Finished my personal double-lug M14 *with range report. 0.16" 3-shot group with iron sights*
I built this LRB rear-lugged a couple of years ago and it was my best shooting rifle ever with 1/2" groups when it was in a JAE chassis and using a scope. The barrel was furnished to me by Lothar-Walther as a T&E barrel with no strings attached.
I decided to add the front lug which means it could only fit into a bedded McMillan stock. I had an old navy grey stock and I routed it for the lugs and added steel pillars. It was a rough looking stock, but it works!
It also has a Shooting Sight trigger and speed hammer, a Sadlak vented gas piston, a GI unitized gas cylinder. reamed flash suppressor and NOS NM/2A rear sights.
Here's the stock before painting and bedding...
This was the action while it was being bedded...
I sanded the stock and gave it a few coats of OD Green Krylon.
Rear lug pillar...
Front lug pillar...
All pained and assembled...
At the range...
I was VERY happy with how it turned out! All GROUPS WERE SHOT USING IRON SIGHTS! My largest group was 1.164" at 100 yards. My final group was a 3-shot group after coming down 1/2 MOA with my rear sight aperture was 0.160"! I measured the first two and last three shots and even with the 1/2 MOA sight adjustment, all five shots still came in at 1.00"! I was probably looking at a 1/4 or 3/8" group if I had not adjusted my sights.
Thanks for looking!
Tony.This message has been edited. Last edited by: benny6,
Even better that to the casual observer, it looks boringly bone stock.
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March 24, 2023, 07:29 AM
Vgex
It is always interesting what goes into this generation of rifles. Very cool. Modern rifles seem to just be spat out of a CNC machine these days, and are all on some skeletonized chassis. They just seem like a barrel attached to a slightly different shape of aluminum and all look the same. I appreciate the post.
March 24, 2023, 11:50 AM
benny6
Thanks for the kind words! Instead of reposting what's really involved in a double-lugger, I'll just refer to the thread on Wes Howe's rifle that I built a while back. It goes into much more detail on what is involved.
It's hard to believe it's been 3 years since I built his.
Benny, what does the aluminum cylinder serve on the barrel?
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March 25, 2023, 05:36 PM
benny6
While the bedding is curing, it keeps the barrel centered over the barrel channel and also sets the draw pressure at the gas cylinder. The draw pressure was really heavy and I actually wanted less draw pressure than what I got. But obviously, the rifle said it was the right amount.
It's referred to as a bedding collar or a bedding doughnut. I made this one on the lathe out of scrap aluminum. They can be made in different sizes for more or less draw pressure.
