That's really not bad considering that during 1962 and 1963 NM M14s were based on requirements developed during the NM Engineering Program. That's where each NM M14 was required to fire 69 match rounds without a malfunction during testing.
They also had to pull any rifle that exceeded an extreme spread average of 3.5 inches at 100 yards.
To answer your question, yes it can be made to be a little more accurate, but different things such as bullet weight, sights, hold, breathing, and even heartrate come into play here.
As I mentioned in another post, I installed NM sights, suppressor, and glass bedded my standard, and my groups are consistantly under one inch, 'course, it COULD just be luck, where the next time I shoot a 5" group. (Let's hope not!)
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Happiness is a tight group!
[This message has been edited by Outlaw1 (edited October 16, 1999).]