“I don’t want no teenage queen/I just want my M14…”

My fellow military film buffs will instantly recognize those two lines as part of a classic running cadence from the boot camp sequence of Stanley Kubrick’s iconic 1987 Vietnam War film “Full Metal Jacket.”

Though not quite as famous or controversial as either the M16/M4/AR-15 series or Avtomat Kalashnikova, i.e., the AK-47 platform and its variants, the M14 is a plenty famous and historically significant military rifle. Some experts thought it was an overweight, overpowered, and overrated hunk of junk, while others thought it was a wonderfully accurate, reliable, hard-hitting weapon that never should’ve been replaced by the “Plastic Fantastic” M16 to fight the Vietnam War. Overall, the positive assessments of the M14 seem to far outweigh the negative ones.

Where It Began: Replacing a Legend

That legend began with the M1 Garand, a rifle that had served American GIs so faithful during both World War II and the Korean War and was praised by no less than General George Smith Patton Jr. himself as “the greatest battle implement ever devised.” But as superb as the Garand truly was, it did have one glaring weakness: the “M-1 ping,” i.e., the rifle would eject its empty stripper clip with a loud “ping!” which sent a pretty strong auditory clue to Axis troops that the American GI’s weapon was empty.

The M14, with its detachable 20-round box magazine, eliminated that problem, and as a major bonus, provided a 150 percent increase in ammunition capacity over the WWII-era weapon. The M14 was designed in 1954 and officially became the standard-issue rifle for the U.S. Armed Forces from 1959 to 1964, with over 1 million units produced over that relatively short span of time. The weapon was (and still is) a gas-operated 7.62x51mm NATO (.308 caliber) rifle, capable of both semiautomatic and fully automatic fire, with the following specifications.

• Cyclic rate of fire (full-auto mode): 700-750 rounds
• Muzzle velocity: 2,800 feet per second
• Maximum effective range: 500 yards
• Maximum overall range: 3,275 yards
• Overall length: 44.14 inches
• Barrel length: 22 inches
• Empty weight: 9.2 pounds
• Weight with fully loaded magazine:10.7 pounds

Proving Her Mettle: The M-14 in Combat

The M14 soon established a reputation for ruggedness and superb accuracy. Two perceived problems for general-issue infantry usage in the jungles of Vietnam were the heavy weight and lack of controllability during full-auto fire, especially compared to the M16, which could carry more rounds in a more lightweight and lower-recoiling platform. 

However, for elite SpecOps units like the Navy SEALs, those aforementioned concerns aren’t as pressing. As noted by the Navy SEALs webpage: 

“Navy SEALs started using modified M14s as sniper rifles as early as Vietnam. They have used them in Afghanistan and Iraq, primarily as designated marksman and sniper rifles. Navy SEALs keep the M14 in inventory due to its excellent accuracy, effectiveness at long range, and strong takedown capabilities of the 7.62mm round.”

The SEALs’ M14s certainly haven’t remained frozen in time (Vietnam vintage, that is). Their latest and greatest iteration is the Mk 14 Mod 0 Enhanced Battle Rifle (EBR), which is manufactured by Smith Enterprise Inc. (headquartered in Tempe, Arizona) and has the following fancy features:

• An 18-inch barrel
• A telescopic stock
• A pistol grip for improved ergonomics
• New front sights
• A folding bipod
• A set of Picatinny rails around the barrel allows for the mounting of various accessories such as scopes, torches, laser pointing systems, etc.
• Lighter materials (the EBR is constructed from lightweight aircraft alloy)

In addition, during the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, U.S. Army Delta Force sniper Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart used an M14 for his heroic actions that would earn him a posthumous Medal of Honor.

Where Are They Now?

Besides the SEALs, the M14 is also reportedly still issued by the Hellenic (Greek Navy). Meanwhile, semiauto-only variants remain extremely popular with civilian shooters, particularly the semiauto-only Springfield Armory M1A, which, in its most basic, no-frills version, carries an MSRP of MSRP $1,770.00-$1,875.00.

About the Author: Christian D. Orr

Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ). He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS).

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