Quote:
Originally Posted by Brush Okie
(Post 514408)
I thought getting a divorce was part of the Q course? :D
What did you not like about the M-21? Did the M-25 help or at least lessen the problems?
IMHO the ones in the slide are cool looking but too much crap and gadgets on them. I would still take one if given to me however.
|
Today I have been married to the same young lady for 43 years. We eloped in 7/7/70 and that number has saved me heart ache numerous times as it is easy to remember. Why she has put up with my sorry ass is beyond me and the many individuals that know me and my lovely wife.
M21 problems, it was based on the very finicky M14 National Match. While very accurate on the range during competition, what many did not understand is that during down time at a match, many times it was being tweaked and after every match it was rebuilt. Can't do that in the field. Add to the problem was a myth that the operator was not to take it apart and only a qualified armorer was allowed to do so. Now cleaning it becomes a problem as you can't take it apart and any debris in the operating rod/barrel area would change the barrel harmonics thus a zero change. The bedding was a very fragile point and most weapons in the arms room had crap bedding as it had not been fixed since it was built. All bedding breaks down over a period based on number of recoil impulses it is absorbing. Again, this changes vibrations and resets. Most guys did not know the differences in a M14 and the M21 so the gas piton plug would get changed for a non NM plug. This caused a momentary vacuum, that would not be replicated and again a change in zero. The ART I and II scope was a disaster, some liked it but in reality it did not repeat, changed zero when you removed it and you needed to, to properly clean the chamber, which most did not do because you had to remove the scope. Due to the spring you increased wear on the cam and that caused a light groove to appear in teh cam at teh longer range settings where the accuracy needed to be the greatest. As the need for the M21 was increased, the lower the standards was on the original receiver and some came form a manufacture that actually drilled the receiver at a slight angle making windage zero a real pain. Yes those receivers are still out there and on the new "improved M14ERBs".
That is actually only a very short list of the problems I and others have encountered with the M21.
Add to that, that the ERB is made from rack grade M14s, as stated by Streck-Fu, and not National Match guns. You have a battle rifle trying to act as an accurate sniper support weapon. Now lets have some more fun, the weapon system was designed to handle the lighter bullets, 155 - 173/175. I have a slash on 173/175 because a hot 175 will cause the weapon to malfunction over time. The number of times I have fixed a bolt on a M14 NM shooting the original 175 gr at 2750-2800 is enough to make me shudder to think of this happening in combat. Not fun when the extractor flies off the bolt and the trigger pin cracks. Shooting the 180 gr will cause real problems.
Again, a quick overview with more than just what I have mentioned being problems. Again, as Streck-Fu has mentioned, there are plenty of more modern designs that will beat the pants off of the ERB, more durable, more accurate, and more stable. Problem was Clinton stopped the military from selling off the rack grade M14s through CMP and Congress passed a bill stopping him from destroying them. Thus the military had a huge supply of the suckers. Easier to have in house rebuilds than to go through the expense of open competition bidding and all the lawsuits that always follow.
Anyway, that is why I would not own one. :munchin :D
