The M14 Rifle had one of the briefest sojourns as
a US combat rifle. Perhaps only the Krags of the Spanish American war were
used for less time. The M14 is a direct descendent of the M1 garand the
GI's best friend in WWII and Korea. In 1957, that weapon was phased out
to be replaced by the Springfield M-14. The gun chambered a standard 7.62mm
NATO and carried a 20-round clip. It had two modes of fire semi-auto and
fully automatic. It was designed with long range Central European battlefields
in mind. The M60 was designed too support it and given the same caliber.
The M14 was destined to be the primary US infantry weapon in the beginning
of the Vietnam War and also in the Dominican Intervention of 1965. Some
1,400,000 M-14s were made before production stopped in 1963. A few
variants including a SAW were designed off the core M14, including the
M15 but; none caught a following.
In Vietnam the M16 was billed as the
ultimate jungle fighting weapon. The Special Forces came to swear by it.
Thus by 1964 the M16 as a specialized Jungle fighting weapon was phased
in. The old M14s were traded in for M16s on a one for one basis. It took
several years too fully phase the weapon and more years for the kinks too
be resolved with the M16.
However, Army snipers kept using the M14 rifle in
a special highly accurate model with a starlite scope attached. In this
facility it was utilized for sometime. Navy SEALS were using the M14s in
cold weather as late as the early 1990s and perhaps even today. The Marines
are still using them for ceremonial purposes.
An M14 in use in Vietnam
| M14 Advantages | M16A1 Advantages |
| M14 has good sights allowing for excellent sniping. Used the same ammo as the M60 machine guns. Less jamming. Was able to use the " standard" weapon cleaner of the time (half motor oil half gasoline) while the M16 had too have special treatment. | Smaller caliber and thus less kick. Also it's ammo and the weapon itself weighed a lot less so troops in Jungle conditions could carry other supplies. More ammo per weight |
History:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/DYaros/m14hist.htm
See what a stripped one looks like, I do not however, agree/condone
or whatever any other material on this site:
http://www.jtsurplus.com/military/m14/index.shtml