More than 100,000 surplus M14 rifles once used by the U.S. military are expected to go on sale to the public beginning early next year through the Civilian Marksmanship Program.
The organization is a federally chartered nonprofit that plans to sell the guns. CMP CEO and board Chairman Jerry O’Keefe said the organization is targeting a price below $2,000 per rifle, though final pricing has not yet been announced.” Every buyer is limited to two weapons apiece, and sales are expected in January. The CMP could reconsider this limit as sales go on.
CMP CEO and board Chairman Jerry O’Keefe discussed the details during an interview with Shooting USA host John Scoutten at Camp Perry, Ohio. While the program has authorization for the sale, they had not figured out the particular details such as price or inventory to sell before the video announcement.
Rifles Must Be Permanently Modified
The authorization had to follow one strict legal challenge in order for the CMP to sell the weapons. The original build of the M14 was as a selective-fire weapon that had both semiautomatic and fully automatic options available.
Before the sale could be made to the general public, every rifle must be converted into just a semiautomatic one. Once this procedure had been done, then the rifle could be sold to the masses.
O’Keefe said the CMP spent a great deal of time working with the appropriate agencies and federal oversight partners on how the process would be undertaken. Federal officials must be fully assured that the modified weapons cannot be reversed back into their original form.
Another key component of this transformation was to use a technology that would be able to read and document serial numbers as the weapons move through this change. It would document the weapon after conversion and allow the agency to give the government an actual accounting of where each weapon was.
“We’ve spent an extraordinary amount of time and effort thinking through every step in this process,” O’Keefe said.
While most of the surplus will be given to the CMP, some will be retained by the government for its own causes, such as ceremonies and select military operations.
Surprise Public Interest
The CMP initially indicated that the order would begin to be sent out in late 2026 or in the early months of 2027. What surprised them was public interest. The demand skyrocketed way beyond the organization’s expectations.
This reaction convinced them that they needed to add several months to their initial estimate. In order to do this, they needed to build their inventory up to fit the public interest in the weapons. They updated their first sales to now be January 2027.
Eligibility requirements, ordering procedures, and other necessary things to know regarding the sales will be available to the public from the CMP before the first sales start. The CMP has previously managed civilian sales of other surplus military firearms, including M1903 Springfield rifles, M1 Garands, M1 Carbines and M1911 .45-caliber semiautomatic pistols.
CMP was established in 1903 to promote civilian marksmanship training for the public. Congress privatized the organization in 1996 and allowed it to sell eligible military firearms that the government deemed fit for public use.
Revenue from these sales supports such things as firearm safety programs, marksmanship seminars, scholarships, and more.
The Short Service History Marked by Significance
The M14 was first selected as the standard U.S. rifle for service members in 1957 and was developed from other famous weapons such as the Garand. It was meant to replace the existing famous weapons (such as Thompsons and Brownings), but the rifle’s time in the spotlight was very limited. The length, weight, and other factors led to high levels of critique of the weapon, especially in tropical venues like the Vietnam War.
The M16 began to replace the M14 and had much fewer of the problems its predecessor had on the battlefield. The M14 did make certain select appearances in later operational locations, such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
The rifle collected a cult following, especially among collectors and competitive shooters. This demand is one reason for the high public interest now that the weapon is available to the public. Further information will be released through the CMP’s official website as the January 2027 launch ramps up.
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