[M14sRock]

As stated above, try to find out who did the bolt conversion. Do you have the ability to have the headspace checked? Do it if you can. Does he have any fired brass from the rifle? Look it over for signs of stretching, over pressure, etc.

The SAI mount is garbage, but the scope is a good one. Great glass for the dough.

See if the mags have USGI makers marks stamped on the back about an inch from the bottom. The ChiCom mags were good, though.

Can you fire it before you buy it?

And the ChiCom barrels are excellent and all are chrome lined.

Can you post a pic of the action, from the top with the bolt locked back? Look to see if the receiver was nicely machined where the bolt locks up. That area is what gets ground down for the bolt mod.

[paulb]

Well the rifle is in very good condition and the seller was a pleasure to do business with. Not being familiar with the M14, he went over every detail with me. The previous owner to him sent the rifle to a gunsmith in Florida to have the bolt upgrade done. Also the guy has been reloading for 25+ years, and said he always checked the spent shell casings for signs of head space problems. After going through the rifle and visiting for over an hour; I walked away with a pretty nice package deal that also included the original stock, complete buttstock cleaning kit, and 200 rounds of Federal Cartridge FMJ ammo.

M14sRock,
What's the deal with the SAI 3rd gen. scope mount; why garbage??

[M14sRock]

Originally Posted by paulb

Well the rifle is in very good condition and the seller was a pleasure to do business with. Not being familiar with the M14, he went over every detail with me. The previous owner to him sent the rifle to a gunsmith in Florida to have the bolt upgrade done. Also the guy has been reloading for 25+ years, and said he always checked the spent shell casings for signs of head space problems. After going through the rifle and visiting for over an hour; I walked away with a pretty nice package deal that also included the original stock, complete buttstock cleaning kit, and 200 rounds of Federal Cartridge FMJ ammo.

M14sRock,
What's the deal with the SAI 3rd gen. scope mount; why garbage??

Good decision. I would have bought it based on the info you provided.

SAI mounts (1st, 2nd, 3rd gen) are aluminum and they are designed to crush fit to individual receivers. They shoot loose fast, and wear out faster. SAI receivers are notorious for being out of spec, especially where the grooves for the scope mounts are concerned.

They new SAI 4th gen is good to go, as are the Sadlak, Brookfield, Basset Machine, SEI, and such. Basset gets rave reviews and is the cheapest.

And the ChiCom receivers are forged steel, made to USGI spec. One piece forged oprod (TRW was the only USGI oprod that was one piece). Get a set of SEI trigger group pins and replace them. Cheap.

You got a great rifle, and if the HS in in spec, it will give you many lifetimes of use, most likely.

Gas lock threads are not the same thread as USGI, so don't eff yours up while disassembling. Ha. But the ChiCom receivers can take American bbls.

Did you check to see if the receiver rails that the bolt rides on were not ground up in the front, where the bolt locks into battery?

[vapper]

Congrats, sounds like you got a good one. I have several 7.62 rifles, but theres just something about my M14 that makes me grab it first when I go shooting. And FYI if you are looking for ammo, AIM Surplus has 7.62x51 most of the time, good stuff like Radway Green and German Dag. Both are excellent. They get South African sometimes and I've had good luck with it as well.

[paulb]

M14sRock,
I'm not 100% sure what I should be looking for in the bolt lock-up area of the reciever. I tried to take a few pics last night, but they were too blurry. I will try again tonight, and post them if they turn out good.

Vapper,
My next step is to stock up on ammo, so I will for sure check out AIM Surplus.

I am planning a trip to the gun range this weekend and will post how things go.

[M14sRock]

Originally Posted by paulb

M14sRock,
I'm not 100% sure what I should be looking for in the bolt lock-up area of the reciever. I tried to take a few pics last night, but they were too blurry. I will try again tonight, and post them if they turn out good.

Vapper,
My next step is to stock up on ammo, so I will for sure check out AIM Surplus.

I am planning a trip to the gun range this weekend and will post how things go.

Aim is GTG. The had some Belgian stuff recently, too.

Skip the Russian stuff in .308.

When the bolt is out of battery (open) look to see if the front edges/corners of the area the bolt locks into when it goes into battery (closes) look hacked up and ground on. They should look clean and well fitted from the USGI Bolt fitting.

[Fisherking]

I have heard that the South African stuff is realy good Like top of the pile.but that is just hearsay.
I picked up 900 rounds of Bulgarian and it has been acurate. The only drawback is that it is steel cased,but in another thought it makes cleanup easy with a big magnet.
Go and have fun.
How much are You guys paying for surplus amo? I think we get hosed preaty good here.
F.K.

[M14sRock]

Originally Posted by Fisherking

I have heard that the South African stuff is realy good Like top of the pile.but that is just hearsay.
I picked up 900 rounds of Bulgarian and it has been acurate. The only drawback is that it is steel cased,but in another thought it makes cleanup easy with a big magnet.
Go and have fun.
How much are You guys paying for surplus amo? I think we get hosed preaty good here.
F.K.

I like the SA. It is consistent in all of my rifles, and the groups(size, or POI) don't change between lots and years. Very rare when that happens. It is NOT the most accurate surp. The RG shoots well, and the Port was great (tough to find now). Avoid Indian manufactured after the 1970's. The '90's stuff sold on the surplus market is a ticking time bomb. The '70's stuff was made under British guidance.

[paulb]

Originally Posted by M14sRock

Aim is GTG. The had some Belgian stuff recently, too.

Skip the Russian stuff in .308.

When the bolt is out of battery (open) look to see if the front edges/corners of the area the bolt locks into when it goes into battery (closes) look hacked up and ground on. They should look clean and well fitted from the USGI Bolt fitting.

I checked the receiver in the bolt lock up area, and all the machining is nice and smooth. When the bolt is closed the line between the receiver and the locking lugs is a spot on fit.

[M14sRock]

Originally Posted by paulb

I checked the receiver in the bolt lock up area, and all the machining is nice and smooth. When the bolt is closed the line between the receiver and the locking lugs is a spot on fit.

Sounds like someone did a good job on it.