M14 Forum

58blackflag

Hi all,
We have a gun show going on this weekend in my town. I went yesterday and saw a few M1A related items. I picked up two 20-rd mags for 10 bucks each(they were marked "new, foreign made") and seem to be decent. I saw a few other mags for sale as well including 3 used 20 rounders for 40 bucks. I asked the guy selling them about them and he said they were "vietnam-era GI mags".
I was curious exactly what to look for when mag shopping for my SOCOM? I'm not to worried about anything except that they function properly.

Also, I saw a stripped receiver that I believe was an M1A but it could have been a garand...what should I look for when finding something like that. It would be fun to have a receiver to build a rifle from! What's a fair price for a used, stripped, receiver? It had a barrel, trigger group, op rod, spring, and spring guide(if I remember correctly) but no bolt or stock.

Thanks!

m14brian

I'd save yourself the nightmares and just get C.M.I. 20 round mags. They are the current military supplier of M14 mags, and reliable.
Otherwise, there is really too much to look for when shopping for M14 mags. There are tons of counterfeit "USGI", foreign manufacture, and pieced together mags for sale. The problem is, you don't know what you're getting exactly, so you don't know if they'll function properly. Some have springs that are too long and you can't load them to full capacity, out of spec followers, some followers tip forward in the magazine body, etc. Different (Lee Emerson) has a fantastic hardcover book on the subject, Pictorial M14 Magazine Identification Guide Version 1.5. It is almost 1" thick so that tells you the depth of the question. So unless you have a collectible M14 or one with all USGI parts, it's easier to just get C.M.I. mags.
m14brian

bd111

Keep in the back of your mind there's always a reason why the stuff you see at gun shows is being sold there. Don't get took.

58blackflag

Right on...I figured as much. Hopefully these two I bought work OK, if not they were only 10 bucks.

I went back yesterday and the stripped receiver from the day before was gone. Oh well.

I did find a Gemtech Sandstorm 7.62 Suppressor though! I got it primarily to use on my R700 SPS AAC-SD but the dealer said with the proper adapters it will work on just about anything. Luckily I have 6-7 months to figure out all the ins and outs on making it work on my SOCOM and my AR.

High Hat

The best advice I could give you for purchasing M14 items is to wait. Looking at your number of posts, I would suggest first doing a lot of reading here to learn about your rifle. This will save you a lot of money plus you won't clutter up your shop drawers with useless parts.

As for gun shows, I'd be very cautious. Can you tell a ching-chang hammer from USGI? How about the mags you mentioned? If they work properly you need to start playing the lottery with your luck!

The above advice is from good judgement. Good judgement comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgement