(Click here to read a full article on a custom Crazy Horse M1A.)
Ron Smith (RS):My family has been in the ordnance business since 1910.
I started my apprenticeship in 1964.
Ron Smith is a true craftsman with the M1A/M14 platform. He is shown here in his workshop at Smith Enterprise with his M14K, a custom 16″-barreled variant of the design.
Im 72 now and Ive been at this ever since.
That and the military is all Ive ever known.
In triple canopy jungle, youre shooting at muzzle flashes.
Smith’s family has been in the ordnance business for more than 100 years. He began his apprenticeship nearly 60 years ago.
I got to thinking, we can conceal this flash and I think I know how to do it.
TAL:We know you are a fan of the M14.
Did you carry one during your time in service?
Smith’s knowledge of the M14 platform is not purely theoretical. He carried one during his service in Vietnam as a U.S. Marine.
RS:I did.
I had an H&R and it was a rattle trap, but the thing was accurate.
I mean, it was a wore-out old gun, but it worked, and it worked well.
After the U.S. was attacked in 2001, Smith Enterprise was called on to deliver updated and accurized M14 rifles to the military.
Most of em I saw were pretty well worn.
We told them we werent interested and stuck with our M14 rifles.
Sometimes even having to de-link M60 belts to get the ammo.
Based on his experience as a Marine and as a gunsmith, Smith knew the M14 would deliver the long-range firepower troops needed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
(Read about M14 rifles in the Vietnam War here.)
TAL:So, you preferred the M14 over the M16 at that time?
RS:Oh, hell yeah.
The knowledge, skills and original reference materials possessed by Smith Enterprise on the M14 design are quite remarkable.
But the M14, how these guys talk about, oh, its not controllable.
It is, too.
You just gotta get into it, and hold onto it.
Ron Smith identifies the Crazy Horse M14 project as being one of his proudest accomplishments at Smith Enterprise.
You know, but if youre 150 pounds, its a little difficult.
TAL:What makes the M14 so special to you?
RS:Well, theres a lot of reasons.
I mean, it will keep going.
You know, rinse all the mud and stuff out of it and youre good.
It just never failed.
TAL:Do you feel like the M14 got short-changed?
RS:Well, yeah, because of politics.
TAL:Circling back to the Vortex flash hider, was there anything like it on the market beforehand?
RS:Not like that.
Not exactly like it.
There were some things that were kind of similar, but the flutes were really long.
They broke easy I dont think these guys knew what kind of material to use.
We found the optimal link on the flutes, and thats what we went with.
We put a lot of money into that; an enormous amount of money.
Major Zimmerman was tasked by the commanding general to get ahold of us.
So, they sent us several hundred M14s.
Well, we got em in here and, oh my God.
They couldnt deploy with those things.
Most of the bores were completely shot out; they were all in various types of bad condition.
(Read more about the M14 in the War on Terror here.)
We re-barreled every one of em.
We were working with George Wilson, and with those barrels we could shoot sub-moa.
We cryogenically treated all those barrels.
Then we salt-bath nitrated them, and we added our War Fighter Gas System.
So, we supplied every rifle that we made with a suppressor and our Vortex flash hider.
So, they adopted it as the Crazy Horse M14 sniper system.
RS:They didnt need a new weapons platform developed.
They could just take one that was already there, and make it better.
They also knew they needed it done within their lifetime and we could make that happen.
The general knew if he went through the system, theyd still be waiting.
You know, were in a war they didnt have time to jack around.
So, we came up with it, got it done, delivered it ahead of time.
TAL:What accomplishments are you most proud of during your time so far at Smith Enterprise?
RS:What we did in the war, what we did for the Second Infantry Division.
And that was a pretty big accomplishment for us.
A little outfit like us?
Its a big deal.
But see, I didnt have to go ask anybody you know.
Im a trained journeyman; I know what Im doing.
We knew what was right and where to go to get it done.
RS:Call us.
Weve converted a lot of Springfield M1As to the Crazy Horse.
A lot of guys will ask me, what receiver should I use?
And I say is, go buy yourself a basic M1A and well turn it into a Crazy Horse.
RS:Were the best there is in the business.
Theres nobody else that can do what we do.
They dont have the training.
TAL:Thank you, Ron, for such an insightful look into your history and company.
Its been an honor chatting with you.
RS:My pleasure.
