New to the gun community. At my lgs I’ve overheard several times people talk about picrel like it’s their ex gf who cheated on them,
It’s just a totally average battle rifle with traditional ergos. I don’t really understand the anger
New to the gun community.
Weak-minded people get emotionally involved in trivial things. Remember we live in a world where people get upset if others prefer a different brand of video game console than they do.
fpbp
also the M14 was simply outdated by the time it entered service. Then again ask some troops in Vietnam and the would’ve preferred the M14 over the ARs. It’s like Glock vs 1911 Folks. People tend to get emotional if it’s people’s lives of relatives or closed ones maybe having experiences with such firearm and that projects to an opinion that gets spread around. But isn’t that emotion ultimately what makes this hobby so intriguing and alive and keeps innovation going?
Based on what I've heard about the Vietnam War, it seems submachine guns were more popular due to the combat being all at ranges below 80 meters, where you simply want to spray and pray. It simply was a wrong rifle for the war. Had it existed in Korea I doubt the M14 would be so divisive
Wasn't the M14 supposedly also chosen because they memed that it would be as easy to produce as a garand but with mags?
It was chosen because in trials it tied the FN FAL, but was domestic so they went with that
The problem was actual production was subcontracted, which resulted in lots of QC problems. There was also a lot of QC problems with the ammo at the time, resulting in many non-springfield M-14's being unable to meet the Army's 5.6 MOA accuracy standard.
>mfw in an alternate timeline we would have a buttload of milsurp FALs and short stroke rifles would most likely be the platform of choice instead of AR-15s
life ain’t fair bros
>the M14 was simply outdated by the time it entered service.
It wasn't outdated, the Springfield armory prototype scored exactly the same as the FN FAL in trials
Problem was production was contracted to Winchester and Harrington & Richardson, both who underbid and cut corners to save money. There was TONS of QC problems with the non-springfield rifles. That's why the army dropped it, and why the Air Force didn't even want anything to do with it and adopted the AR-15 for their airmen.
The trials were rigged dumdum. As they all are.
More or less this. But I will say there are a couple of benefits of choosing an M1A on US or Canadian soil
>DSA's and PTR's have dubious QC, but if you get one that works you are doing great
>the M1A does not seem to suffer from the same QC issues since they have been made in the US for ages
>tons of fuddy range info and ballistics shit available
>large support network
>lots of parts available
>reasonably large aftermarket
Downsides
>obligatory exposed operating
>scope mouting is shit and heavy scopes can strip out the mount threads
Not a terrible pick when you reduce it down
>But isn’t that emotion ultimately what makes this hobby so intriguing and alive and keeps innovation going?
this, actually
bump
They heard boomers praise the M14 for decades with all sort of bullshit exaggerations so they feel the need to insult the M14 for decades with all sord of bullshit exaggerations.
These are also the same people who think you have to own a suppressor more expensive than your rifle, think 9mm Glocks are the peak of handgun design, and obsess over guntubers.
homosexual
>Grandpa: I grabbed an M14, put four rounds threw it and it jammed. Put it back then and there and went looking for a garand
>Other grandpa: M14 was the best damn gun they ever made, then they came out with the damn M16 and got everybody killed with it
I don't think boomers got a uniform experience out of the rifle.
eurohomosexual here, as a wee lad, I had an army armorer tell me that
>the M16 was an excellent rifle - until you took it outside the room it was designed in, then it jammed and didn't kill shit
and a sandbox peackeeping veteran said
>when I stripped my AK and cleaned the soot off the gas piston with a fistful of sand, which was basic maintenance, I got weird looks from the westerners, an AR couldn't take half of that and remain functional
we were still using clapped out AK-74s at the time though, so they were probably just seething at the lighter, more accurate, less jumpy rifle
I love my M14. I have quite a few guns. There is something about an M14 I really like.
It is heavy which makes it stable. The 7.62x51 is a great round IMHO. Big , heavy hitting brush beater.
Mine is a PolyTech I bought in 1993 I think. PolyTech is a Chinese knock off of the Springfield design and it is very accurate.
Anyway FWIW. I like mine. I would be happy to have it in any fight that comes across my spot in Appalachia.
picrel
Based Appalachistani Irregular. Hello from Calhoun County
Look, it's an extremely aesthetic weapon. Shit for battlefield longevity but it reminds people of a garand while improving on some points like capacity and the gas system. It's fricking sexy and that's basically the only reason I bought one. damn be practicality.
MIC Boomers trying to push this rifle for self motivated reasons literally got millions of our grandpas and uncles maimed and killed between insisting this was adopted over the FAL even though it was an unreliable difficult to control mess and then by sabotaging the testing and deployment of the M16.
>got millions of our grandpas and uncles maimed and killed
This part of the story never happened.
Literally did. GIs sent to Vietnam with these shitters got their buttholes reamed by commie AK fire.
>got millions of our grandpas and uncles maimed and killed
Literally did not happen. Many soldiers and Marines preferred the M14 over the M16.
They didn't like the M16 because they ran like shit due to the ammo being loaded with the wrong powder, bad mags, and bad maintenance. Some people were even telling people they were self cleaning and didn't need cleaned. It was a fricking shit show so bad someone should have been hanged over it.
I work at an lgs near a big base with loads of boomerfudd customers and there’s a huge divide between them in opinions on ARs with the younger boomers swooning about the M16A2 in particular. I sold an M1A to a very old vietnam vet the other day and the look of unrestrained joy in his eyes was a moment of satisfaction in an otherwise awful job for me
There is a certain satisfaction in owning a rifle that is capable of sending a 7.62 x 51 round out to 500 yards and hitting a Dog target on the USMC KD Range 10 out of 10 times.
While at the same time having a capable bayonet mount on a rifle. A rifle that is made of wood and heavy enough to bash an enemies skull in without losing zero.
The M14 is medieval. Big 7.62x51mm round, bayonet mount. The bayonet is not even necessary because the M14 is such a big wooden beast it is easier to just bash your enemies skull in rather than mount a bayonet and do stabby stab .
I don't want no teen age queen..
The only problem with the M14 is that it’s really fricking heavy.
It’s otherwise an accurate rifle. I had a Mk14 mod 0 ebr that was as good as any bolt action x51 I’ve ever used.
Smith made some good M14s.
>It’s otherwise an accurate rifle. I had a Mk14 mod 0 ebr that was as good as any bolt action x51 I’ve ever used.
That's bullshit. The EBR's shot themselves apart. The M24 ran circles around that shit for accuracy.
I’m talking about the M21E5 variant
A5*
Still bullshit, Crane assembled those rifles as "accurazed" and you were not to field strip them at all, but because Crane gave no such instruction to units, they did anyway. On top of all that there is simply no way an any of those M14's ever out shot any serviced bolt gun.
Who?
Sounds like you know absolutely nothing about what you're talking about.
What do you mean Who? Motherfricking Crane
https://www.crane.army.mil/
The entity that threw all of those M14's into Sage chasis and Mcmillan stocks then sent them to Iraq.
But they had nothing to with Smith Enterprises who made the M21A5 the guy was talking about.
They were the literal intermediary for all of that shit.
They had nothing to do with it.
They had a similar goal but under a different contract for a different group.
M21=/=M14EBR=/=M21A5=/=M25
All were different projects by different groups and accomplished their goals differently.
>At my lgs I’ve overheard several times people talk about picrel like it’s their ex gf
no you haven't.
This was one of the first guns I fell in love with just looking at it and absolutely had to have it. When I finally got to hold one my immediate thought was “my god this thing is bulky and the ergos suck.” When I finally shot it I thought “yeah it’s…fine.”
I totally get the disillusionment with the M1A.
Video related
The M4 is an improved M1 garand. During the later stages of WW2 militaries recognized the need for something with the qualities of both a rifle and smg for every solider.
The M14 was a holdover while the assault rifle was being developed, it was never going to have a long service life.
I've had to stand many a four-hour topdeck watch with one. I also had to requal on the fantail with an old clapped-out prostitute 30 years older than the ship I was riding.
..and the M14 heyoooo
But seriously, I can forgive any other Navy Gen Xers and Millenials who have had to use them as service rifles. Most of the other kids I knew went in without any pre-existing experience with a battle rifle. Hell, the only other people with any firearms experience tended to be gangbangers or other rednecks. In boot they only let us use laser ARs, and it's a very different beast to control or hit things with than a .308 bolt gun or a 30-30. So if you come in from that kind of framework, the M-14 is a remarkably shitty gun.
FTFY
Is the m14 perfect? No. Is the AR a far better platform? Yes. Is the M14 just fricking cool? Hell yeah
>new to the gun community
>"ergos"
outed yourself
in a world where you can buy an ar-15 for like $600, a fixed stock rifle with a pinned barrel without a rail for $1500 is highway robbery. when one of these is standing next to cheaper guns it's like, who the frick would buy one of these? and the answer is just baby boomers who gawked over them as children
so gen x'ers are going to knee jerk hate on anything the boomers like, such as guns from the 60s that boomers grew up coveting like henry lever actions, ruger 10/22s, mini 14s, and smith and wesson revolvers. expect the price on those guns to legitimately get cut in half in the used market once they all die off and the crotchety gen x'ers turn their nose up at the massive stockpile of them
to use zoomer speak, it's "mid"
not great, not terrible
expensive and awkward for what it is, especially considering it's competition nowadays
I prefer the ar10 or g3 type guns, I have no experience with FAL
I own both an M1 Garand and an M14 (Norinco).
The anger is inflated as other, better options, came about quickly after the M-14's release. People b***h about the weight of the M-14, but I challenge them to carry an M1 instead, the stock is thicker and over all it's heavier. The M-14 is pleasant to carry in comparison. Despite this, the M1 gets good reviews over two major wars, as it was better than the other options available at the time (bolt actions) despite being somewhat cantankerous. The M-14 was basically an updated Garand that released against ground-up designed stuff like the FAL, G3, AK, AR-10, etc. It's easy to understand why it didn't last long given those facts.
While l'd love a FAL or similar, I just think the M-14 is a good looking rifle that's a joy to shoot and I'm never selling it.
Its a solid bench/range rifle but a cobbled shit heap service rifle. People are only rage posting what they hear on the internet. Ignore them and like things you like.
>I don’t really understand the anger
it's HIGHLY overpriced for what it is, so when first time buyers get their hands on one, and get around to shooting they realize a few things about guns and themselves and get angry over their poor financial decision
then they all go get ars and glocks because that's what everyone does
It's not a horrible pick in cuck states
When I took my noguns friend shooting, my m1a was what he pictured as a rifle. Not my ar, ak, or 10/22, but the m1a. He liked my wasr the most, but I love my m1a. 🙂