![winchester m14 air rifle winchester m14 air rifle](https://www.theduke.de/wp-content/uploads/winM14b.jpg)
The weapon needed to be cleaned often to avoid failures, but breaking them down for cleaning was complex and difficult. On top of the reliability issues, these weapons also came with very fragile sights that broke easily. Many of the gun’s fragile pieces needed hand fitting when replaced, so they could rarely be fixed in the field, especially when hopping from island to island.īut to be fair to these weapons, the M50 and M55 Reising were service weapons designed for stateside law enforcement, not the brutal rigors of an island-hopping campaign. Despite their forward-leaning design, many Reisings served more time as paperweights than as guns. The problem was that they broke, and they broke often. They offered controllable, compact firepower, were extremely accurate and well-balanced guns, and maybe most importantly, they were much cheaper than the Thompson. They really had the potential to be great guns. These guns were quite innovative for SMGs, utilizing a closed bolt and a delayed recoil system. The M50 and 55 Reising were SMGs issued to Marines in the Pacific. Related: The Infantry Automatic Rifle is nothing new The M50/55 Reising
![winchester m14 air rifle winchester m14 air rifle](https://image.invaluable.com/housePhotos/bradfordsauction/42/688942/H22021-L233453388.jpg)
It was the shortest-serving modern service rifle for a reason, legends or not. In-country, when the rifle broke, it broke big. During an inspection of firearms from Springfield, H&R, and Winchester, the Army found not a single rifle was built correctly. The M14 promised to use Garand tooling, but that turned out to be a lie, so production quickly proved more expensive and problematic than expected. The M14 wasn’t suited for jungle or urban combat by any means and, in general, required more labor to build. The Army did a survey among Marines who’d seen combat, and almost unanimously, they wanted the M16. While you may have heard legends of soldiers tossing their M16s in favor of old M14s, it’s far from true.
![winchester m14 air rifle winchester m14 air rifle](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/714E7fm6S6L._CR412,0,1060,1060_UX256.jpg)
In reality, it was a clumsy, heavy weapon chambered in a round that was only chosen because the Army couldn’t break away from the 30 Caliber. The M14 was a big heavy rifle designed to replace the M1 Grand, the BAR, and the M3 Grease gun. People like to talk about how great the M14 was, but I think that can be largely attributed to nostalgia for wood and metal service rifles. Speaking of short service lives, the M14 served for only six years, making it the shortest-lived general issue service rifle in American history and one of the worst service weapons in general. Related: The strangest Spec-Ops firearms in SOCOM’s armory The M14