I pulled the rifle out of the E2 stock,  I placed it into a GI fiberglass stock and put on a regular handguard not the slotted one it lived in before.  I know I should get the gas system unitized but that will come later.

Should I get a new piston or spring guide?
I am hoping to bed it in the next week or so.
I am currently shooting a load with a 168 that I am going to use up
I am using an Old turner sling.

What should I do about dry fire?  Do I need snapcaps??

any recomendations welcome

cheers Jim

Get a nice barrel, get an oversized McMillan stock if your hand is big or you want more surface area to grip onto.

Unitize the gas cylinder as to eliminate extra movement.

Bed it.

Get a Sadlak NM spring guide.

Shoot.

I'm not a match shooter, but I had a USMC Match rifle, and I can tell you what had been done to it.

rear lug welded on, bedded stock, bedded handgaurd to eliminate movement, unitized gas system, bedded buttplate, trigger job, medium weight Barnett barrel, McMillan M1ANM stock, screwed on front swivel, bedded stock ferrule, hooded match rear sight. (the GI match rear sight doesn't give you 1/2moa adjustment- that's what the hood does.) Mine had a standard front sight, and after talking to numerous USMC rifle team shooters, it was a matter of preference.

When I sold mine , the gentleman that bought it (a prior USMC team shooter that shot during the timeframe the rifle had been built) sent me target pics of .9" 200 yard groups he'd shot with irons, so apparently, the work was worth the effort.

man guys I said basic.

thanks alot

Jim

Quoted: I'm not a match shooter, but I had a USMC Match rifle, and I can tell you what had been done to it. rear lug welded on, bedded stock, bedded handgaurd to eliminate movement, unitized gas system, bedded buttplate, trigger job, medium weight Barnett barrel, McMillan M1ANM stock, screwed on front swivel, bedded stock ferrule, hooded match rear sight. (the GI match rear sight doesn't give you 1/2moa adjustment- that's what the hood does.) Mine had a standard front sight, and after talking to numerous USMC rifle team shooters, it was a matter of preference. .

Trying to figure that one out,, Ghey?   LOL,, Just joking
'Borg

You don't need to get it all done at once.
When I first started out with an M1A,, just basic rifle with NM front and rear sights, got to expert when the Bbl wore out. Had the Bbl replaced, bedded action, and unitized the gas system, and all the other little tricks
'Borg

Find out how many rounds you need for the match (60 or 88).  Bring a sweatshirt for sure and whatever other gear you have such as spotting scope, mat, etc.

You can dryfire the M1/M14 safely.  A couple companies sell a dryfire device which makes it easier to reset the hammer, but it's not really necessary.  It'll save some wear and tear, but not that big a deal.

If you haven't shot competition before, the rifle and ammo will not be limiting your scores--you're ability to hold the center of the target in Offhand, sitting and prone is paramount.

My advice is to get to the first match you can--don't put it off for lack of equipment or what you think you might need as far as rifle upgrades.  The sooner you start learning, the better off you'll be.

As far as rifle improvements a match trigger job should be priority #1.

Quoted: You don't need to get it all done at once. When I first started out with an M1A,, just basic rifle with NM front and rear sights, got to expert when the Bbl wore out. Had the Bbl replaced, bedded action, and unitized the gas system, and all the other little tricks 'Borg

Sir, while I agree that not all mods/improvements have to be done all at once, it is important that the unitization of the gas cylinder be done in conjunction with the bedding of the action and the front stock ferrule.  If lugs are intended to be included with the upgrades they should be added at the same time as bedding and gas cylinder mods.  All my match M1-As have the McMillan NM stocks and if I were going to begin to upgrade a rifle I would start with the replacment stock, no sense bedding a stock you intend to replace.

Don't be fooled by the simplicity of the rear sight and the apparent ease that it can be replaced with an NM sight.  Done properly the hooded aperture rack of the NM sight must be fitted to the base.  While you will probably be able to buy a hooded NM aperture from compaines like Fulton if you install it on your rifle without having it fitted it will have considerable lateral movement when extended to higher elevation adjustments.

If you will be shooting 100yd reduced course matches, a sub MOA rifle is needed to clean the MR-31 target just as much as with the MR-1 target at 600yd.

Lastly, I very much agree with the premise that improvements to the rifle are only one of the three elements that must come together to provide good scores in a high power match.  As a beginner, you would be best served by developing your skills with the rifle before you spend a lot of money improving the rifle.  If you decide you really like highpower service rifle competition you may eventually decide to go to a match AR.  JMHO, 7zero1.

Quoted: Quoted: I'm not a match shooter, but I had a USMC Match rifle, and I can tell you what had been done to it. rear lug welded on, bedded stock, bedded handgaurd to eliminate movement, unitized gas system, bedded buttplate, trigger job, medium weight Barnett barrel, McMillan M1ANM stock, screwed on front swivel, bedded stock ferrule, hooded match rear sight. (the GI match rear sight doesn't give you 1/2moa adjustment- that's what the hood does.) Mine had a standard front sight, and after talking to numerous USMC rifle team shooters, it was a matter of preference. . Trying to figure that one out,, Ghey?   LOL,, Just joking 'Borg

Hey man, you'll have to asked the guys that worked at Quantico in the mid 80's! That was "pre-don't ask don't tell", and since the flip up didn't open, I'd guess it was anti-ghey. (BTW, why do folks spell gay, ghey? I think that's gay)

Sir, one of my rifles was built by a USMC rifle team armorer at Quantico in the late '80s/early '90s.  I picked it up when I visited for Dave Willis' retirement.  The butt plate on the rifle is fully functional, except when you open the door the stock is not drilled to stash cleaning tools.  HTH, 7zero1.  

7zero;
I did fit my NM rear sights the right way,, back then parts were cheap and plentiful.
The reason I waited on bedding was I was waiting to see if the lugs were worth the hassel, and I did unitize the gas system when I bedded the rifle(damn, those gas spindles are hard) and use RTV on the handguard, all at the same time, but, I started with just the sights and trigger job.
'Borg

Quoted: Sir, one of my rifles was built by a USMC rifle team armorer at Quantico in the late '80s/early '90s.  I picked it up when I visited for Dave Willis' retirement.  The butt plate on the rifle is fully functional, except when you open the door the stock is not drilled to stash cleaning tools.  HTH, 7zero1.

Now that you mention it, I recall the buttplate did flip up, but I couldn't open the trap door. There was clearly bedding done on this stock at the buttplate though.