M14 automatic rifle

United States Rifle, Caliber 7.62 mm, M14
Type:	Service rifle
Country of origin:	United States
Designed:	1954
Used by:	United States, Estonia, Greece, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Philippines, South Vietnam, Taiwan, Turkey, Venezuela, Iceland
Number built:	Over 1.38 million
Specifications
Weight:	5.2 kg (11.5 lb)
Length:	1,181 mm (46.5 in)
Barrel length:	559 mm (22 in)
Cartridge:	7.62x51mm
Rate of fire:	700-750 rounds/min (however, usually operated in Semi-Automatic)
Muzzle velocity:	975.4 m/s (3,200 ft/s)
Effective range:	460 m (500 yd)
Sights:	Aperture rear sight, "barleycorn" front sight

The M14, officially called the United States Rifle, 7.62 mm, M14, is an American-made automatic rifle chambered in the 7.62×51mm NATO (.308 Winchester) cartridge.

The M14 is a selective fire rifle meaning, in common parlance, it is a "machine gun".

The M14 is a center-fire, magazine fed rifle that is essentially a modernization of the legendary M1 Garand used in World War II and the Korean War.

The M1 Garand was eventually replaced by the M14 by 1961 in the U.S. Army and by 1965 in the U.S. Marine Corps. From 1959 until it was replaced by the M16 automatic rifle in 1970, the M14 was the standard issue infantry rifle for U.S. military personnel in the contiguous United States, Europe, and South Korea.

The last American "battle rifle" issued in mass to U.S. soldiers was the M14. A battle rifle is a rifle that fires full-power rifle ammunition, such as the 7.62×51mm as opposed to low-power ammunition such as the 5.56mm used in the fully automatic M16 and M4 or the semi-automatic AR-15.

The M14 is still in limited service in United States military as a sniper rifle, as an accurized shooting competition rifle and as a ceremonial weapon by honor guards. The M25 and M21 sniper rifles are based on the M14.

Variants

The M14, along with its military variants (M14, M21, M25) and civilian market variants (the Springfield Armory M1A and others), is semi-automatic for the civilian market and fully-automatic (meaning select fire) for the military market.

Appeal for Home Security

The M14 (and its semi-automatic variant called the M1A, is popular mostly for its accuracy. The weapon's iron sights and construction make it extremely accurate, especially for a semi-automatic weapon. The rifle is also common, making parts and accessories readily available. Automatic weapons, such as the M14, are both legal and popular, in most free states of the Union by passing a BATF background check and paying a $250 tax stamp as stipulated by the National Firearms Acts of 1934 (NFA34). Unconstitutionally ignoring the Second Amendment, unfree progressive police states such as New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and California have banned sale of automatic weapons except to law enforcement and military. The Founding Fathers intended that American citizens may keep and bear personal firearms of same level as the military. Automatic weapons are a popular purchase among conservatives, gun enthusiasts, patriots, veterans - Oath Keepers and preppers-survivalists, despite being quite expensive since the Reagan Administration McClure-Volkmer Act of 1986 (MV86 - signed by President Ronald Reagan in May 1986) and the Bush Administration Import Ban of 1990 (IB90 signed by George Bush in November 1990).

See Also

• Battle rifle - fires full-power rifle ammunition, such as the 7.62×51mm as opposed to low-power ammunition such as the 5.56mm used in the M16, M4 and AR-15.
• M1 Garand
• M16 automatic rifle
• M4 Carbine automatic fifle
• AR-15 semi-automatic rifle
• Firearms
• Invest in tangibles: Firearms