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View Full Version : Cold War M14 Inspired M1A Build for Living History



Alpha-17
08-11-23, 09:05
Greetings all. After months of on again/off again work on a Springfield Armor M1A Standard I picked up last year, I think my "build" is finally finished. (well, until I realize I need to make more changes)

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After talking to too many Vietnam Vets that come through the Gun Library, I got the crazy idea in my head to add an M1A to the gun rack last year, with the idea of eventually using it for hunting and living history events. I've owned both a PTR-91 and DSA FAL for several years, and the M14 was the only Cold War battle rifle not being represented in my collection. After a long time of hemming and hawing on the subject, I finally picked one up late last year.

Since my goal was to use this for living history events as well as have it as a shooter, I knew I'd need to make some changes over time to help it stand in for a historically accurate M14. The first change was swapping out the factory flash hider for one with a bayonet lug. After all, I can't have a Cold War M14 without the ability to fix bayonets!

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Next change was largely functional, swapping the factory bolt roller for one that had the groove cut in it. Didn't want it falling off again! This was followed by swapping out the factory rear sight drum with one marked "M". Shortly after that, I stumbled across what appears to be a surplus ventilated handguard at a gun show. I liked the look of the ventilated handguards, especially since one of the most iconic pictures of the M14 during the Berlin Wall crisis showed them, so I grabbed it up. Probably a good thing too, since the plastic handguard that was on the rifle was already showing signs of melting. Whoops!

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Inspiration:

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/595943452.jpg

Of course, the new (old) handguard didn't really match the factory stock, so a new stock was in order. I had always planned on getting a USGI stock, since the cleaning kit slot on my factory stock was disappointing at best. The two compartments were too close together, and the wood separating them was breaking, and the compartments were too small for the cleaning kit I barely managed to shove in there. After a couple of fruitless searches at local gunshows, I scored one in good condition for a fair price off Ebay. Took a bit of work to get the hardware installed, but it went on great, and showed no signs of being too loose. If anything, it's a tighter fit than the factory stock I had.

And there the rifle sat for a while, almost "done" but not quite. That was the case until just a couple of weeks ago, when I got invited to take part in a living history event at a local museum. They were looking for reenactors to take part in a customer appreciation day. Since I had been working on my Cold War/Vietnam era kit and display, I decided that this would be a great time to put it all to use. I just needed to complete the last item, a dummy selector. Thankfully, Forceman was able to get me a lock out selector just in the nick of time, and I got the selector installed the day before the museum event.

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And then it was off to the races for the event!


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The M16 may have been the winner with the kids (it was easier for them to hold, and they recognize it from video games) but more than a couple adults were more interested in getting their hands on the M1A/M14.

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I'm sure I'll find more changes and "upgrades" my M1A needs, but for the moment it is done, and hopefully ready for more shooting, hunting, and living history events. Now if I can just finish my M16A1 build, I will have both standard issue US service rifles of the War, and not have to borrow an upper!

ABNAK
08-11-23, 18:48
Nice!

The fake selector kits are a must-have item. Yeah, they are fake, but they do serve a practical function by pretty much blocking that cutout on USGI stocks from crap getting into the action.....best of both worlds so to speak.

JediGuy
08-12-23, 05:57
Very cool

Alpha-17
08-12-23, 08:30
Nice!

The fake selector kits are a must-have item. Yeah, they are fake, but they do serve a practical function by pretty much blocking that cutout on USGI stocks from crap getting into the action.....best of both worlds so to speak.

Yeah, there is a lot of space in the back of an M1A/M14 action, and if debris can get in (through a no-longer-used selector cut out) that's just a malfunction waiting to happen. And a selector certainly looks better than blocking the gap with wood filler or the like.

Ron3
08-12-23, 11:26
Very cool!

I haven't had an FAL, but I've had an M1A, AR10's, PTR 91's, and a Tavor 7.

The Tavor is by far my favorite. It combines fun
with versatility But my second choice for shooting pleasure is the M1A because of its ergos, good trigger, and low recoil. The G3 has it beat for "practicality" as a weapon, but I found the M1A more fun to handle & shoot.

Sometimes I consider getting a 16 or 18 in M1A or a .308 Garand.

I'm not long-range shooter, btw. Maybe someday.

SteyrAUG
08-12-23, 18:14
Nice job. Rifle looks great and you had a decent display.

ETA: What's the story on those army hard covers in the photo? First time I ever saw them. Seen Marine soft covers and army bball caps, but never a hard cover.

ABNAK
08-12-23, 19:35
Nice job. Rifle looks great and you had a decent display.

ETA: What's the story on those army hard covers in the photo? First time I ever saw them. Seen Marine soft covers and army bball caps, but never a hard cover.

They were a 1950's to early 1960's soft cap. They usually had some sort of insert to keep the form perfect for garrison use otherwise they would not be crisp with sharp edges. They were replaced by the "baseball cap" later in the 60's. I think they were also called the "Ridgeway Cap". Fidel Castro used to wear one!

SteyrAUG
08-13-23, 02:52
They were a 1950's to early 1960's soft cap. They usually had some sort of insert to keep the form perfect for garrison use otherwise they would not be crisp with sharp edges. They were replaced by the "baseball cap" later in the 60's. I think they were also called the "Ridgeway Cap". Fidel Castro used to wear one!

Ahhh thanks. Now I have it. Looked like some stupid French cover.

Alpha-17
08-13-23, 08:04
Nice job. Rifle looks great and you had a decent display.

ETA: What's the story on those army hard covers in the photo? First time I ever saw them. Seen Marine soft covers and army bball caps, but never a hard cover.

Assuming you mean the Ridgeway Cap, ABNAK nailed it. Officially, and at the time known as a "block cap" or "pillbox cap," it is commonly referred to as a Ridgeway Cap by modern collectors due to it's connection with General Matt Ridgeway. Introduced during the Korean War era, to help give soldiers a more professional look after the somewhat lackadaisical attitude towards uniform appearance during the last years of WWII and the opening years of Korea. They were never standard issue, but damn near universally "voluntarily" purchased from the PX. They're heavily starched, and include a wire ring in the cap so they always appear stiff and "smart". They stayed in service until the mid-Sixties, where they somewhat suddenly disappear. I've heard a few explanations for this, but nothing definite. (practicalities, changing styles, even the association with Castro have all been mentioned) Because of the time frame they were worn, you seen them quite a bit during several of the high-profile incidents of the Cold War, from the Berlin Wall Crisis (group of soldiers above), to the Cuban Missile Crisis:

https://i.insider.com/5bd10d9ebe664a0a5c6899b7?width=750&format=jpeg&auto=webp

https://i.insider.com/5bd10d9e00cda50af24bb1a5?width=1000&format=jpeg&auto=webp

https://i.insider.com/5bd10d9e3196b70a1f32d8a2?width=1000&format=jpeg&auto=webp

during flair ups in Korea:

https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/uploads/monthly_08_2008/post-70-1218861203.jpg

and during the early days of Vietnam, where we passed the caps off to our South Vietnamese allies/proxies:

https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.18172-8/12370870_1102870113065933_5874029913607477912_o.jpg?_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=4dc865&_nc_ohc=YIc6CG3SjLsAX__NVQS&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=00_AfAGRVi9wv5xwjOk9VhCBNzrNQWuv2zYQLRxn5122jXRPQ&oe=650050B5

And of course, as the more or less standard headgear of the time, more than a couple of later celebrities worn them during their time in uniform:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Elvis_Presley_in_Germany.jpg/800px-Elvis_Presley_in_Germany.jpg

https://radiokmzn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/hendrix.jpg

They're not practical for field operations in really anyway, I have to admit that I think they certainly look better than the damn ball caps commonly worn in Vietnam. Those might be one of the worse looking examples of military headgear I've ever seen.

And that's probably more than you ever wanted to know about the 1950's version of a military top hat.

SteyrAUG
08-13-23, 13:45
Assuming you mean the Ridgeway Cap, ABNAK nailed it. Officially, and at the time known as a "block cap" or "pillbox cap," it is commonly referred to as a Ridgeway Cap by modern collectors due to it's connection with General Matt Ridgeway. Introduced during the Korean War era, to help give soldiers a more professional look after the somewhat lackadaisical attitude towards uniform appearance during the last years of WWII and the opening years of Korea. They were never standard issue, but damn near universally "voluntarily" purchased from the PX. They're heavily starched, and include a wire ring in the cap so they always appear stiff and "smart". They stayed in service until the mid-Sixties, where they somewhat suddenly disappear. I've heard a few explanations for this, but nothing definite. (practicalities, changing styles, even the association with Castro have all been mentioned) Because of the time frame they were worn, you seen them quite a bit during several of the high-profile incidents of the Cold War, from the Berlin Wall Crisis (group of soldiers above), to the Cuban Missile Crisis:

https://i.insider.com/5bd10d9ebe664a0a5c6899b7?width=750&format=jpeg&auto=webp

https://i.insider.com/5bd10d9e00cda50af24bb1a5?width=1000&format=jpeg&auto=webp

https://i.insider.com/5bd10d9e3196b70a1f32d8a2?width=1000&format=jpeg&auto=webp

during flair ups in Korea:

https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/uploads/monthly_08_2008/post-70-1218861203.jpg

and during the early days of Vietnam, where we passed the caps off to our South Vietnamese allies/proxies:

https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.18172-8/12370870_1102870113065933_5874029913607477912_o.jpg?_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=4dc865&_nc_ohc=YIc6CG3SjLsAX__NVQS&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=00_AfAGRVi9wv5xwjOk9VhCBNzrNQWuv2zYQLRxn5122jXRPQ&oe=650050B5

And of course, as the more or less standard headgear of the time, more than a couple of later celebrities worn them during their time in uniform:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Elvis_Presley_in_Germany.jpg/800px-Elvis_Presley_in_Germany.jpg

https://radiokmzn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/hendrix.jpg

They're not practical for field operations in really anyway, I have to admit that I think they certainly look better than the damn ball caps commonly worn in Vietnam. Those might be one of the worse looking examples of military headgear I've ever seen.

And that's probably more than you ever wanted to know about the 1950's version of a military top hat.

Yeah, not a fan of the baseball cap either, but those pillbox caps were terrible. I think the Marines had the best soft cover.

Alpha-17
10-09-23, 09:59
Trying my hand at some firearms photography.

"Cold Warrior"

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