US M-14 Rifle Introduction

From 1957 onwards, until its replacement by the M-16, the M-14 was the standard rifle of the US forces and saw extensive service in Vietnam . The M14 was adopted in 1957 as the successor to the World War 2 M-1 Garand, and was basically an evolution of that rifle.

The US Army had fought World War II and the Korean War with the M-1 Garand as its standard rifle. It was a sound and reliable weapon, but it had several defects. In the first place, it was heavy; and it felt heavy to anyone accustomed to a simple bolt-action rifle. The fore-end was fat and almost impossible to grasp unless one had large hands and attempting to use it with a bayonet demanded considerable effort. The South Vietnamese troops, with their considerably smaller stature found the M-14 almost impossible to use and retained the M-1 until such time as the M-16 became available.

The M1 Garand fired from an eight-round clip; the clip was loaded into the magazine, and from then on there was no way you could top up the magazine without ejecting the clip and the remaining rounds and putting a fresh clip in. And when the last shot was fired the clip was automatically ejected; if it landed on a rock or frozen ground, the ‘ping' told your opponent that you were holding an empty rifle, and he popped up and shot you while you were still fumbling with the next clip. When the US troops had used the M2 carbine, with its selection of semi- or full-automatic fire, they wanted to know why the Garand couldn't be adapted for full-automatic fire as well.

In September 1944 Springfield Arsenal began working on an improved Garand which would fire from a 20-shot box magazine and have full-automatic capability. There was no particular rush since it was obvious that such a development would not be completed in time to affect the current war.

'Product Improved' M-1

After WWII the US Infantry laid down some specifications for its next rifle. The new rifle would fire the same .30 cartridge, have full-automatic fire, a 20- or even 30-shot magazine, a bipod (for use when firing automatic), a grenade launcher, a folding butt, and improved sights and had to weigh no more than nine pounds. What they were asking for was the Garand, with additions for automatic fire, bipod, grenade launcher and a bigger magazine, which was to weigh half a pound less than the original Garand. It was to take 12 years before the Army found a solution.

When the 7.62mm x 51 NATO round was selected in 1953 a new rifle based on the Garand was adopted.

Left: US Marines in action on 'Charlie Ridge', 1970. M-60 in the foreground and a late-war M-14 with bipod being fired by the kneeling Marine

What eventually appeared, and was standardised as the M-14 rifle in June 1957 (see Technical Specifications), was little more than a 'product improved' M-1. The gas actuation system was slightly changed; the magazine was a removable 20-round box which could be topped up from chargers. The ability to fire full-automatic was designed into the weapon, but was then neutralised by removing the selector lever and fitting a 'selector lock'. As and when higher authority decided that a particular regiment or company was to be allowed the luxury of full-automatic fire, the locks were removed and selectors fitted; eventually the rule became that two men in each rifle squad would have selective fire M-14s to act as the squad light machine-gun section.

This was perhaps just as well, for the M-14 fell between several stools. It had been intended as a lightweight full-auto rifle, but in fact it weighed half a pound more than the M-1. Unfortunately, the US Ordnance Department had refused to be persuaded by the British that an intermediate cartridge was a vital part of a lightweight rifle design, and the American T65 cartridge, later to be standardised as the 7.62x51-mm NATO round, was adopted. This, although slightly shorter than the old .30 M-1 cartridge, was still just about as powerful, and firing that from a 10-lb rifle at 700 rounds a minute produced an entirely uncontrollable weapon.

Sniper Rifle Variant

The only variant of the M-14 that ever saw any serious service was the M-21 Sniper Rifle. This was originally developed as a competition rifle and was known as the M-14 National Match (Accurised), and the differences between the M-14 and the M-21 are matters of detail.

The barrel is carefully gauged and selected and is not chromed; the trigger mechanism is hand-finished to ensure a crisp and consistent pull; the gas cylinder and piston are hand-fitted and polished, and so forth. The result is a rifle that will consistently put 10 shots inside a 15-cm circle at 300 metres. A range-finding telescope is fitted, and a sound suppressor can also be fitted to the muzzle if required which did not affect the performance of the bullet, but reduced the velocity of the emerging gases to below that of sound. This made location very difficult as the target, if lucky, heard only the 'crack' of the passing bullet and no 'thump' from the rifle.

Technical Specifications

Bipod - the short-lived M-15 had a bipod fitted for sniping accuracy, while the M-14A1 had one fitted to enable the weapon to be used as a squad light automatic weapon

Barrel - automatic fire on the standard M-14 was virtually impossible to control at 750-rounds per minute. The heavy barrel made all the difference to firing bursts and long-range accuracy.

Piston - the hollow piston head fills with propellant gas and is pushed back. Once it has moved 4mm, the gas ports are no longer aligned and so no further gas can get in. This system requires no gas regulator.

US Marines on patrol with M-14s

Magazine - these came in 5, 10 and 20-round sizes and were loaded in the same way as the SLR mag, i.e. put the front part of the magazine in first and then pull back until it locks. Holding up to 20-rounds and able to be topped up by a charger, this was the main improvement over the M-1 Garand.

Trigger Operation - unlike other assault rifles, the M-14 was sensitive to such things as dry firing which damaged the trigger mechanism. Also, pulling the trigger when the bolt was locked to the rear resulted in similar damage.

Ammunition - the M-14 was designed to fire military 7.62mm NATO ball ammunition.

Sight Adjustment - all adjustments were carried out on the rearsight as the foresight is a simple fixed blade. On the rear sight are both windage and elevation knobs.

Aperture Rearsight - graduated from 200 to 1000 meters.

Selector - the standard M-14 had no selector, being semi-automatic only. Those M-14s capable of full auto-fire were set for automatic fire when the face of the selector labelled 'A' was to the rear.

Stripper Clip Guide - the magazine could be topped up while in place on the weapon by pulling back the cocking handle and engaging the bolt hold-open device. Five-round clips could then be thumbed down into the magazine.

• Calibre: 7.62mm
• Length Overall: 112cm
• Length of Barrel: 55.9cm
• Weight Loaded: 5.1 kg (1 1/2 lb)
• Magazine Capacity: 20-rounds
• Muzzle Velocity: 853m/s
• Maximum Effective Range: 700m (with bipod), 460m (without bipod)
• Rate of Fire: 700-750rpm (cyclic), 60rpm (automatic), 40rpm (single shot)