I put an SA M1A MA9222 on layaway today.  Can someone answer a few newbie (at least to the M1A/M14) questions?

1.  Is the break in procedure on the M1A chrome-moly barrel the same as the break in procedure on an AR chrome-moly?

2.  What's the prefered oil, lube, solvent, etc. used for cleaning/lubing?

(Edited to add:)

3.  Can anyone suggest a good reference for the M1A/M14?

Congrats on the new toy!

As for your questions:

1) yes, break in is the same procedure

2) that answer is going to be alittle different for everyone, but most people agree a good quality GREASE is to be used on the bolt, bolt roller, and receiver for lubrication and a good oil everywhere else.

I personally use Shooter's Choice Bore Solvent for a cleaner and Shooter's Choice Hig-Tech Grease for lube, and Militech for an oil.  Very little oil, most anywhere you lube, you use a dab of grease.

3) Scott Duff wrote a good book on the M14, also Blake Stevens from Collector Grade Publications wrote an excellent book on the history of the M14, from the Garand to present day.

Hope that helps!

I agree with Templar.
Sounds like you're doing your homework and rightly so.It sounds like you'll be ready when your baby arrives.

Then,when you have your new toy you'll be ready to care for her as you should for (hopefully) a lifetime of good service.

Don't forget the ammo.Lots and lots of ammo.You'll never have enough.Good shootin to ya.

Don't forget the ammo.Lots and lots of ammo.You'll never have enough.Good shootin to ya.

Yes, *sigh* right after I stripper clip the 2K of .223 I just bought!  

Any one know a good source for .308?

Exccellent advice so far IMO.

I could only add, there is a site for M1s and M14s and such that is very informative about M1As.

www.battlerifles.com

Quoted: I could only add, there is a site for M1s and M14s and such that is very informative about M1As. www.battlerifles.com

Thanks!   I've already registered as a user there.  Looks like they have a lot of M14 expertise on that board.

Tetra Gun Grease or M1 Garand grease work well on the M14/M1A.  I use Slick 50 One Grease (TM) on my M1A rifles.  You can get a 14.5 ounce tube of it at Wally World for less than $5.00.  I even use it on my select fire M1A.  

Here's a shameless plug for a free web site on the M14.  Check out the History and Development page at m14.freeservers.com

Yup...what Templar said.  If you REALLY get M1A crazy...buy "the 30 Caliber US Service Rifles" by Jerry Khunhausen....an excellent, though dry book.  Think of it as a great red wine.

Enjoy that toy!!!!

Quoted:  I even use it on my select fire M1A.

[drool]select fire......mmmmmm....[/drool]

So, what do you tihnk of the select fire? Some day, when i get rich, i'd like to get a FA M14. Most i've heard say not to bother. I've heard they are uncontrollable. That so? What do you think of it?

As for grease, i use military rifle grease... the stuff that comes in litte pots. You cna get a box of 144 pots for $20 from CTD. That'll last you a long time. THey fit real nice in the stock.

NAM, great suggestion you have.  The M1 Garand grease pot (or the GI oiler / grease bottle) is a must have for the butt stock compartment.  

I love the select fire M1A.  It works best in the M14A1 configuration from the prone with two or three round bursts.  As you practice with it you get better with it like anything else.  Since it is a magazine fed weapon it doesn't make sense doing full magazine dumps anyway.  At 750 rpm it doesn't take long to run out of ammo.  Honestly, a BAR or M1919 are much easier to hold on target but the select fire M14 weighs less.  The other advantage of the M14 is that it is select fire.  

Here I am at a Full Auto Practical Rifle Match in Las Vegas this year with my select fire M1A.



Here's another picture of me having fun in the desert.  

Damn......


That is sweet.

Cheaper than Dirt has the M14 Oilers in stock. I picked up a 3 pack for a buck or two. One side i put in CLP, the other side i put grease in. works great.

How much do transferrable M1A/M14's go for?

I've looked at AC-556's for quite some time. But i'd rather go with an M14.

So, it is full auto, burst, both?
I know the AC-556 is semi, burst, and full.
But i haven't really looked into full auto M1A's much.

I'm in the military. It's coming time for me to reenlist. Currently, the reenlistment bonus for me is upwards of $40,000. I am definitly going to be putting a good chunk of that away, but im seriously thinking about investing some in a NFA weapon of some type.

If you are going to get a NFA registered machine gun do it ASAP.  They are going up in price hurriedly.

If you get a commercial select fire M14 type (Springfield Armory, Inc. or Smith Enterprise) the going price is $6000 to $10,000.  $6500 right now would be a good price.  $7500 is probably closer to average.  If you want an uncut USGI M14 that is transferrable (there's less than fifty of them) expect to pay $12,000 to $15,000.  Personally, I recommend the SA, Inc. or Smith Enterprise select fire models.  There's many more of them out there (about 1300 to 2300 give or take), they are much more affordable and they sound, taste and feel like the real deal M14 anyway.

The select fire M14 type rifle is automatic or semi-automatic.  It has no burst feature but it takes very little trigger time to get two or three round bursts down. In fact, I'm so used to the two round burst now that it has become instinctive for me.

There's a discussion over at www.battlerifles.com on how to reduce the rate of fire for the M14. There's a couple methods but the simplest appears to be to drill a small hole in the top of the gas cylinder plug.  The other method (milling the gas piston) was done in the Vietnam War resulting in a rate of fire of 550 rpm vice 750 rpm.  That made it more controllable.