U.S. Army/Navy/USMC M14-based sniper and DMR/SDM rifles circa late-1960s to late 201Xs

For anyone interested, here are some pics of my latest M14 replica project - an early Mk 14 Mod 0 circa 2004ish. First, two pics that provided some inspiration. What is unique about these early Mod 0s is the 1st generation SAGE chassis with 13” long forend, and full length 22” barrel. These would be 2004 era SAGE chassis, but feedback to Crane included a request to lighten the rifle. So, beginning in 2005 the production Mod 0s had the shorter “chop mod” forends that were 11.25” long and the barrels were shortened to 18” length. My replica is the earlier version.




My project parts collected between 2020-2024:

Notable deviation with my replica is a medium weight chrome-lined match barrel, instead of a standard profile USGI M14 barrel.


Mock-up (still need the SAGE op rod guide mounting bolts and to install the faux M14 selector lock). For those curious, the rifle will weigh about 15.5 pounds unloaded with the padded M60 sling. Durable but heavy.





So that’s my latest M14 replica project.

My replica early Mk 14 Mod 0 is heavy and is best shot from the bench or prone. Folks might be surprised what a DMR or sniper type M14 weighs when built around a heavy McMillan stock. USMC M14 DMR w/ bipod, sling and empty magazine being weighed:


As noted, the feedback to Crane from soldiers regarding the early Mk 14 was it was too heavy, so chassis was shortened 1.75” and barrel was shortened by 4” (going from 22” to 18”, and it was the standard skinny profile, not the thicker, medium weight barrel that I used). I think the production Mk 14 Mod 0 weighed about 14 lbs unloaded. The SAGE chassis adds about 2.5 to 3 lbs over the standard M14 stock, depending on configuration.