To start, Im new to the M1a/M14 disease.
I was lucky enough to land a NIB 2013 SA M21 for my first M14 platform. Krieger barrel, Nightforce scope, Sadlak base..... didn't cheap out on it. Anyhow today at approx 250 rounds it finally tightened up to 1moa. Ive hand loaded and also purchased high end ammo (Berger, Black Hills, Lapua, Federal, Hornady) all match grade 175gr. Until today it was a solid 3+moa rifle. I have been so disgusted with it I even tried to sell it after about 100rds. Today I shot and shot and it got hot, I was pissed and hot and all of a sudden it tightened right up thank the lord baby Jesus!!!! Im really experienced in long range bolt guns and 1911s and this was starting to really disappoint me. Im guessing either the barrel took a long time to break in or the rifle needed punishment to settle into the stock and bedding. I guess I don't really care now that it shoots. Its going to Tony soon to get bedded into a McMillan. So if it was the bedding I guess I'll have to deal with this again.

Now to my second problem that has NOT been resolved. Every time I shoot this rifle I'll have intermittent instances where it will essentially double fire, slam fire, not sure of the term but it will actually fire 2 or three times, like burst fire. The rifle has done it with about half of the different loads Ive put through it. Hand loads and factory loads? Im sure there is a stupid explanation for this but Im green to the platform. Anybody care to share or weigh in on this? Thank you

The doubling can be caused by a few things, but if its going to TB soon, he can fix that, unless its shooter induced which is mostly caused by a loose hold on the rifle and not keeping it hard up against the shoulder when firing. It can bounce and your finger gets the trigger twice.
But if it does if often, it may need some trigger work or new parts.

 

What parts or trigger work are you thinking of? Just trying to learn. It very well could be me, this is the first large bore semi auto Ive shot.

 

On rifles I'm not used to, I have gotten doubles by not keeping my trigger finger back farther after the break. Recoil, (without good recoil management), causes another round to fire IF you have that trigger right at the reset. Haven't had it on an M1A or other variants but have had them on a few new to me Garands. Squeeze and carry the trigger to the stop after the break, then reset and fire again. Once you get to know the trigger(s), you can avoid any doubles and not be as deliberate with it. Again, how you hold/grip the stock and have it shouldered to manage the recoil plays a big role, too.

 

It sounds like it could totally be me. On top of not being used to a large caliber semi auto, the 2 stage type trigger is really foreign to me. Im also guilty of not getting into the rifle shooting off the bench. I'll shoot prone next time and see what happens. Thank you

 

If you only pull the trigger until the rifle fires, it will double.

You have to follow through, pulling the trigger all the way to the rear.

 

If you only pull the trigger until the rifle fires, it will double.

You have to follow through, pulling the trigger all the way to the rear.

Im with Kurt however he forgot to mention that you need to hold the trigger to the rear. Don’t MILK the trigger this isn’t a bolt gun.

 

I’m with Kurt on this, it‘s all about follow through. Just let it surprise you and keep your finger all the way back.
a slam fire is when the bolt goes home on a round and discharges. You had double taps.

 

Having your rifle properly bedded in a McMillan stock should greatly improve your shooting experience. I have had three M1A’s over the years that doubled. All three had the trigger groups match tuned and the trigger pulls lightened. One owner had then swapped out the heavy NM op rod guide on a match M1A with a standard light weight USGI op rod guide. The trigger group had been tuned perfectly with the oversized NM op rod guide installed. I knew the original match rifle builder always used the heavy NM op rod guides and I had spares in my parts bin. Really quick fix. It explained why I was able get such a great deal on that rifle. Rifle functioned perfectly and is amazingly accurate. The other two were a weak hammer spring that had been lightened too much and a trigger that had filing marks on the hooks. I keep extra match tuned USGI trigger groups that I can swap around and test to isolate the problem. Again simple fixes. Your’s may be something more complicated so I would definitely send it to a professional. Tony can straighten it all out for you and when it’s done you will have something really
special.