Estonian M14 TP Sniper "Täitsa Paska" (Ad-free)
Added 2024-09-16 12:00:06 +0000 UTCWhen Estonia took its independence in 1991, it had to form a new military essentially from scratch. Keeping the structure that existed before Soviet occupation in 1940, two separate forces were reinstituted. One was the Defense Forces - the formal Army, with a cadre of professional soldiers and annual classes of recruits serving their obligatory military service. They purchased Galil rifles from Israel as their primary infantry rifle. The other part of the Estonian armed forces was the Defense League, a volunteer territorial sort of organization, somewhat akin to the US National Guard. Arms for the Defense League were a bit less standardized, and included a large number (in excess of 40,000) M14 rifles provided by the United States.
A small number (thankfully small...) were made into sniper rifles circa 2000; the M14 TP ("Täpsuspüss" or Precision Rifle). This was done with locally made plywood stocks designed to look like sniper chassis, local production bipods, B-Square scope mounts, and "Hawke" brand 2.5-10x Chinese optics. The result was not good. Awful, really. The scopes and mounts did not hold zero at all, and the guns gained various alternative nicknames like "Täitsa Paska" ("total shit").
The M14TP was replaced by the far superior M14TP2 in 2008, and those are likely to be replaced now by new LMT R20L precision rifles.
Thanks to the Supply Battalion of the Estonian Defense Forces Support Command for giving me access to film this relic, even though it is rather embarrassing to them!
Comments
It may be an awful adaptation, but it's part of what this channel's about; showing the good, bad and horrible; then taking about them in the way only Gun Jesus seems able to.
Adrian Perry
2024-09-17 15:25:15 +0000 UTCLay down some lines of aluminum to use those grooves Springfield so thoughtfully provided on the receiver? Pity B-Square doesn't do that from the factory, but hey, it would add at least $1 to the product retail price...
Bruce Brodnax
2024-09-16 19:21:19 +0000 UTCEpoxy based, hopefully. Need something that will polymerize to a water tight finish for environmental sealing.
Bruce Brodnax
2024-09-16 19:19:18 +0000 UTCHey, hey, HEY NOW! B-square stole that mount from their Mini-14 offering & just upscaled it, where it worked almost meh for .223!.. 🤣🤪🙄
Bruce Brodnax
2024-09-16 19:17:59 +0000 UTCYou point out the steel reinforcement plates in a laminated stock, and then turn around and state there's "no bedding," which makes me suspicious that Gun Jesus is forgetting how the M1's [and hence, M14's] stock lockup works. There was also sign of some metal reinforcement at the front of the magwell cutout, which would be the all-important 3rd leg of a tripod. Altogether, a laminated stock w/ an epoxy paint for environmental sealing and steel bedding blocks sounds reasonably well thought-out and cost-effective for addressing the M14/M1A's known accuracy issues and the rifles were only let down by the horrific B-square mounts [why didn't Estonia ask for some of the US armory-designed units as aid?] and the unfortunate optics choice. Willing to wager that EDL soldiers using the iron sights on these could outshoot anyone daring to use the optics within 500 yards [ie, out to where just *seeing* the target begins to overshadow the scope's barely restrained dance of dispersion...]
Bruce Brodnax
2024-09-16 19:08:52 +0000 UTCgood looking ,i had a friend that shoot competition and he told me they had to heliarc mounts to keep ‘em from moving
Reed Gregory
2024-09-16 15:18:05 +0000 UTCHouse paint?
ViejoLobo
2024-09-16 14:12:31 +0000 UTCsure that wasn't elbonia there? that has to be THE most F...ailed up scope/mount on a sniper rifle since... frankly rather give me a rack grade 14 with irons on it rather take chances with that.
Guido Schriewer
2024-09-16 12:31:42 +0000 UTC
