MikeK
Gold Member
I've owned an M-1 Garand since my eighteenth birthday (1954) and the M-1 was my standard weapon for four years in the Marine Corps, so I am completely familiar with that rifle.
I have never seen an M-14 and I know absolutely nothing about them except that they load with a 20 round box magazine rather than the M-1's 8-round en bloc clip, which is why I would much prefer the M-1 as a combat weapon. The reason being a practiced shooter with an M-1 is capable of indefinite continuous fire until he runs out of clips -- and he can do this with less than a two second pause to load a new clip after eight shots. But what does the M-14 shooter do after his last box magazine is empty?
Someone in another forum recently argued that the M-14 also accepts the 8-round clip inserted in the same manner as the M-1. But being thoroughly familiar with the M-1's receiver mechanism, unless for some ingeniously clever design that I'm incapable of imagining, I can't think of how that would be possible.
Am I right or am I wrong? Can the M-14 be loaded with either the 20-round box or the 8-round en bloc clip? If so, would the 8-round clip be loaded from the top, as with the M-1, or from the bottom?
I have never seen an M-14 and I know absolutely nothing about them except that they load with a 20 round box magazine rather than the M-1's 8-round en bloc clip, which is why I would much prefer the M-1 as a combat weapon. The reason being a practiced shooter with an M-1 is capable of indefinite continuous fire until he runs out of clips -- and he can do this with less than a two second pause to load a new clip after eight shots. But what does the M-14 shooter do after his last box magazine is empty?
Someone in another forum recently argued that the M-14 also accepts the 8-round clip inserted in the same manner as the M-1. But being thoroughly familiar with the M-1's receiver mechanism, unless for some ingeniously clever design that I'm incapable of imagining, I can't think of how that would be possible.
Am I right or am I wrong? Can the M-14 be loaded with either the 20-round box or the 8-round en bloc clip? If so, would the 8-round clip be loaded from the top, as with the M-1, or from the bottom?