and grime the rifle gets subjected to, the amount of shooting you do, the amount of carbon and other residue that is left by the powder you use whether it is commercial ammo or handloads, and sometimes the rifle itself gets dirty faster or stays clean over a long time. I know some who take their M1A apart at the end of each Shooting Match Season, and some who take theirs apart about one time each month. Your schedule will be determined by your feelings about cleaning it, the length of time, (the number of rounds fired) it takes to make the rifle cease to function. You don't want to get into a Shooting Match, and find your rifle suddenly stops cycling, because it needs cleaning. I have seen many shooters who refused to clean their M1A's because they are following the directions of Springfield Armory Commercial, and get into a shooting Match, and their M1A's let them down because they let their M1A's down.

TRUE, YOU SHOULD NOT TAKE IT APART JUST TO TAKE IT APART!!! Especially, if it is glass bedded. The more it is taken apart, the sooner you will need to glass bed it again!!!

`

Gyrene · 11-02-2004, 04:00 PM

Old Navy - That is a good question, and deserves a good answer. Most NATO (with the tiny circle w/crosshairs stamp in the headstamp) ammo is OK (I do not know of any NATO ammo that is corrosive).

US manufactured ammo after 1960 (possibly as early as 1953, but test anything before 1960 to see for sure) is not corrosive. (US manufactured .30 Carbine has never been corrosive, from back in 1940/1941).

Radway Green (hard to find now, is excellent and non-corrosive)
South African (PMP) (is non-corrosive)
Korean (PMC with the PS headstamp is non-corrosive) (the PMC KA headstamp is corrosive)
Australian (recent manufacture is non-corrosive)
Portugese (recent manufacture is non-corrosive)
Malaysian (if you can find it, but mostly gone now)

These are not all, for sure, and you just need to test it, in any of several ways. Fire it in a bolt action, clean the bolt action with hot soapy water and then with your favorite cleaning method (oil based). Keep an eye on the case to see if a bluish green corrosion develops in it or on the edges of the neck. Pull the bullet, dump the powder, and fire it against a piece of steel (with fresh ground base metal), and monitor it for a couple of days. If the steel begins to develop rust, the primer was most likely corrosive. You may have your own method of testing it, or find someone who can do a valid test for you. Most NRA, NRA/CMP rifle clubs will have somebody who you can trust to tell you or to test it for you.

In the meantime if you have shot your rifle with suspect corrosive ammo, treat it as if it is corrosive, until you know for sure. It is not a bad thing in and of itself to always clean the rifle the same as if it had corrosive ammo fired in it

10-28-2004, 09:46 PM	#1
BluesJunkie Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: [Pierrepont]Canton, New York Posts: 41	Finally Gots My M1A[Wanted It Since 1985] Finally Gots My M1A! I Went To Paris Island In 1985[Inivited By The USMC As A PR When I Was Teaching College]. Got To Shoot The M16/A1, The Soldier That Assisted Me, Said I Hit Target Very Well. Any Way I Went To A Museum That Showed A Soldier With A M14. I Commented To My Associate That I Like That Rifle Because Its The GrandFather Of The Mini14. Meanwhile A US Marine Officer Heard Me And Came Over To Us And Proceeded To Tell His Experience With The M14. Also, That He Owned A M1A That He Target Shot And Hunted WoodChucks. My Love Affair With The M14/M1A Started At That Moment...Crazy How Our Minds Work. As Time Went On; Several M1A Deals Did Not Materialize Because Of Funds, Poor Timing, Bad Decisions, "Priority Adjustments". A Few Weeks Ago Got A Deal On A SpringField With NM Sights And Trigger Orginal Stock Glass Beded And NM Stock With 2 USGI 20 Rd Mags. Boy I Love This Rifle, Being New To This Rifle I Sure Have Got A Lot To Learn About The M14/M1A. I Gots 5 Imported Mags From The "ammomanDOTcom" Wow Are They Nice Mags I Tested One And Works Perfect. So If AnyBody Out There Has Any Suggestions For A "M1A Newbie" I Sure Would Appreciate Guidance. __________________ :assult: :assult: :assult: "A Person Is Not What He Seems To Be But What He Really Is".....The Wizard Of OZ ______________________________________ "What Luck For Governments That The People They Administer Don't Think"....18 Jan 1942

10-29-2004, 12:12 AM	#3
Gyrene Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: CA Posts: 886	PAPA G - You took the words out of my mouth! BluesJunkie - What PAPA G said! Keep in mind the lubrication, it is a machine, and machines run well with grease (I am not talking about extreme sandy conditions or extreme cold conditions), oil won't do. Get a military Tech Manual on the M14, and as many other manuals and books as there are. Some repeat the same things except that they address maybe one item that the other books don't address (you get the idea). Once the rifle has been used, it is relatively easy to tell what needs greasing, the parts start shining up, and that is where grease goes. THE INSIDE OF THE GAS CYLINDER HAS TO BE LEFT DRY!!! It is OK to clean it, and even a lightly oiled patch used on the insides if you are going to store it for a while, otherwise keep it dry. If you got the M1A new, it would have come with some offers for tools, slings, scopes and other accessories. The prices on the offer are very good, too good to pass up if you have the money. The quality of the items offered is very good. If you didn't get it new, then keep your eyes open for the special M14/M1A tools that include the Castle Nut Wrench, (to enable you to pull off the Flash Hider or Muzzle Brake, and front sight), the Gas Cylinder Wrench, (to keep from putting too much stress on the Gas Cylinder, the Operating Rod, and the Operating Rod Guide, when you need to pull the Gas Cylinder apart to clean it), the universal tool that was issued with M14's, which has provision for a segmented cleaning rod (DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT USING A SEGMENTED CLEANING ROD, get a full length one either teflon coated or Stainless Steel, and a Cleaning Rod Guide), and the "Box End Wrench" on the end of the Universal tool, for pulling off the Gas Cylinder Lock Screw, the Cleaning tool for the Gas Cylinder (obvious), the Handguard removal/installation tool, and other tools. Slings are always needed or at the least useable (the ones offered by Springfield are very good, and priced well in the offer). If you got imported magazines for the M1A/M14, they are probably Chinese and work exactly the same as the USGI magazines. I have both and I have to look at them to tell if the one I am using is USGI or Chinese. The difference is that the USGI will have a manufacturers' logo or name, and the Chinese ones are blank, with plain vanilla parkerizing. Sounds like the sights will be OK, and trigger group. What to watch for, and you may not have the problems, because it sounds like the NM parts may have rid the rifle of the potential problems: Some of the M1A's drop either the Trigger Group, or the Magazine, or both, when the rifle is fired. Looks as though the Trigger Group should be no problem, and when the Operating Rod, Operating Rod Spring, Operating Rod Spring Guide, and Operating Rod Guide, are properly lubed, the magazines seem to stay in place when they are supposed to. They seem to have tight chambers, and while either .308 or 7.62 x 51mm ammo works when new, once fired brass (when reloading) needs to be resized with "Small Base Dies", before reloading, unless they were fired in your M1A. This will assure proper feeding and extraction. DO NOT USE HUNTING .308 AMMO! The M1A can have a problem with the burn rate and the gas port timing with hunting ammo. Limit the bullet weight to 180 grains or less, down to 147/150 grain which is like USGI ball ammo. Do not use corrosive ammo, if you can avoid it. While it is not the end of the world, and you have not destroyed your rifle if you use corrosive ammo, you do have to take precautions, for instance, if you shot corrosive ammo, you need to clean the bolt face, and the firing pin tip, the rifle bore, and the whole Gas Cylinder Assembly with an ammonia based cleaner, or just plain HOT SOAPY WATER, pour boiling hot water over the parts to make sure the soap is gone, and the Boiling water helps dry the parts, then do a regular oil based cleaning, and check it for rust over the next week or so. This is done to remove the sulpher deposits from the corrosive primer, so that sulpheric acid doesn't form on the parts and pit and corrode the parts, making some of them unuseable. THIS MUST BE DONE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AFTER SHOOTING THE CORROSIVE AMMO!!! At least the very same day! These comments may or may not make sense to you, but after you have shot it a while and cussed and discussed things with other M1A/M14 owners, it should help you to make decisions on what to do and what not to do with your rifle. Last edited by Gyrene; 10-30-2004 at 01:46 AM.

10-30-2004, 07:15 PM	#4
BluesJunkie Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: [Pierrepont]Canton, New York Posts: 41	Hey Guys: Many Thanks For The Info. Ill Check Out The Manuals And Tools. __________________ :assult: :assult: :assult: "A Person Is Not What He Seems To Be But What He Really Is".....The Wizard Of OZ ______________________________________ "What Luck For Governments That The People They Administer Don't Think"....18 Jan 1942

10-31-2004, 01:41 AM	#5
7mmag6 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 337	Listen to gyrene, hes a smart man, cmp has lake city 762X51 for 180 bucks a thou, also I dont know if this helps but back in parris island we cleaned the rifle up-side down to keep the gas cylinder dry, I kinda remember something about it bieng sensitive, and must be absolutly dry to operate correctly, Ive put 300 rounds through mine and it seems happy,Im tll post some more tomorrow after I hit the range, I found the dope on mine 3 clicks high at 200 yards, shoots better than I can aim with my old eyes, I have a hard time offhand the sob is heavier than I remember or Im probably just a lot weaker. Gyrene is right on the tools you will need em, I bought mine new and had a coupon for them at 70% off, so I bought just about every thing. Im over careful with mine and do not shoot any 308 civy stuff in it, only mil spec ball, be careful not to disturb the glass when you break it down, just be very gentle, good shooting __________________ This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine

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10-28-2004, 10:48 PM	#2
PAPA G Guest Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: somerset, kentucky Posts: 12	grease her up good and buy lots of ammo :right: enjoy...enjoy...enjoy :ballons:

11-01-2004, 12:22 AM	#6
Gyrene Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: CA Posts: 886	7mmag6 - THANKS! I always forget to remind the people when they clean the M1a/M14/M1, to be sure to have the rifle upside down, to keep the solvent, etc. from getting inside the gas cylinder and into the receiver parts, while you are cleaning the bore. It is such a routine with me I forget that others do not have the experience with these things. While I always tell people that no matter what Springfield Armory (Commercial) in Geneseo, Illinois tells you about not taking your M1A apart, YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT APART TO CLEAN IT AND TO LUBE IT!!! It is a machine that needs some regular maintenance, and cleaning and lubing it is, or should be, a part of your routine. This routine maintenance is something you will need to figure out for your rifle, and it is dependent upon many factors, including the amount of dust and grime the rifle gets subjected to, the amount of shooting you do, the amount of carbon and other residue that is left by the powder you use whether it is commercial ammo or handloads, and sometimes the rifle itself gets dirty faster or stays clean over a long time. I know some who take their M1A apart at the end of each Shooting Match Season, and some who take theirs apart about one time each month. Your schedule will be determined by your feelings about cleaning it, the length of time, (the number of rounds fired) it takes to make the rifle cease to function. You don't want to get into a Shooting Match, and find your rifle suddenly stops cycling, because it needs cleaning. I have seen many shooters who refused to clean their M1A's because they are following the directions of Springfield Armory Commercial, and get into a shooting Match, and their M1A's let them down because they let their M1A's down. TRUE, YOU SHOULD NOT TAKE IT APART JUST TO TAKE IT APART!!! Especially, if it is glass bedded. The more it is taken apart, the sooner you will need to glass bed it again!!! `

11-02-2004, 04:00 PM	#7
Gyrene Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: CA Posts: 886	Old Navy - That is a good question, and deserves a good answer. Most NATO (with the tiny circle w/crosshairs stamp in the headstamp) ammo is OK (I do not know of any NATO ammo that is corrosive). US manufactured ammo after 1960 (possibly as early as 1953, but test anything before 1960 to see for sure) is not corrosive. (US manufactured .30 Carbine has never been corrosive, from back in 1940/1941). Radway Green (hard to find now, is excellent and non-corrosive) South African (PMP) (is non-corrosive) Korean (PMC with the PS headstamp is non-corrosive) (the PMC KA headstamp is corrosive) Australian (recent manufacture is non-corrosive) Portugese (recent manufacture is non-corrosive) Malaysian (if you can find it, but mostly gone now) These are not all, for sure, and you just need to test it, in any of several ways. Fire it in a bolt action, clean the bolt action with hot soapy water and then with your favorite cleaning method (oil based). Keep an eye on the case to see if a bluish green corrosion develops in it or on the edges of the neck. Pull the bullet, dump the powder, and fire it against a piece of steel (with fresh ground base metal), and monitor it for a couple of days. If the steel begins to develop rust, the primer was most likely corrosive. You may have your own method of testing it, or find someone who can do a valid test for you. Most NRA, NRA/CMP rifle clubs will have somebody who you can trust to tell you or to test it for you. In the meantime if you have shot your rifle with suspect corrosive ammo, treat it as if it is corrosive, until you know for sure. It is not a bad thing in and of itself to always clean the rifle the same as if it had corrosive ammo fired in it