Posted on 07/15/2020 3:47:21 AM PDT by AggregateThreat
Really surprised that the Henry repeating rifle would be placed on a list of best infantry weapons. To my knowledge, the Henry rifle never issued to any infantry outfit during the Civil War. Soldiers were free to purchase the weapon with their own money and the Army would provide them with the ammunition. There is a photo of the 7th Illinois infantry showing 4 or 5 men with Henry’s. These guns were purchased with their reenlistment bonus’s. The only unit I know of that was issued the Henry rifle was the 1st Washington DC Cavalry.
What do you consider "proper tune?" Because, I can assure you that I owned at least two M14/M1a hybrids that I spent a small fortune on in modifications that would shoot the pants off ANY factory NM or SM model M1a/M14 build. And, they still never shot as tight as my two AR10 multigun rifles at ANY distance out to 1,000m. You should pay a visit to many of the latter day competitions. 10-ring rifles are many and varied these days. What you see fewer and fewer of is the M14/M1a. It's a matter of obsolescence.
I think that there are very few people around anymore who can really fine tune the M14. My government match rifle, issued to me more or less at random never failed me in match competition. It had an SAK barrel, uitized gas system a accraglass bedding and NM sights but that was about it.
But it held all 34 shots into a 5 inch ring at 600 meters - so I find it hard to believe that any of the current rifles are even close to that gilt-edge performance.
Obsolete? Not really.
The manufacture, machining and precision gets better every day. Holding the degree of accuracy you describe above is close to .75 MOA. That's almost unheard of in a M14/M1a, even with meticulous handloads. Oh, it can be done, because I've done it on occasion out my my M14/M1a rifles. But, I also think Lady Luck was smiling on me those days. They just aren't that accurate. The best M14 armorer I know of is Fulton Armory, and their all out hand-crafted precision M14 target rifle with every bell and whistle imaginable is only guaranteed to shoot less than 1 MOA out of a vise. And, you will pay north of $3,500 for that rifle. And, it won't maintain that degree of accuracy without constant expensive maintenance. I'm telling you, I've been there with M14/M1a rifles. Of course, my shooting involves timed fire events at different stations and positions at different ranges, usually out to 600 yards, sometimes out to 1,000 meters. That heavy Bartlein barrel and oversize stock on my target rifle started to get pretty heavy after 75 rounds while maneuvering barriers and changing firing positions. And, go ahead and throw in the weight of 20 round magazines to cut down on reload time. When I went to the AR10 platform, I lost almost four pounds of weight, less recoil, less maintenance, better reliability, and more consistent performance out of a wider variety of ammo. And, better accuracy. Hey, I'm a big fan of the M14 platform. I'll never sell the one I have. But, when you drive hundreds of miles and spend a boatload of money on ammo and between $50 to $125 on entry fees, you shoot what will get you the best scores. But, I will say this: everyone who thinks they know how to shoot iron sights needs to spend some quality time on an M14 or M1a.
No. They wouldn’t let me do that, but I was issued another once I got stateside.
If you knew your weapon and the various sights settings, getting solid hits at 5-600 meters was routine on "man-sized targets".
As far as weight goes, I am medium height, medium build and I sort of grew into the the rifle. I had a buddy who was with the 82nd Airborne in Vietnam and he told me that "the M16 was the right rifle for Vietnam because it was light, handy and they could carry much more ammo -and the M4 was too heavy". I told him that "I wish you had told me - I would have sent a big, strong Marine to hold your rifle up for you". He wasn't amused.
When our battalion converted to the M16 in March 1967, I held on to my '14 and watched the disaster with the M16 happen around me - guys dead by their torn-down M16s. My Company commander asked me why I still carried an M14 and I told him that "I'm in artillery and we don't have the M16 yet" so he told me to "get one as soon as they do". Then when I'd go back to my parent battery for my mail, they say "Chainmail - your M16 is in the armory" and I'd tell them "the grunts want me to keep my M14".
I kept that rifle the whole 17 months I was in Vietnam and I'm alive because I had it.
When I was commissioned a lieutenant in '73 I was volunteered for the Rifle and Pistol Team and won some matches and some shooting competitions up till I made Major and I had to choose between being a full-time competitor of move on in may artillery career. I chose artillery.
I still have an "M1A" (Devine Texas) and it still feels right in my hands.
“no other rounds had hit him”
Then that isn’t the fault of the M16.
That's because it's almost the same gun. Most of the parts will interchange. Springfield claims their standard M1a's will shoot either 7.62x51 or .308win. All standard rifles and National Match rifles out of the box that I ever shot liked the 7.62x51 better. They shot M80 OK but M118LR shot the best. You can still get that ammo online if you look. Hang on to that rifle. The way things are going, you may need it. The gun-grabbers will be looking for all those "mean-looking" AR10 and AR15 rifles first. They never give those wooden stock M14 or M1a guns a second look. That will be their mistake. Mine's in the safe with a stack of magazines ready to go. Happy trails, buddy.
The ChiComs are making M1A clones in 7.62x39. The Canucks can still import them.
Aiming had to be by "Kentucky windage", an alien concept to Marines who were trained to use the easily adjustable elevation and windage at the rear of the weapon.
Additionally, because the M16 had full auto, most used it which added a lot of reassuring noise but rarely hit much (rather like the AK too: if the first round doesn't hit you, the rest pass overhead).
Lastly, the ammo itself sucked - 55 grain bullet didn't hit squat and when it did, your target didn't know he was hit right away. The round supposedly "tumbled" to create hellish wounds but that was pretty rare in practice. Most of the time it was a glorified .22LR.
Saved a lot of VC and NVA lives.
Happy Trails to you too, Buddy!
See you at the range..
My mother-in-laws father fought in Korea and his LT hated, hated the M1 Carbine like God hates sin. He was in the signal corp so he was out running phone lines to and fro and it was dangerous work. He liked carrying the carbine because it was light and he could carry a few more rounds. He would usually get one from a wounded or deceased soldier and ditch his Garand. His LT would finally see him with the carbine and yell Reynolds, get rid of that piece of crap and get a Garand! Yes sir! He would procure a Garand, carry for a while and repeat the process.
My uncle loved his M1 carbine in Korea, nothing but praise for it. Thanks for your service sir!
LOL!!!
PING
That’s one heck of a way to change planes and make a connection !!!
I liked the carbine too - but still preferred my kick-butt M14 for the day-to-day stuff. Sounds like your mother-in-law’s father was my kind of guy!
Appreciate your thanks, Sir.
Semper Fi
flr
You know, I have never been that big on the Batman movies, but...I watched this one last week, and with all the mask stuff going on, it gave it a different flavor somehow.
There were some good lines in that movie...:)
And I hate to admit it, because Anne Hathaway is a loon, but...she looked pretty good in that movie to me....Catwoman suit and all!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.