M14

1957

EARLY HISTORY
Th e M1 4 wa s de ve l ope d f rom a l on g l i ne of exp e r i m e n tal we ap on s b ase d u p on t he M1
r i fl e . A l t h o u g h t h e M 1 w a s a m o n g t h e m o s t a d v a n c e d i n f a n t r y r i fl e s o f t h e 1 9 4 0 s , i t w a s
n o t a p e r f e c t w e a p o n . M o d i fi c a t i o n s w e r e b e g i n n i n g t o b e m a d e t o t h e b a s i c M 1 r i fl e ' s
d e s i g n s i n c e t h e t w i l i g h t o f t h e S e c o n d Wo r l d Wa r. C h a n g e s i n c l u d e d a d d i n g f u l l y
a u t o m a t i c fi r i n g c a p a b i l i t y a n d r e p l a c i n g t h e 8 - r o u n d " e n b l o c " c l i p s w i t h a d e t a c h a b l e
b ox m a g a z i n e h o l d i n g 2 0 r o u n d s . W i n c h e s t e r , Re m i n g t o n , a n d S p r i n g fi e l d A r m o r y ' s o w n
J o h n G a r a n d o ff e r e d d i ff e r e n t c o n v e r s i o n s . G a r a n d ' s d e s i g n , t h e T 2 0 , w a s t h e m o s t
p o p u l a r , a n d T 2 0 p r o t o t y p e s s e r v e d a s t h e b a s i s f o r a n u m b e r o f S p r i n g fi e l d t e s t r i fl e s
fro m 1 9 4 5 t hro ug h th e e ar l y 19 5 0 s .
T 2 5 p r o t o t y p e . E a r l e H a r v e y o f S p r i n g fi e l d A r m o r y d e s i g n e d a c o m p l e t e l y d i ff e r e n t r i fl e ,
t h e T 2 5 , f o r t h e n e w . 3 0 L i g h t R i fl e c a r t r i d g e . T h e l a t t e r w a s b a s e d u p o n . 3 0 - 0 6
c a r t r i d g e c a s e c u t d o w n t o t h e l e n g t h o f t h e . 3 0 0 S a v a g e c a s e . T h e . 3 0 L i g h t R i fl e
e v e n t u a l l y e v o l v e d i n t o t h e 7 . 6 2 x 5 1 m m N AT O a n d t h e c o m m e r c i a l . 3 0 8 W i n c h e s t e r
r o u n d . A l t h o u g h s h o r t e r t h a n t h e . 3 0 - 0 6 , t h e 7 . 6 2 x 5 1 m m N AT O r o u n d r e t a i n e d t h e s a m e
p owe r du e to t he u s e of m ode rn p rop e l l an ts.[7 ] I n th e b ac k g rou nd , Ll oyd Cor b e tt wa s
t a s ke d w i t h d e v e l o p i n g . 3 0 L i g h t R i fl e c o n v e r s i o n s f o r t h e M 1 r i fl e a n d l a t e r t h e T 2 0
p r o t o t y p e s . Af t e r a s e r i e s o f p r o t o t y p e d e s i g n s , t h e T 4 4 s u r f a c e d . T h e e a r l i e s t T 4 4
p r o t o t y p e s u s e d t h e T 2 0 r e c e i v e r s r e - b a r r e l e d f o r 7 . 6 2 m m N AT O , a n d r e p l a c e d t h e l o n g
o p e r a t i n g ro d / p i s t o n o f t h e M 1 w i t h t h e T 2 5 ' s s h o r t e r " g a s e x p a n s i o n a n d c u t - o ff "
sys te m . La te r T4 4 prot otyp e s u s e d n e wl y f ab ri c ate d re c e i ve rs sh or te r th an e i th e r th e M1
o r T 2 0 ; t h e n e w a c t i o n ' s l e n g t h w a s m a t c h e d t o t h e s h o r t e r 7 . 6 2 m m N AT O r o u n d i n s t e a d
of the longer .30-06.

DEPLOYMENT
T h e T 4 4 c o m p e t e d s u c c e s s f u l l y a g a i n s t t h e T 4 7 ( a m o d i fi e d T 2 5 ) a n d t h e F N FA L ( T 4 8 ) .
T h i s l e d t o t h e T 4 4 ' s a d o p t i o n b y t h e U . S . m i l i t a r y a s t h e M 1 4 i n 1 9 5 7 . S p r i n g fi e l d
A r m o r y b e g a n t o o l i n g a n e w p r o d u c t i o n l i n e i n 1 9 5 8 a n d d e l i v e r e d t h e fi r s t s e r v i c e r i fl e s
to t he U .S. Arm y i n Ju l y 1 95 9 . H owe ve r, l on g p rod uc ti on d e l ays re s ul te d i n t he 1 0 1 s t
Airborne Division being the only unit in the Army fully equipped with the M14 by the end
o f 1 9 6 1 . T h e F l e e t M a r i n e Fo r c e fi n a l l y c o m p l e t e d t h e c h a n g e f r o m M 1 t o M 1 4 i n l a t e
1 9 6 2 . S p r i n g fi e l d A r m o r y r e c o r d s r e fl e c t t h a t M 1 4 m a n u f a c t u r e e n d e d a s T RW , f u l fi l l i n g
i t s s e c o n d c o n t r a c t , d e l i v e r e d i t s fi n a l p r o d u c t i o n i n c r e m e n t i n Fi s c a l Ye a r 1 9 6 5 ( 1 J u l y
' 6 4 - 3 0 J u n e ' 6 5 ) . T h e S p r i n g fi e l d a r c h i v e a l s o i n d i c a t e s t h e 1 . 3 8 m i l l i o n r i fl e s w e r e
ac q u i re d for j u st o ve r $ 1 4 3 m i l l i o n, for a un i t c ost o f ab ou t $ 1 04 .0 0
T h e r i fl e s e r v e d a d e q u a t e l y d u r i n g i t s b r i e f t o u r o f d u t y i n V i e t n a m . T h o u g h i t w a s
u n w i e l d y i n t h e t h i c k b r u s h d u e t o i t s l e n g t h a n d w e i g h t , t h e p o w e r o f t h e 7 . 6 2 m m N AT O
c a r t r i d g e a l l o w e d i t t o p e n e t r a t e c o v e r q u i t e w e l l a n d re a c h o u t t o e x t e n d e d r a n g e ,
d e v e l o p i n g 2 , 4 7 0 f t l b f ( 3 , 3 5 0 J ) o f m u z z l e e n e r g y. H o w e v e r , t h e r e w e r e s e v e r a l
d r a w b a c k s t o t h e M 1 4 . T h e t r a d i t i o n a l w o o d s t o c k o f t h e r i fl e h a d a t e n d e n c y t o s w e l l
a n d e x p a n d i n t h e h e a v y m o i s t u r e o f t h e j u n g l e , a d v e r s e l y a ff e c t i n g a c c u r a c y. Fi b e r g l a s s
s t o c k s w e r e p r o d u c e d t o r e s o l v e t h i s p r o b l e m , b u t t h e r i fl e w a s d i s c o n t i n u e d b e f o r e v e r y
m a n y c o u l d b e d i s t r i b u t e d f o r fi e l d u s e . A l s o , b e c a u s e o f t h e M 1 4 ' s p o w e r f u l 7 . 6 2 x 5 1 m m
cartridge, the weapon was virtually uncontrollable in fully automatic mode, so much so
t h a t m o s t M 1 4 s w e r e p e r m a n e n t l y s e t t o s e m i - a u t o m a t i c fi r e o n l y

DESIGN

The M16's receivers are mad e of 707 5 aluminum alloy, its barrel, bolt, and bolt carrier of s teel, and
its handguards , pistol g rip, and buttst ock of plast ics. Early models were es pecially lightweight at
6 . 5 l b ( 2 . 9 k g ) w i t h o u t m a g a z i n e a n d s l i n g . T h i s w a s s i g n i fi c a n t l y l e s s t h a n o l d e r 7 . 6 2 m m " b a t t l e
r i fl e s " o f t h e 1 9 5 0 s a n d 1 9 6 0 s . I t a l s o c o m p a r e s w i t h t h e 6 . 5 l b ( 2 . 9 k g ) A K M w i t h o u t m a g a z i n e
M16A2 and later variants (A3 & A4) weigh more (8.5 lb (3.9 kg) loaded) because of the adoption of a
t h i c k e r b a r r e l p r o fi l e . T h e t h i c k e r b a r r e l i s m o r e r e s i s t a n t t o d a m a g e w h e n h a n d l e d r o u g h l y a n d i s
a l s o s l o w e r t o o v e r h e a t d u r i n g s u s t a i n e d fi r e . U n l i k e a t r a d i t i o n a l " b u l l " b a r r e l t h a t i s t h i c k i t s e n t i r e
l e n g t h , t h e M 1 6 A 2 ' s b a r r e l i s o n l y t h i c k f o r w a r d o f t h e h a n d g u a r d s . T h e b a r r e l p r o fi l e u n d e r t h e
h a n d g u a r d s r e m a i n e d t h e s a m e a s t h e M 1 6 A 1 f o r c o m p a t i b i l i t y w i t h t h e M 2 0 3 g r e n a d e l a u n c h e r. T h e
r i fl e i s t h e s a m e l e n g t h a s t h e M 1 6 A 2
One distinctive ergonomic feature is a plas tic or metal st ock direct ly behind the action, which
contains a recoil spring
Another dis tinct ive ergonomic feature is a carrying handle on top of the receiver, wit h an integrated
rear sight assembly and charging handle. This design is a by-product of the original design where
the carry hand le served to prot ect the charging handle and mount a s cope
In practice, the handle is rarely used to carry the weapon and doing so is expressly prohibited in
many military organizations, as it is considered unsafe
Ho ld ing the wea p on b y the p i sto l g ri p p rov id e s q uic ker resp o nse tim e a nd b et ter "muzz le
awareness," while a s houlder s ling provides a more convenient option when response time is not a
concern
T h e " a c c e s s o r y r a i l " i s a l s o c o n s i d e r e d u n s a f e t o u s e a f t e r t h e w e a p o n h a s b e e n fi r e d f o r p r o l o n g e d
p e r i o d s a s e n o u g h h e a t , t o m e l t fl e s h , w i l l t r a n s f e r f r o m t h e r e c e i v e r t o t h e h a n d l e . M o r e
importantly, with t he sight plane 2.5 in (63.5 mm) over the bore, the M16 has an inherent parallax
probl em t hat ca n be co nfounding t o sho o ters. At cl oser ranges (typical ly insid e 1520 meters), t he
shooter must aim high in order to place s hots where d esired

VARIANTS

All Information Provided from Wikipedia.org

M14E1
M14E2/M14A1
M14M
M14 SMUD
Mk14 Mod 0 EBR
M 1 4 Ta c t i c a l
M 1 4 D e s i g n a t e d M a r k s m a n R i fl e
M 3 9 E n h a n c e d M a r k s m a n R i fl e
M 8 9 S R M o d e l 8 9 S n i p e r R i fl e
AW C G 2 A S n i p e r R i fl e
M 2 1 S n i p e r R i fl e
M 2 5 S n i p e r R i fl e
M14k
M 1 A / S O C O M s e r i e s / S c o u t S q u a d / M 2 1 Ta c t i c a l

CHARACTERISTICS
1. Air-cooled natural ventilation
2. Gas Operated weapons that uses the pressure of
the expanding gases to move the bolt through a gas
cylinder.
3. Magazine fed box type - short 20 rds - long 30
rds
4. Shoulder weapon
5. Provided with bayonet lug for the attachment of
bayonet or grenade launcher.
6. Provided with spindle valve to control the use of
gases to operate the rifl e.

GUN DATA
1 . L e n g t h o f r i fl e ( o v e r a l l ) w / fl a s h s u p p r e s s o r M - 1 4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4 4 . 3
2 . We i g h t o f M 1 4 w i t h f u l l m a g a z i n e - 9 . 5 l b s
w/o fully load magazine - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8 lbs
w/ empty magazine - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8.5 lbs

3 . We i g h t o f e m p t y m a g a z i n e - - - - - . 5 l b s
4 . We i g h t o f f u l l m a g a z i n e w / b a l l a m m u n i t i o n - - - - - - 1 . 5 l b s
5 . M u z z l e v e l o c i t y - - - - - - - - - - - 2 , 8 0 0 f p s
6 . C y c l i c r a t e o f fi r e - - - - - - - 7 5 0 r d s / m i n
7 . M a x i m u m e ff e c t i v e r a n g e ( s e m i - a u t o w / o b i - p o d ) - - - - - 4 6 0 m e t e r s
8 . M a x i m u m e ff e c t i v e r a n g e ( s e m i - a u t o w / b i - p o d ) - - - - - - 7 0 0 m e t e r s
9 . M a x i m u m e ff e c t i v e r a n g e ( a u t o w / b i - p o d ) - - - - - - - - - - 4 6 0 m e t e r s
1 0 . M a x i m u m r a n g e - - - - - - 3 , 7 2 5 m e t e r s
1 1 . S i g h t s :
a . Fr o n t fi xe d
b . Re a r a d j u s t a b l e 1 c l i c k o f e l e v a t i o n o r w i n d a g e m o v e s t h e s t r i ke o f t h e b u l l e t . 7 c e n t i m e t e r a t 2 5 m e t e r s o r 2 . 8 c m o r 1 . 1
inch at 100 meters.

1 2 . U s e s e v e n t y p e s o f a m m u n i t i o n :

a . A r m o r p i e r c i n g A P N AT O M 1 6
b . B a l l N AT O M 6 0
c . Tr a c e r N AT O M 6 2
d . D u m m y N AT O M 6 3
e . B l a n k N AT O M 8 2
f. I n c e n d i a r y N AT O M 1 1 8
g . G r e n a d e l a u n c h e r a m m o N AT O M 6 4