The second would be the "bush rifle," which is typically outfitted with the same components as the standard grade above, but with a shorter barrel, forward mounted scope and accessory mount and a compact type stock. It would most likely be outfitted with a standard contour barrel, a standard trigger pull weight of 5-6 pounds, and spec USGI or newly produced commercial parts. There are currently too many variations of the commercial M-14 to provide a complete listing however, there are three major categories. There are some problems with headspace on the Chinese produced receivers, but a competent gunsmith can address these issues.
There are also foreign producers of complete M-14 type rifles and receivers, including Polytech and Norinco. offers a lifetime warranty, and only LRB Industries offers a made in the USA hammer forged receiver that closely duplicates the drawing specifications of the original USGI M-14 receiver. There were many subcontractors producing parts for the original M-14 and the government's quality control program was very good, thus making USGI parts from this era highly sought after components.Ĭurrent commercial producers of the semi-automatic M-14 type receivers are Armscorp USA, LRB Industries, LLC, Springfield Armory Inc., Fulton Armory, and Entreprise Arms. The reason for the development of the M-14 was to create a shoulder fired weapon that would replace four of the existing military firearms of the era. Government manufacturing facility, not the firearms importing company that uses the name today.)
The full history of the M-14 is beyond the scope of this article, but a synopsis of its history reveals it was first adopted for military service in 1957 with production beginning in 1958 by the Springfield Armory. As a result of capitalism and competitive forces, the quality of these clones tends to be fairly good, and if properly operated and maintained should provide a lifetime of service to current and future generations. The semi-auto only, M-14 type, commercially available clones represent a uniquely American tradition of adapting military specific firearms for legal use and possession by civilians for sporting, match competition, and home defense. 308 Win or 7.62mm NATO, depending on the chamber specifications, and most commercially available clones will safely fire both. The M-14 types sold new are available as semi-automatic rifles only. This article is a first attempt to assist those who may be interested in purchasing their first M-14 type firearm. The M-14 was and continues to be a shoulder fired selective fire weapon used by the US military. Wolfe Illustration courtesy of Springfield Armory, Inc.