I'm thinking about buying a new M14 clone. My options seem to be either Springfield Armory M1A or James River Armory M14. The M1A is cheaper, has a chrome-lined Barrel, and a lifetime warranty. The James River has a higher quality receiver and seems like it might be a higher quality rifle in general, the reports are that the barrel is not chrome-lined. I want to get something that I can shoot, like all the other rifles that I have, but I don't know how much it is going to get shot as 308 isn't cheap. And I'm probably going to get an AR-10 of some sort  to be more of a all-around 308 rifle. I want this rifle to add to the collection as much as anything.

I know that in the past people have talked about issues with the Springfield Armory receivers, are those still happening? Does anyone have experience with the James River especially compared to the Springfield? What kind of round counts have people put on these platforms?

Chrome lining is completely inconsequential- would not even factor in at all. I would go with the rifle with the most usgi parts. I have heard more qc problems with Springfield lately. Keep in mind for best accuracy m14 national match rifles had barrels NOT chrome lined.

I've got a standard, wood stock Springfield M1A I bought NIB for my birthday back in 2011.  I've shot it a lot and really enjoy it.  I added a NM rear aperture  as it comes with a NM front sight so that it's GTG for steel plates at 400+ yds.  I'm in love with the platform as it's a joy to shoot. And, since I handload, it's really quite affordable to feed and feed it I do with well over 2K rds through it.  It's been rock solid with zero problems with either the rifle or the reasonably priced CMI USGI 20rd mags I got from 44mag.com for it.

My 22" standard, walnut stock SA Inc. M1A was bought new in 2015, it's been 100% reliable for me with both 10 + 20 rd Checkmate mags. And shoots really well with my 168 gr HPBT handloads.

That being said.........I bought it before SA's treachery, I am not selling it, as I saved up a lot of hard earned $$$ for it, and it's a fine rifle. But if I was in the market for one now, I would go to Fulton Armory, James River or LRB. Springfield will never get another dime out of me.

From some previous posts in the section, it sounds like JRA has their own QC issues.

I saw that.

Are there any good bets out there for around $1500?  I see some for well over 2k, but that is stretching my budget for what this will be to me.

If you want to save your time, efforts, and potential QC hassles,
just order an LRB Arms M14SA.

You can spec exactly what you want, and how you want it, etc.

LRB Arms Custom

My SA M1A was a piece of shit, and.. it left their factory as a piece of shit.

No way I can drop $3000 on this right now.    Maybe when I'm an Arfcom millionaire.

I've got a Springy loaded that is a really good shooter.  For some reason I'm having like.....  Well I can't explain it but I just don't give a crap about what Springy did.  I think part of it is that many manufactures have made some boneheaded moves politically.  Yet because it didn't happen in the last year, nobody cares.  People used to decry Bill Ruger because he has some liberal ideas about mag capacity.  Then there was something with Smith and Wesson.... I forget what.

I wish it didn't happen, but it does.  I'd rather support Springy because they are in the state next door to me, and my Dad and Grandmother live in Illinois.  And honestly, in that state, you probably feel like you have to walk a fine line to appease the liberal politicians and the conservative gun owners.  I'm not trying to justify their actions, but in essence I am.  For better or for worse.

Point is, if I had money to buy a 1911 right now, I'd probably by a Springy.  I think they're M1A's are good to go.  They may put out a dud here and there but I hear more good than bad.

Get the Springfield. JRA makes some questionable stuff.

I ordered the JRA verson a few weeks ago and it will be here tomorrow. I was drawn to the wood hand guard and the forged bolt and receiver. Its very aesthetically pleasing to the eye. And people are reporting very good accuracy out of them. Some may have problems but just like anything its a roll of the dice. I have an M1a already and its a good gun but which ever one is the best i will be keeping and the other will be for sale. Several patrons at the local gun shop are wanting to see it when it arrives. I have given permission for them to fondle it before i take possession.

On a side note the M1A i have was not bought new. The original owner bought it new and it would not accept a magazine. He had to send it back in to be fixed. Dont remember what they did to fix it though. It soured him to the gun and he finally had local gun shop sell it for him. I was young back then and didnt have a ton of money. Luckily they allowed me to make payments and sold my Mini 30 stainless for 700 bucks.

Two guns i wanted ever since i was little was the m14 and a berretta 92. Im thinking the JRA will be better  than the springfield. But at least the JRA version is all american made. Pretty sure the springfield receiver is made in Canada.

Check back in here when you get it.

Of course

I like the Norinco/Polytech M14S. What few problems they have are widely known and easily corrected. Forged receiver, scope base area/receiver always in spec, great chrome lined barrel. For the price, they can't be beaten.

I was the one posted about the issue I have with the JRA M14.
I finally got a response from Classic Firearms, and after a few more days of chatting and waiting, they told me they will replace my rifle for a new one.

As of now, I am waiting for their email regarding their shipping address so I can ship it back.

Hopefully the new rifle I get won't have any issues.

Many more issues have been found with JRA products than just yours.

It looks very very nice. Barrel appears to be chromed even though i read that they were not chromed. Hammer and gas piston appear nitrided.

I wont shoot it till this weekend but im a happy camper, appears to be higher quality than my springfield. My brother says he would rather have the JRA m14 over the springfield having only shot the springfield. Fit and finish are better, the metal magwell reinforcement is flush on the stock and the springfield is not. Gas cylinder/valve is hammer forged and is cast on the springfield. I really like the nitride on the piston. I have had some rust develop on my springfield that required me to take it apart and clean. Barrel is not chromed but looked like it was from the action side. I guess all bula barrels look that way.  The stock is not as wide as the springfield for some reason. Trigger pack is very difficult to remove and reinstall.  Mags fit perfectly, not loose and not super tight. If it shoots well i would recommend over springfield but wont know till i shoot it.

Awesome, thanks for the update.

Another thing it has that i didnt mention cause i knew nothing about it. The recoil spring guide on my new one is different. Apparently its a NM spring guide. I had no idea they had different guides available. All i had ever seen were stamped.

I bought a Poly M14S that had been languishing in the EE from a local Arfcommer, and I’m very glad I did. All the points you mentioned; plus a TRW bolt installed by Warbird Customs, a GI trigger group, flash hider assembly, and rear sight. The seller even tossed in three stocks(2 GI fiberglass and a birch replacement stock coated in more varnish than the floor of a basketball court), and 18 OD Duracoated CMI mags.

To be fair, it's not exclusively JRA's rifles that have had issues.

Some of the more recent Springer M1As have had problems. Consistency of QC ain't exactly S.A.'s hallmark.

Yeah but Springfield has more staying power. JRA fills a single niche while Springfield has some very popular pistol lines in addition to their rifles.

It'll be easier to get your Springfield taken care of down the road than the JRA - people already have issues trying to contact them.

As I stated above, I've got a Springfield M1A I've had since 2011 and it's a joy.  I also got a Springfield 1911 'NM' Mil-Spec in 2011 that just flat out works.  It will eat anything, including some of my handloaded Speer 'Flying Ashtrays' (Speer's early HP attempt with a cavity as big as a hot tub) and recently I even got it to feed some 255grn Elmer Keith lead SWC bullets I use in my 45 Colt (loaded up 10 just to see if they would feed).  It has never failed to feed a single round in over 3,500rds of anything and everything I've fed it.  I like it so much I also got a 'NM' Range Officer (as my son lusted over my Mil-Spec).

Well i took my JRA m14 to the range. My best group was just under 2in with a 5 shot group. Id like to say it was ammo or heavy trigger but i think im out of practice. Its been almost a year since i punched paper with open sites. I had one major malfunction. My brother wanted to shoot some of his reloads, he pulled a few rounds out of his mag that he had been running suppressed. They were covered in soot and i mentioned that he should try and clean them off but that crap is stuck on. First round stuck in the chamber and the extractor ripped part of the rim off. I was concerned that a rough chamber caused this malfunction. I took the time to clean all the brass out of my springfield chamber and compared it to the JRA's. JRA chamber looks better than the springfield. And iv never had a malfunction in the springfield. I spent the afternoon comparing parts of both rifles and could not account for the malfunction. Brother was using winchester 748 at the upper end but not max load. Im thinking either the gun doesnt like 748 or a bad case. Was a federal case.

I had no problems with zqi, 70s mil surplus or pmc. My springfield prefers 70s mill surplus and so did the JRA as it was my best group.
Trigger on the JRA is not as smooth and is 2-3lbs heavier, i hope that changes with time
Sights are good on the JRA and the aperture is at the same level for 100 as my springfield though i have not set the drum in the correct spot as ill be changing them out for NM

Id say the JRA seems good to go but more trigger time is required with reloads. But iv never run reloads out of my springfield so who knows. I can say taking them apart side by side there is not a part on the JRA that doesnt look as good or better than the springfield.

I will likely start a new thread after iv had several hundred more rounds through the gun.

I wonder....

How many of the problems or complaints with these newly manufactured M14 clone or M1a, have been due to them producing a mil-spec rifle, and people feeding them other than mil-spec ammo? Or maybe vice-versa?

It's gonna be vice versa. Milspec chambers are extremely tolerant of diverse ammo, and the M14 was significantly improved over the Garand, with the ability of its gas system to tolerate varying pressures.

Newly created? The folks at Springfield know that their rifles will be used with questionable ammo. I'm guessing they tested with a wide range of ammo.

My thought is that the more GI parts you can get, the better. Fulton Armory is currently selling pure GI parts. If you get a Springfield M1a and the GI parts kit, you'll be happy for life and then some. You're talking about spending about 3k... 1.5k for the rifle, then about 1.5k for the upgrades. Very pricey but you'll be very happy with it.

Check it out: http://www.fulton-armory.com/usgi-m14-complete-semi-auto-parts-kit-1.aspx

It's 1300, but if you get the 10% off they usually do around holidays, you can get it for about 1170 plus s&h. Definitely worth it, no matter which brand of M1a you go with.

The problem is that the longer that manufacturers like SA make rifles, the further away from the original specs they get.

So I'm going to bump this up to the top with another question. If today you were buying a new M14 clone under $2,000 would you buy a Springfield M1A or the James River? I can find a new M1A for 1350 shipped or the new James River for 1500 from classic. I know folks recommend spending twice as much for a better gun, but I just don't have the cash to do that right now and I do want to get an M14 clone. Is the Bula receiver worth an extra $150 and only a year warranty?  Are the parts used higher quality in general? Or should I just get the Springfield with a lifetime warranty? Sorry for the indecisive posts but $1,500 is a lot of money to me right now. Also with 308 being as expensive as it is I don't know how much I'm going to shoot this.  It's more for the collection than anything, but I do want a good shooter. Thanks for the thoughts and opinions.

ETA: Sorry, it looks like I'm just asking the same questions over and over again. So I'll just say "any additional thoughts"?

Looking at this wouldn't  it just be smarter to buy the Fulton Armory M14?

If I were looking for an m14 type rifle I would go this route or buy a LRB, Fulton, or 1990's (or older) built Springfield M1a.

My new replacement JRA M14 is definitely GTG, and I like it more than my Springfield M1A Scout.
I like the JRA b/c of its forged receiver, NM guide rod, better looking wood, and slightly better accuracy.
IMHO, it is worth paying the extra $150-200 for a JRA.

I had a thread about my first JRA M14, which was a lemon(canted barrel, 28 clicks up to zero).
However, it seems like I was the only one with the problem, and although it took a long time, JRA/Bula/Classic did replace my rifle with a new one.

In order to sight in the new rifle, it requires 17 clicks up from the very bottom position.
BTW, as you can see in my pictures, the rifle has a National Match rear sight base, so I think that is about 5-6 clicks more than the standard one until the rear sight peep bottoms out.
So if I have a standard sight base, that is about 11-12 clicks for a 200 yard zero, which I heard is pretty standard.

I shot 200rds of Malaysian Surplus and 40rds of Magtech, without any problem.
The accuracy is about 2-2.5MOA, 10rd groups, at 100 yards using iron sights.
Both ammo shot about the same.

Overall, I am happy with the rifle, it is a keeper.

I've since shortened the front sight post leaving about 2/3 of its original length, and now it only needs 6 clicks up to zero at 200 yards using Malaysian surplus.
I prefer having the rear sight to be as low as possible since I often shoot the rifle at 400 yards, and I don't like the rear sight to poke up while shooting.

The reason it needed more clicks IS because it's a NM rear sight.  It has 1/4 MOA adjustments instead of 1/2".  It's the same with my loaded.  I think I'm also at 17.  Although I think it's actually zero'd at 50 and somewhat high at 100 at this point.  It's your rifle and you can always get another one, but I don't think you needed to file down the front sight.

You might be right...
However, I used the 1/2" increments to zero and it worked for me.
Also from what I've found, the NM rear sight seems to be 1/2 MOA and not 1/4 MOA.
I see significant movement to the rear sight when I move the rear sight, so I don't think it is 1/4.

I have 2 NM front sight, which I only filed down one of them, so I can always go back... not a big deal.

While the JRA M14 may look good with the wood handguard, GI M14s were never issued with them.  They always had the fiberglass handguards like the ones on the SA versions.  They tried wood early in testing but they got too hot, scorched, and held in too much heat.

As a US Army trained Armorer in 1968, I had 350 M14s to take care of (as well as 350 M1911s, and a bunch of M60s, M73s, M85s & M2s and of course M79s) and the M14 became my favorite.

This thread seems to have come at a good time for me.  Because, I'm trying to make a deal on a JRA.  I have several Springfield receivers that I have made into Match rifles (a long time ago).

Wait a second......why do I need another M14 (M1a)?

OK, Ok, ok.....dumb question, perhaps.

Anyway......I'm jumping into the pool.

Aloha, Mark

Some pictures of the JRA that the seller sent me.











Some might be put off by the lack of genuine GI surplus parts.  Me.....nha.  My Springfields were built when I had plenty of GI surplus parts.

Yup.....I bought it.   And, it works fine with the surplus ammo that I had on hand.

Aloha, Mark