M1A Maintainence

S

San Francisquito Bill

New member
Hi there,

I just picked up my new Springfield M1A Scout rifle, and while reading the instructions, I found that the factory recommends that the rifle be dissasembled as little as possible. It also states that the gas system should only be cleaned when the piston cannot be heard to slide freely when the rifle is tipped end over end.

This is one of my first centerfire semi-auto rifles, and I want to take care of it. I therefore have a couple of questions:

1. How often should I clean the gun? (Not just the barrel) Is there a certain number of rounds that I should figure before I dissasemble?

2. Does anyone have any big warnings in regards to maintainence of this firearm, i.e. things that I might put together backwards that would mess up the gun?

3. Are there any info web pages or forums dedicated to the M-14/M1A or that have good information (Just so I don't have to bug y'all everytime I have a question!)

Thanks for the help.
 
Bill - Jim already gave you some good websites.

Another that has M1A info is Lane's CSP tips

As for maintenance, you'll want to use grease, not oil, on the receiver rails and camming surfaces. Tetra will work, but is expensive. Lubriplate 130A (available through Brownells) is an excellent less expensive alternative, as well as Plastilube (available through Scott Duff).

Enjoy your new rifle!

Cliff
 
Repeated disassembly and reassembly makes for a looser gun, which means that it won't hold up as well for match purposes. For military use, loose is acceptable because high tolerances results in jams. A target rifle is a prima donna and Jim Keenan's advice about target rifles and service guns is right on the mark.
 
You do know that listening for the piston's movement is done with the op rod locked back, right?

There are two schools of thought on the gas piston--dry and wet with oil. The oil theory is that it makes the powder residue easier to remove. The dry theory is that the oil just burns off and can leave gummy residue. I went dry when I had one, as I believed in the USMC approach.

I suggest just popping to op rod out of the receiver and removing the bolt for a wipe-down and one-drop-of synthetic oil in the firing pin lube hole every 500 rounds or so. IIRC, you can remove the gas system without disassembling the trigger group and action from the stock, but you'll need to compress the fore-end upward a bit to get the ferrule back over the stock metal on re-assembly.

Unless you have a lugged action, the problem with repeated disassembly is loosening up the glass bedding. Even with lug(s), you can basically wear out the bedding that way.

Because of the dust problem, I always used a minimum of lube. Even tested the darned thing absolutely dry of lube after about 100 rounds of break-in, and it still functioned 100%. You'll like that rifle a lot. If not, I'll take it off of your hands...cash permitting...
 
Everything except the op-rod can be successfully cleaned WITHOUT disassembling the M14/M1A.

I place mine in a cradle upside down & clean the barrel & chamber. At the same time, I disassemble the gas piston and leave it dry.

I turn it upright and clean the rails and cams with patches & Q-tips and regrease. It IS possable to remove the bold without dissassembling if required.

After each High Power season, I wil detail strip it and let an armorer refresh the bedding if necessary.

Yr. Obt. Svnt.

------------------
Fred J. Drumheller
NRA Life
NRA Golden Eagle
 
Can Pampers or someone else explain how you can remove the bolt without disassembly? I've heard of this before, but no-one has been able to explain it in any detail.

Thanks.
 
As far as wet vs. dry, you should not use oil. You should use a couple of drops of Hoppes No. 9 solvent or equivelent. Try oil and I guarantee it will gum up and be nasty.
 
To remove the bolt without disassembling the rifle, pull the op-rod back to the op-rod removal notch. Rotate the op-rod handle away from the bolt enough to clear the roller. Remove bolt and ease op-rod forward.

Reassemble in reverse order.

------------------
Fred J. Drumheller
NRA Life
NRA Golden Eagle
 
I highly recommend Scott Duffs book "M14 Owners Guide", it will answer most of your M14 care questions. That book has wealth of info. By the way the GI maint. guides aren't as good IMHO.

Brian
 
Mousegun (Brian),

Where can I find that book? Is it available through a catalog or could I get it through Barnes & Noble, etc?

Thanks,

SFB

[This message has been edited by San Francisquito Bill (edited October 31, 2000).]
 
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