I decided to resurrect this topic regarding M14A1s in sniper rifle configuration as used in Vietnam era, as I now have a better understanding of this subject. Here's the M14A1 sniper rifle as it appears in Peter Senich's book, The Long-Range War (1996). It is listed as part of the West Point Collection. The stock was apparently glass-bedded. (Note: I think this is a birch stock, and I suspect it was pulled straight out of a crate of new E2 stocks, as they were shipped without the buttplate and front handle, and the armor for the 1st Calvary improvised by fitting a standard M14 buttplate and standard M14 front swivel to this rifle).
To begin, I was under the impression that the West Point museum M14A1 sniper rifle, as seen in Peter Senich’s book, with a birch E2 stock, AWC scope mount, and M84 scope, was likely just a ‘one-off’ or ‘ad hoc’ M14 sniper rifle used in Vietnam by an officer in the 1st Calvary (reportedly circa 1970-1971). However, I went back and re-reviewed a section in Lee Emerson’s excellent book, M14 Rifle History and Development (Vol 1, 2016 edition, pages 166-167), which noted: “Less than 100 M14 rifles were fitted with walnut M14E2 stocks for use as sniper rifles" in Vietnam. Emerson’s reference comes from a January 1968 article in American Rifleman, and I was recently able to obtain and read that article for myself. Long story short, I found the info in this old back issue both interesting and specific, so I decided to post an extended excerpt from the article for anyone interested.
Excerpt from article: “Snipers in Vietnam Also Need Firepower,” by Louis A. Garavaglia, American Rifleman, January 1968, pages 18-19:
I found the details of that 1968 article interesting as it was written by an informed soldier who obviously knew first-hand the operational details and the specific configuration of the improvised M14 sniper rifles that were used by the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) Company of the 4th Division. (And when he wrote it, he wasn’t relying on distant memories from 3 or 4 decades prior – it was during the conflict – early 1968.) The second back-issue that I read was a September 2007 article, "The Specialized M14: Diehard Defender," by Chuck Karwan, American Rifleman (Note: Chuck Karwan is also a Vietnam Veteran, whose tour of duty was 1970-71):
So, perhaps both authors are correct; maybe 125 NM prepared M14 sniper rifles with attached scopes were made “stateside” at Rock Island Arsenal and sent to Vietnam, and another 300 M14 rifles were converted “in country” with the loose AWC mounts and M84 scopes that were subsequently sent to Vietnam that same year. Regardless, the 2007 article has an interesting picture of an M14 with birch E2 stock and M84/AWC scope set-up, the same rifle seen in Peter Senich’s book, The Long-Range War. (Note: This rifle is noted as part of the West Point museum collection, and Chuck Karwan was a West Point graduate who served in Vietnam as a Company Commander of the 1st Calvary Division. It is not clear if this is the actual rifle that Karwan carried during his tour circa 1970-1971, or a replica of his M14A1 sniper rifle, as made by armors for the 1st Calvary.)
Caption from picture:
Bottomline: I initially thought the West Point museum M14A1 rifle as seen in Peter Senich’s book was probably just a ‘one-off’ or ’ad hoc’ M14 sniper rifle used in Vietnam. However, after reviewing articles written by these two Vietnam veterans who served in different Army Divisions, and whose tours of duty were roughly 4 years apart – it is clear that an M14A1 sniper rifle with the AWC/M84 optic system was not exactly a one-off variant. In retrospect, it appears that perhaps dozens of these improvised M14A1 sniper rifles were likely used in Vietnam beginning around 1967 by members of the Army’s 4th Division, and it is apparent that at least one such rifle was used as late as 1970-71 during Chuck Karwan’s tour of duty in the Army's 1st Calvary Division. In addition, Karwan’s article also notes that he was involved with troops equipped with the XM21 rifle, so both variants of these M14-based sniper rifles were being used concurrently. Summing up, Lee Emerson’s research noting that a limited number of M14A1 rifles were used as sniper rifles in Vietnam was apparently a more common variant than I had initially anticipated, even if vintage pictures of such rifles are unfortunately scarce.
Anyhow, there is no way of knowing exactly how many such rifles were used in this configuration by the 4th Division beginning in 1967, or any other Army or USMC combat units in the years thereafter, as it was a more or less an improvised configuration. Regardless, I thought these two articles add some interesting historical information to the forum’s ‘body of knowledge.’
As a side note, I think first lieutenant Garavaglia’s observations back in 1968 were correct concerning the ergonomics of the E2 stock and how it works fairly well with a scoped M14 rifle. Since I recently acquired an AWC mount and an M14E2 stock that has been glass bedded, I might as well try to make a tribute of an M14A1 sniper rifle to go along with my Vietnam era XM21 replica...so I guess that’s one more project to add to the list…
To begin, I was under the impression that the West Point museum M14A1 sniper rifle, as seen in Peter Senich’s book, with a birch E2 stock, AWC scope mount, and M84 scope, was likely just a ‘one-off’ or ‘ad hoc’ M14 sniper rifle used in Vietnam by an officer in the 1st Calvary (reportedly circa 1970-1971). However, I went back and re-reviewed a section in Lee Emerson’s excellent book, M14 Rifle History and Development (Vol 1, 2016 edition, pages 166-167), which noted: “Less than 100 M14 rifles were fitted with walnut M14E2 stocks for use as sniper rifles" in Vietnam. Emerson’s reference comes from a January 1968 article in American Rifleman, and I was recently able to obtain and read that article for myself. Long story short, I found the info in this old back issue both interesting and specific, so I decided to post an extended excerpt from the article for anyone interested.
Excerpt from article: “Snipers in Vietnam Also Need Firepower,” by Louis A. Garavaglia, American Rifleman, January 1968, pages 18-19:
***
I found the details of that 1968 article interesting as it was written by an informed soldier who obviously knew first-hand the operational details and the specific configuration of the improvised M14 sniper rifles that were used by the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) Company of the 4th Division. (And when he wrote it, he wasn’t relying on distant memories from 3 or 4 decades prior – it was during the conflict – early 1968.) The second back-issue that I read was a September 2007 article, "The Specialized M14: Diehard Defender," by Chuck Karwan, American Rifleman (Note: Chuck Karwan is also a Vietnam Veteran, whose tour of duty was 1970-71):
…Two comments regarding that section. First, the M84 scope was designed in 1945 at the end of WWII, but was not exactly a “WWII vintage” scope as recall they were not actually made until the early 1950s, during the Korean War. Secondly, Peter Senich’s book states that 125 national match rifles with the AWC/M84 scope set-up were sent to Vietnam in March 1967, not the 300 that the author stated in the 2007 article. However, Senich also notes in the same paragraph that in addition to the 125 sniper rifles, 425 of the “prototype M14 mounts” (AWC mounts) and 356 M84 scopes were also sent to Vietnam that year, so I guess it is possible that 300 or more M14s were in fact outfitted with the AWC/M84 set-up once these detached optic systems arrived in Vietnam.
So, perhaps both authors are correct; maybe 125 NM prepared M14 sniper rifles with attached scopes were made “stateside” at Rock Island Arsenal and sent to Vietnam, and another 300 M14 rifles were converted “in country” with the loose AWC mounts and M84 scopes that were subsequently sent to Vietnam that same year. Regardless, the 2007 article has an interesting picture of an M14 with birch E2 stock and M84/AWC scope set-up, the same rifle seen in Peter Senich’s book, The Long-Range War. (Note: This rifle is noted as part of the West Point museum collection, and Chuck Karwan was a West Point graduate who served in Vietnam as a Company Commander of the 1st Calvary Division. It is not clear if this is the actual rifle that Karwan carried during his tour circa 1970-1971, or a replica of his M14A1 sniper rifle, as made by armors for the 1st Calvary.)
Caption from picture:
***
Bottomline: I initially thought the West Point museum M14A1 rifle as seen in Peter Senich’s book was probably just a ‘one-off’ or ’ad hoc’ M14 sniper rifle used in Vietnam. However, after reviewing articles written by these two Vietnam veterans who served in different Army Divisions, and whose tours of duty were roughly 4 years apart – it is clear that an M14A1 sniper rifle with the AWC/M84 optic system was not exactly a one-off variant. In retrospect, it appears that perhaps dozens of these improvised M14A1 sniper rifles were likely used in Vietnam beginning around 1967 by members of the Army’s 4th Division, and it is apparent that at least one such rifle was used as late as 1970-71 during Chuck Karwan’s tour of duty in the Army's 1st Calvary Division. In addition, Karwan’s article also notes that he was involved with troops equipped with the XM21 rifle, so both variants of these M14-based sniper rifles were being used concurrently. Summing up, Lee Emerson’s research noting that a limited number of M14A1 rifles were used as sniper rifles in Vietnam was apparently a more common variant than I had initially anticipated, even if vintage pictures of such rifles are unfortunately scarce.
Anyhow, there is no way of knowing exactly how many such rifles were used in this configuration by the 4th Division beginning in 1967, or any other Army or USMC combat units in the years thereafter, as it was a more or less an improvised configuration. Regardless, I thought these two articles add some interesting historical information to the forum’s ‘body of knowledge.’
As a side note, I think first lieutenant Garavaglia’s observations back in 1968 were correct concerning the ergonomics of the E2 stock and how it works fairly well with a scoped M14 rifle. Since I recently acquired an AWC mount and an M14E2 stock that has been glass bedded, I might as well try to make a tribute of an M14A1 sniper rifle to go along with my Vietnam era XM21 replica...so I guess that’s one more project to add to the list…