Federal Ordnance M14A M-14A M1A 22' 7.62mm Semi-Automatic Rifle Original GI Parts Assembled. Federal Ordnance Inc. Serial Number: 6186. Year of Manufacture: Modern. This Federal Ordnance Inc. Model M14A is a civilian version of an M14 made with GI parts. This one is impressive as it is in Fine-plus condition. Sales Co., National Ordnance, Inc. And Federal Ordnance, Inc. 222 Armscorp 228 Fulton Armory 232. Appendix A: Serial Number Data for the Commercial M14 477. Federal Ordnance M14 and M14A receivers were heat-treated and carburized according to USGI M14 requirements. 38 Each completed production rifle was proof fired, then tested for functioning by firing three rounds. 38 USGI parts and bolts were used extensively in Federal Ordnance rifles through at least serial number 88XX.

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Part 2

TheCommercial M14

U. S. CommercialProduction of the M14 Type Rifle

Commercial production of theM14 type rifle began by 1971 and continues to the present day. Thefollowing list is not complete but based on observation of serialnumbers, U. S. commercial manufacturers have produced at least thismany M14 type receivers as listed in the table below. Note that somemanufacturers (Armscorp of America, Maunz Match Rifle, SmithEnterprise, Inc., and Springfield Armory, Inc.) have issued customserial numbers to receivers. Custom serial numbers are not accountedfor in this table.

A batch of fifty to 100investment cast AISI 8620 alloy steel 80 % semi-automatic receiverswere made between 1972 and 1975 but had not been finish machined asof November, 2004. These receivers are marked as follows on thereceiver heel

MW G ASSAULT-1 BARBERTON OH.

Theserial number is on the left side of the receiver at the rear. Theletters M W G are located on the flat surface just behind the rearsight. The letters M W G were cast into the receiver.

Characteristics ofCommercial Receivers

Cast receivers - A. R. SalesCo., some Armscorp of America, Armscorp USA, Federal Ordnance, Hesse,H&R Gun Co., Maunz Match Rifle, Maunz Mfg., some SmithEnterprise, Smith, Ltd. and Springfield Armory, Inc. receivers aremade by the investment casting method. Investment casting hasexisted in China for centuries. However, it did not gain industrialsignificance until after World War II with the demand for aircraftand aerospace parts. Investment casting allows complex shapes andthin sections to be formed with very close dimensional tolerances. It is common practice for the rifle manufacturer to design and ownthe casting die for the receiver. Any repairs or modifications tothe receiver die are normally the responsibility of the owner.

Billet machined and forgedreceivers - Entreprise Arms and some Armscorp of America and SmithEnterprise receivers are machined from raw billet. Information onhow Sarco M21 receivers were manufactured has not been available todate. Chinese and LRB Arms receivers are drop forged. The riflemanufacturer, typically, owns the receiver forging dies and isresponsible for any maintenance on the dies.

Receiver Barrel Ring -Chinese, LRB Arms, Fulton Armory and some Springfield Armory, Inc.receivers have a distinct machined flat surface with a longitudinaledge on the top of the barrel ring. After the first 4620 SpringfieldArmory, Inc. receivers, the presence of this flat surface on the topof the barrel ring is found sporadically until a serial number justabove 030000. The flat surface on the barrel ring is present onserial numbers 0062XX, 00623X, 00724X and 01899X but is not on015XXX, 020XXX, 0210XX and 0301XX.

Caliber Marking - SpringfieldArmory, Inc. used upper case letters MM as part of the 7.62-MMcaliber receiver marking until at least serial number 000326. Atsome point between serial numbers 000326 and 000527, SpringfieldArmory, Inc. changed the abbreviation for millimeter to a lower casemm on its receivers. Springfield Armory, Inc. used to include thestamping 7.62-mm or 7.62mm as part of the receiver marking. The7.62-mm marking is the more common of the two. Additionally, wherethe caliber is indicated as 7.62mm (no hyphen) the model number isstamped as M-1A (with hyphen) instead of the usual M1A model number. Receiver serial numbers are 616XX and 66857 are stamped with 7.62mm(no hyphen) and M-1A (with hyphen).

The 7.62 millimeter calibermarkings began with serial number 000001 and remained as part of theheel stamping until at least serial number 0630XX. By serial number063112 the caliber marking no longer appears on M1A receivers. Thus,in March, 1991 the 7.62-mm and 7.62mm markings were dropped becauseSpringfield Armory, Inc. was producing the M1A in different calibers,e.g., .243 Winchester (see Other Calibers).

Millimeter is stamped with anupper case MM on Armscorp of America, Armscorp USA, Entreprise Arms,Fulton Armory, LRB Arms, Smith, Ltd., Smith Enterprise, and someimported Poly Technologies receivers. On most Chinese M14 typerifles imported into the United States the caliber is typicallydenoted .308 but will be indicated on the barrel if not on thereceiver. A Poly Technologies M14/S rifle, serial number 0653, hasbeen observed with the receiver heel caliber stamping 7.62 NATO.

Receiver Scope MountHorizontal Groove and Bolt Hole - Some commercial receivers havehorizontal grooves too shallow and narrow to accommodate militaryspecification side three point scope mounts, e.g., BrookfieldPrecision Tool and Sadlak Industries. The USGI drawing specificationfor the horizontal groove is 0.149 ' wide at the top of thegroove with a sixty degree angle from the bottom of the groove. Commercial receiver horizontal grooves can measure as narrow as 0.120' at the top of the groove. Early production Smith Enterprise,Inc. receiver scope mount bolt holes were made with a pitch oftwenty-four threads per inch. This is the only known exception forM14 type receivers which otherwise accept a Number 12 - 32 NEF threadscrew.

Commercial ReceiverGeometry

The commercial semi-automaticM14 type receivers have no selector lug, no operating rod rail centernotch, and no groove on the front underside of the operating rodrail. The dismount notch for the operating rod is located at therear end of the operating rod rail on all U. S. and semi-automaticChinese commercial receivers. Springfield Armory, Inc. and SmithEnterprise, Inc. select fire receivers have both the rear and centeroperating rod dismount notches as well as the cut on the under sideof the forward end of the operating rod rail. If a receiver is USGImanufacture or Chinese made select fire capable, it will not havethis rear dismount notch.

Many of the U. S. commercialreceivers (Springfield Armory, Inc., Armscorp USA, Fulton Armory,etc.) have operating rod rails wider than the USGI specification. Operating rod rail width has been measured on Armscorp receivers asfollows: 1) serial number 10451 manufactured in April, 1993 – 0.232” 2) serial number 15906 manufactured in January, 2000 – 0.258 ”3) serial numbers 17011 and 17013 both manufactured in July, 2003 –0.316 ”. The Armscorp USA receiver operating rod rail is alsomachined differently from USGI specification to prevent the boltroller from slamming back. Current production Armscorp USA receiveroperating rod rail channels are deliberately undersized to acceptoperating rods with worn tabs, because new USGI operating rods onesare scarce.

The Fulton Armory receiveroperating rod rail measures about 0.140 ” wider than the USGIreceiver operating rod rail specification (0.130 ” – 0.01 ”). Canadian import Norinco receiver operating rod rails areapproximately 2 mm wider than the USGI drawing specification. Theselect fire Springfield Armory, Inc. receiver operating rod rail is1/8 ' wide while its semi-automatic receivers are made with one3/16 ' or 13/64 ' wide. The wider operating rod railprovides more bedding surface and complicates conversion to selectfire.

Semi-automatic M14 typereceivers will not have the selector lug and operating rod railmachining cuts. Springfield Armory, Inc. M25 and some Norinco M305receivers do not have the scope mount recoil lug on the left side. Armscorp USA, Smith Enterprise, Springfield Armory, Inc. andEntreprise Arms also make rear lugged and double lugged receivers forcompetition shooting. The receiver lug or lugs are welded on to thereceiver. Fulton Armory offers rear lugged receivers. SpringfieldArmory, Inc. has offered a rear lugged receiver since 1989 and LRBArms has done so since 2003. Smith Enterprise has added lugs toreceivers upon customer request since at least 1991. Receiver lugsare welded on with two known exceptions. About 1985 or 1986, SmithManufacturing produced rear lugged receivers from castings forArmscorp of America. Karl Maunz designed and marketed a boltedreceiver front lug in 1986 (see Karl Maunz).

Manufacturing Difficulty andForgiveness – Even though the M14 receiver is essentially anupdated 1936 design, it is not easily machined into final form. Asof 2005, a five axis CNC machining center is still not capable ofperforming all of the cuts necessary to bring the receiver to finalform. Some cuts still require manual manipulation of a cutting toolto complete the form to blueprint specification. However, it is avery forgiving design in that many of the machining cuts are purelycosmetic. For example, the top edge contour from the rear sightpocket to the barrel ring, the relief cut above the bolt lock, thebarrel ring top center and left hand corner, and the heel cornersymmetry on commercial receivers are often not identical to USGIreceivers but accuracy and function are not affected in the least.

Comparison of USGI andSpringfield Armory, Inc. Select Fire Receivers - There are six minordifferences between the commercial Springfield Armory, Inc. selectfire receiver and a USGI receiver: 1) the commercial receiver has arear dismount notch 2) receiver heel stampings reflect either USGIcontractor or the commercial Springfield Armory, Inc. manufacture 3)the USGI receiver has a drawing number, 7790189, stamped underneaththe operating rod rail forward of the center dismount notch 4) theUSGI receiver has a machining fixture alignment hole in the rightreceiver leg 5) the commercial receiver selector lug is neatly weldedon and 6) some, if not all, factory Springfield Armory, Inc.receivers have a small hemisphere machined on the outboard side ofthe receiver rear sight pocket right ear. Otherwise, they look thesame. An examination of both select fire receivers under the heel,rear sight base and stripper clip guide show almost identicalunderside machining cuts.

Presently, only Armscorp USA,Inc., Entreprise Arms, LRB of Long Island, Inc. and SpringfieldArmory, Inc. are producing M14 type receivers in the United States. Smith Enterprise, Inc. has definite plans to manufacture M14 typereceivers in the future.

U. S. CommercialManufacture Select Fire M14 Type Rifles

Civilians may own select fireM14 type rifles in the United States of America as long as federal,state and local laws are complied with. However, the May 19, 1986McClure-Volkmer Firearms Owners Protection Act ceased new productionof select fire M14 type rifles allowed for civilian possession underthe registration provisions of the 1934 National Firearms Act. Converted and new commercial manufacture receivers were registeredunder the National Firearms Act by approved ATF Form.

Since 1971, U. S. commercialmanufacturers have produced more than 254,000 M14 type rifles butless than one percent of them are select fire capable. An estimated1000 to 2000 factory made Springfield Armory, Inc. (Geneseo, IL) anda few more than 176 Smith Enterprise select fire rifles were producedbefore May 19, 1986.

At least three SpringfieldArmory, Inc. M1A rifles made by the Texas company have beenidentified as NFA registered select fire conversion models. One ofthem is serial number 000908 and another is 001691. The third TexasM1A was converted by Federal Firearms Licensee Stan Andrewski. Asmall number of Illinois M1A rifles were converted to select fireafter they left the factory and registered under the NationalFirearms Act. Rock Island Armory (Geneseo, IL), the late J. D.Farmer of Hard Times Armory (GA), and Federal Firearms LicenseesCharles Erb and Neal Smith were businesses who legally performed suchwork. For example, Hard Times Armory is the manufacturer whoconverted M1A serial number 014748 to select fire. The highestserial number Springfield Armory, Inc. National Firearms Actregistered select fire M1A observed is 038770. It is a 1986 factorybuilt select fire model.

Camp Perry MilitaryReservation

Camp Perry MilitaryReservation is a 640 acre Ohio National Guard marksmanship trainingcenter. It is the largest small arms firing range in the world. Camp Perry is located on the shore of Lake Erie about eighty mileswest of Cleveland, OH. Since 1907, military and civilian shootershave participated in the National Rifle Association and NationalBoard for the Promotion of Rifle Practice / Civilian MarksmanshipProgram (CMP) national matches conducted each summer. Collectively,these are known as the “National Matches.” The M14 M and M14 NMwere first shot at Camp Perry at the 1963 National Rifle Matches. The M14 NM was first used in competition at Camp Perry in 1964 andwas used by the U. S. Marine Corps as late as 1996. Since then, ithas been replaced by the M16 style rifle for competition at CampPerry.

John C. Garand retired inApril, 1953 from Springfield Armory. He did some consulting work forMathewson Tool Company in 1954 on the T44E4 rifle, test version ofthe M14. He visited the National Matches at Camp Perry every summerwith 1961 being his last trip there. As part of his annual visit toCamp Perry, Mr. Garand visited the TRW test facilities in the summerof 1961 at the adjacent Erie Ordnance Depot while developmental workwas being done on the M14 NM. TRW occupied four brick buildings atthe Erie Ordnance Depot. The U. S. Coast Guard has office spaces inone of these buildings in 2005. In the early 1960s, Erie OrdnanceDepot warehoused hundreds of thousands of M1 Garand and M14 rifles.

From 1960 until at least1968, men such as Elmer Ballance, Karl Maunz, and Richard Smithparticipated in the shooting competition at Camp Perry. Melvin Smithwas at Camp Perry each year during this period selling welded M1Garand receivers and parts to civilian competition shooters. Fromthe early 1960s until 1974, civilian competitors used the M1 Garandrifle and military shooters were equipped with the M14 rifle. Before1960 until some time in the mid-1970s as many as 3,500 civilianscompeting at Camp Perry each summer were housed in hundreds of fourman wood huts. The wood huts had originally been built to housePrisoners-of-War during World War II. In the 1960s, they werelabeled with automobile license plates to assist the residents inlocating their assigned huts. Most of these wood huts were torn downa long time ago but a few dozen still remain in February, 2005. These wood huts were approximately 16 feet square. In the 1960s,each hut had four single military bunk beds and a wall-mounted riflerack for the occupants.

From about 1970 until 1986,civilian competitors traded M14 rifle parts amongst themselves fromthese wood huts and from their automobiles. This practice was knownas “tailgating.” Karl Maunz started an informal association ofcompetition shooters in 1984 in Atlanta, GA known as the AmericanShooters Union. The American Shooters Union had set up a place tobuy, sell and trade M14 parts in 1985 amongst the Commercial Row atCamp Perry. Camp Perry officials put a halt to tailgating as of1986. In response, Karl Maunz and other members of the AmericanShooters Union opened a firearm parts and accessories store known asUncle Sam’s. The store was located at 4484 W. Lakeshore PortClinton, OH, directly across the highway from the entrance to CampPerry. In the summer of 1986, Uncle Sam’s sold used M14 parts andother firearms related items. From their 1986 catalog, some of theM14 parts prices are as follows: complete bolt $35.00, stripped bolt$25.00, barrel $75.00, flash suppressor $15.00, gas cylinder $15.00,operating rod $30.00, fiberglass stock $10.00, complete rear sightassembly $15.00, complete USGI M14 parts kit $239.95, Accuracy Lug$39.95, and Maunz Mfg. receivers for $239.95.

Springfield Armory, Inc.

Springfield Armory, Inc. isthe oldest and largest commercial manufacturer of M14 type rifles. In 1994, it was renamed Springfield, Inc. for a time. SpringfieldArmory, Inc. has been located in Geneseo, Illinois since 1974 whenBob Reese became the owner. While at Camp Perry in August, 1973, BobReese took a photograph of Karl Maunz with a U. S. Marine utilitycover (hat) on his head and a M1A rifle in his hands posing in theoffhand position. Mr. Maunz borrowed the utility cover for thephotograph from a friend present at the time. This photograph wasdrawn as an illustration and became the company’s logo by no laterthan 1979. At the suggestion of Colonel Joe Smith, head of the DCM,in August, 1973 at Camp Perry, Karl Maunz encouraged Mr. Reese toshoot the M1A rifle in a DCM match and he did so.

Texas Production

The Springfield Armory, Inc.story begins with U. S. Air Force veteran Mr. Elmer Ballance ofDevine, Texas. His last name is correctly spelled with two lowercase letters “L.” He started his business, L. H. Gun Co., in1960 while stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio,Texas. The base had a housing subdivision named Lackland Heights. To save time writing, he named his company, L. H. Gun Co. “L. H.”is an abbreviation for Lackland Heights. While serving in the AirForce, Mr. Ballance shot the M14 rifle in competition on the All AirForce High Power Team. He completed his military service in 1964. After that, he built match grade M1 Garand rifles for competitionshooters.

The U. S. Army SpringfieldArmory had closed down in April, 1968. During the NRA NationalMatches at Camp Perry in the summer of 1968, the closure ofSpringfield Armory was a topic of discussion among the attendeesincluding Elmer Ballance, Karl Maunz and Melvin Smith. These threemen and an unnamed fourth person, held two or three meetings duringAugust, 1968 in one of the wood huts used to house civiliancompetitors. During one of these meetings, there was a Buckeye beercase full of Melvin Smith welded M1 Garand receivers wrapped innewspaper in the middle of the hut. It was in this meeting that KarlMaunz voiced his suggestion to name the business venture that wouldproduce commercial M14 type rifles, “Springfield.” This wasagreed to by the four men present. That particular wood hut stillstood in February, 2005.

Subsequent to this, Mr.Ballance began the process to acquire the name “Springfield Armory”for production of his commercial version of the M14 rifle. In late1969, Mr. Ballance commenced work on making the dream of civilian M14type rifles become reality. Though banks refused to fund his dream,this did not deter him. Mr. Ballance raised the funds himself. Heand Melvin Smith of Valley Ordnance Co. worked together to get theequipment set up for production of the civilian receiver and completerifles at their respective facilities in Texas and Pennsylvania. Some of the machinery and parts which Mr. Ballance purchased for theproject came from the Harrington & Richardson M14 productionfacility.

During this time, Mr.Ballance also modified less than fifty Springfield Armory andWinchester M1 Garand receivers to accept the M14 barrel and gassystem, to function with M14 magazines, and to fit in M14 stocks. This was completed prior to September, 1971. These are the firstcommercial production M14 type rifles ever made. One of thesemodified M1 Garand receiver semi-automatic M14 rifles was sold byCollector Firearms in Houston, Texas in 2004 for $2500.00. Theworkmanship on these modified M1 Garand receivers is excellent.

Mr. Ballance began marketingthe M1A rifle in September, 1971. In October, 1971, his FederalFirearms License was in the name of his business, L. H. Gun Companyat 3426 Weir Avenue San Antonio, TX 78226. The M1A rifle was firstadvertised in ShotgunNews in the November01, 1971 issue. About this time, BATF Agents informed Mr. Ballancethat he could not market the M1A rifle because the receiver markingsdid not bear the name and address of the manufacturer or thedistributor. Mr. Ballance promptly applied for a new FederalFirearms License in the name of Springfield Armory, Inc. He agreedto indicate the address on the barrel. Thus, L. H. Gun Companybecame Springfield Armory, Inc. The name of the closed governmentarsenal, Springfield Armory, was well known by the public andespecially by competition shooters. It turned out to be a successfulmarketing strategy.

Production of newlymanufactured investment cast M1A receivers began at the end of 1971. For example, M1A receiver serial number 000065 was received by thebuyer on December 24, 1971. These M1A rifles were assembled fromUSGI and National Match M14 parts except for the receiver and selectfire parts. The Texas business warranted M1A rifles for one year.

In January, 1972 ValleyOrdnance Co. (Wilkes-Barre, PA) was prepared to manufacture all majorM1A components. Melvin Smith and Elmer Ballance agreed that ValleyOrdnance would be responsible for the manufacture of the componentsparts and for maintaining an adequate supply of spare parts. ValleyOrdnance would handle all quality control on receivers and anybarrels that it might make. L. H. Gun Company would supervise allquality control during assembly and final testing and would have thesole right to sell M1A rifles. A large stack of customer orders hadbeen building up. The San Antonio plant was not able to meet thedemand. So, the L. H. Gun Company was forced to move to a newfacility in Devine, TX. Beginning on February 03, 1972, SpringfieldArmory, Inc. moved operations and inventory about thirty-five milesto Route 1 Devine, TX 78016. No M1A rifles or receivers were shippeduntil after an amended Federal Firearms License with the new addresswas issued on March 23, 1972.

Guns Illustratedconducted a test of a bedded but rack grade M1A with a Winchesterchromium plated M14 barrel in January, 1973. The rifle consistentlyshot 1.5 to 2 MOA out to 500 yards using 1968 Lake City 173 grainMatch and Sierra 168 grain Match hand load ammunition. The M1Abecame eligible for use in NRA High Power shooting matches on January01, 1974. The NRA had modified Rule 3.1.1 in the High Power RifleRule Book to allow commercial made M14 type rifles to be used incompetition shooting matches. At about the same time, the AmericanRifleman tested andreviewed M1A serial number 001562 in the March, 1974 issue.

In early May, 1974Springfield Armory, Inc. moved operations and inventory to 12106Radium Drive in San Antonio to cut costs. Production ceasedtemporarily while equipment and inventory was moved from the Devinefacility to the San Antonio facility and set up. An application wassubmitted to the BATF on May 13, 1974 to change the address on theFederal Firearms License. The new FFL was not issued by the BATFuntil late September, 1974. Springfield Armory, Inc. at 12106 RadiumDrive San Antonio, TX 78216 shipped M1A stripped and barreledreceivers to customers until the end of October, 1974.

Mr. Ballance never made orconverted any M1A or M14 type rifles to select fire. All of theTexas M1A receiver serial numbers start with a zero. It is notpossible to determine the original model of a Texas M1A by serialnumber. The serial numbers were logged in as 'manufacturedcomplete' regardless of model type, standard, National Match orE2. The serial number was logged a receiver if shipped unassembled. Some of the Texas M1A receivers were assembled into complete riflesby U. S. Army armorers at Fort Benning, GA. 150 of the M1A riflesassembled in Texas were fitted with T44E4 wood stocks with theselector cutout filled in, e.g., M1A serial number 001830.

Texas M1A Models

From a L. H. Gun Co. brochuremailed on January 06, 1973 from Devine, Texas, M1A models and priceswere as follows:

Standardmodel with fiberglass stock $200.00

Standardmodel with new walnut stock $225.00 or used walnut stock $215.00

Standardmodel with new beech stock $215.00 or used beech stock $200.00

M1AE2with birch stock $250.00

Federal Ordnance M14sa For Sale

M1AE2with bipod $275.00

Matchgrade model with walnut stock $250.00

New issue bayonet $5.00

Texas Barrel Markings

All M1A complete riflesassembled in Texas had barrels with the complete address where it wasassembled. These barrel markings are typically located on theunderside between the gas cylinder and the flash suppressor. Therewere three barrel markings for the Texas company. The marking L HGUN CO S A TEX 78226 was found on the first 100 rifles assembled byMr. Ballance. Additionally, a few of these hand stamped barrels wereshipped to Fort Benning, GA. This stamping was done by hand in twolines using serif font characters. L H GUN CO is on the first lineand S A TEX 78226 is on the second line.

The barrel marking thenchanged to RT I BOX 2I0 DEVINE TEX or RT I BX 210 DEVINE TX. Initially, the Devine address marking was in two lines with RT I BOX2I0 or RT I BX 210 on the first line then DEVINE TEX or DEVINE TX onthe second line. The two line Devine address marking has beenobserved as late as M1A serial number 000567. By serial number000812, this marking was changed to one line (RT I BOX 2I0 DEVINETEX) to avoid indexing the barrel. The third Texas barrel marking is12106 RADIUM SA TEX 78216. This third barrel marking appeared on thebarrels some time between June and October, 1974. This address is aone line marking. The first Devine address barrel markings appearedsporadically on assembled M1A rifles beginning at about serial number00013X. For example, barreled M1A receivers 000172 and 000214 had noaddress markings. The original owner received both barreled M1Areceivers on April 21, 1972 from L. H. Gun Company in San Antonio,TX. The Devine address marking continued until at least M1A serialnumber 002127 in April, 1974. The Radium San Antonio address markingappears as early as M1A serial number 002167 in September, 1974.

Springfield Armory, Inc. inTexas marked the barrels at the time of rifle assembly. Barrels withthe simple address of DEVINE TEX or DEVINE TX are not barrels markedby Springfield Armory, Inc. when it was located in Texas. Mr.Ballance never used Canadian Arsenals barrels in the assembly of M1Arifles because he did not have any from that maker in his partsinventory. Mr. Ballance gave some stripped M1A receivers to armorersat Fort Benning as payment for assembly of other M1A receivers intocomplete rifles.

A very few Texas markedbarrels were sent to Geneseo, Illinois. The barrels on the first M1Arifles leaving the Illinois factory were electro-penciled GeneseoIll. However, M1A rifles in 1975 were sold with a coupon to be usedtowards the purchase of a spare barrel. Thus, a very few of thespare barrels sold by the Illinois company had Texas markings. It islikely that a very small number of individuals eventually had theseTexas marked spare barrels installed on M1A rifles sold bySpringfield Armory, Inc. in Illinois.

Transition from Texas toIllinois

Due to financialdifficulties, Springfield Armory, Inc. changed ownership in the firstten days of November, 1974 from Elmer Ballance to Bob Reese inGeneseo, Illinois. ¹An advertisement announcing the sale of Springfield Armory, Inc. inTexas appeared in the September 01, 1974 issue of ShotgunNews. The transferof the company assets included all of the unused receivers andbarrels and many of the USGI parts. Production problems troubled theReese family for some time. These problems were sorted out over afew months and M1A production resumed by the spring of 1975.

Mr. Ballance states that atotal of 4620 receivers were manufactured before Springfield Armory,Inc. changed hands to Mr. Bob Reese. When the Texas companyreceivers had been used up, Valley Ordnance continued to supplyfinished M1A receivers to the Illinois company. It did so until 1996when Melvin Smith passed away. The bare receivers, barrels and otherparts left over from the Texas firm were used to help startproduction of the M1A rifle in Illinois.

M14 Serial Number Database

The serial number transitionfrom Texas to Illinois occurs somewhere between 002700 and 003200. There is no dispute regarding serial numbers under 002700. Therifles and receivers below serial number 002700 were sold by Mr.Ballance. Records at Springfield Armory, Inc. for receiver serialnumbers under 003200 are sparse.

The following individualcases serve to illustrate the difficulty of determining at whatserial number the Texas firm ceased sales of the M1A rifle:

Serial number 002734 - M1Aserial number 002734 was shipped from Geneseo, Illinois on April 28,1975. Geneseo Ill is electro-penciled on the barrel of M1A serialnumber 002734.

Serial number 0028XX - An M1Awith serial number 0028XX has been identified with the 12106 RADIUMSA TEX 78216 marking on the barrel. Several hundred M1A rifles wereassembled at the 12106 Radium San Antonio address.

Serial number 002831 - M1Aserial number 002831 was sold new to the original owner by the FFL onFebruary 19, 1975. The price was $309.75 including sales tax. Thebarrel has the marking RT I BX 210 DEVINE TEX. It is likely thatthis rifle was assembled in Geneseo, IL with a Texas marked barrel.

Serial numbers 002867 and002874 – M1A serial number 002874 has the following one lineaddress marking on the barrel: RT I BX 210 DEVINE TEX. According tothe original owner and his purchase receipt, M1A rifles with serialnumbers 002867 and 002874 were shipped from Devine, TX in May, 1974to his local FFL. Both rifles were then promptly sold to him.

Serial number 002877 – ThisM1A rifle has an October, 1962 production Harrington & Richardsonchromium plated barrel. The barrel marking is identical to M1Aserial number 002831 except there is an O between B and X. Springfield Armory, Inc. in Geneseo, IL has no record of this serialnumber.

Serial number 003139 – M1Aserial number 003139 has the 12106 RADIUM SA TEX 78216 marking on thebarrel.

Serial number 003159 -Stripped M1A receiver serial number 003159 was received by theoriginal owner on November 01, 1974 from Springfield Armory, Inc. at12106 Radium Drive San Antonio, T 78216.

Illinois Production

Bob Reese was an Illinoissoybean farmer with an enduring passion for firearms. At some pointafter World War II, he bought military surplus items includingfirearms parts. There was a strong public demand for the M1 Garandrifle. Bob Reese served the non-competitor market demand by weldingcut M1 Garand receivers back together to help meet this demand. In1974, Bob Reese became the owner of Springfield Armory, Inc. BobReese, his wife and their sons, Tom, David and Dennis, have built thebusiness into an American success story. Starting out in the barnsof the family farm and growing to forty employees by 1986, firearmsmanufacture and assembly have been done in its Geneseo, Illinoisfactory for decades now. In addition to the M1A, Springfield Armory,Inc. of Illinois has made the M1911 pistol, M1 Garand, SAR 48 andBM59 rifles, and the M60 machine gun. The M1 Garand and BM59receivers were made by Springfield Armory, Inc. and assembled withsurplus parts. The Springfield Armory, Inc. M1 Garand was introducedin 1979 and its BM59 debuted in 1981. BM59 rifles and parts arestill available through its sister company, Reese Surplus, Inc. Thefirearms manufacturer Beretta developed the BM59 rifle from 1957 to1958. Like the M14, the BM59 is a descendant of the M1 Garand rifle.

The M1A receiver design wasfurther changed prior to serial number 030100 to include a smallhemisphere on the outboard side of the rear sight pocket right earfor use of a ball bearing to engage a detent on a newly designedmatch windage knob. This windage knob allowed ½ minute of anglesight adjustments by allowing eight “clicks” per revolution ofthe knob. Original USGI NM sights used a more delicate fine threadon the windage knob and rear sight base to effect ½ minute windageadjustments with four “clicks” per revolution.

Springfield Armory, Inc. madefurther changes to the receiver geometry around serial number 040000. The chamber was moved very slightly forward to improve accuracy andincrease bolt lock up time. Some Springfield Armory, Inc. receivershave a ridge on the bottom right hand side that may slightlyinterfere with the fit of some stocks. This ridge has beenidentified on M1A rifles from serial number 000049 until somewherebetween 034XXX and 0422XX. This bottom side ridge was removed fromthe design as part of the changes made for economic reasons. Itmeant two less machining cuts but it has the benefit of better fitwith the various stocks. Prior to the May, 1986 ban on newmanufacture machine guns, Springfield Armory, Inc. had a Full AutoDepartment that manufactured and assembled select fire M1A rifles.

Springfield Armory, Inc. M1Arifles with serial numbers under 084000 were reportedly made prior tothe September 13, 1994 effective date of the U. S. Violent CrimeControl and Law Enforcement Act. Springfield Armory, Inc. soldstripped receivers manufactured prior to September 13, 1994 as well. If the stripped receiver was not assembled into a complete rifle bySeptember 13, 1994 it was considered a post-'94 ban firearm by theBATF. During the ten years of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, specificfeatures could not be added to M14 type rifles assembled for civiliansale after September 13, 1994 within the United States. Thesefederal restrictions were automatically repealed by the sunsetprovision (automatic expiration of the law absent furtherCongressional action) of the same law on September 13, 2004. Stateand local laws are still in effect though. Certainly, the 1994Assault Weapons Ban had no adverse effect on the popularity of theM1A. M1A serial number 166761 was built on August 26, 2004, justbefore the repeal of the ban. Springfield Armory, Inc. had USGI M14parts kits available to them for assembly of M1A rifles at leastthrough the 100XXX serial number range.

As of February, 2004,Springfield Armory, Inc. M1A receivers are cast by Alphacasting, Inc.in St-Laurent, Quebec, Canada for Springfield Armory, Inc. Alphacasting, Inc. makes the M1A receiver by the lost wax investmentcasting method. In business since 1991, it is a precision castingfirm that makes parts from aluminum, bronze, and many grades ofcarbon and stainless steels. At Springfield Armory, Inc., all basicrifle assemblers have a minimum of two years experience assemblingrifles before they are allowed to assemble rifles on their own. Arifle is test fired with five rounds for function and has to functionthrough all five rounds or it doesn't get shipped. If it fails forany reason, it gets torn down and rebuilt. Then the rifle is testedfor five rounds again.

M1A Packaging – Afterassembly and testing, the M1A rifles are packed for shipment. Abrightly colored plastic empty chamber indicator is inserted into thechamber and the bolt closed on it. The factory headspace and safetywarning tags are attached to the trigger guard. Then the M1A rifleis inserted into a plastic sleeve and placed inside a cardboardshipping box. The shipping box also contains an owner’s manual,safety literature, warranty information, and accessories and partssales brochures. Springfield Armory, Inc. M1A rifles had a limitedwarranty for one year after the initial purchase for the periodSeptember 01, 1985 until December 31, 1992. Effective January 01,1993, Springfield Armory, Inc. M1A rifles are sold with a limitedlifetime warranty that applies to the original retail buyer. Inrecent years, a gun lock has been included. The shipping boxes weregreen and white in color until sometime between serial number 0708XX(after July, 1992) and 075XXX (fall 1993) when they were changed toblue and white.

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