I never fired an M14 with live ammo, only blanks. We used them in UGA ROTC field excecises in the 70s. The only military gun I fired in that caliber with live ammo was the M60 machine gun. Shot expert with it at Ft. Knox. I did see the Army truck drivers with M14s when they delivered our munitions to Nakhon Phanom AFB in NE Thailand in '67 and '68. I understand they are fine long range shooters. All I had was an M1 Carbine, as our M16s were taken from us and given to the South Vietnamese Army. We in the AF got their carbines. It was part of LBJ's "Vietnamization" program or some such. Given the problems some were having with the M16s at the time, I prefered the carbine.