custom modifications to magazines and other parts to reduce friction and seizing in extreme cold. The T48 rifles received no such special preparation and in the continued cold-weather testing began to experience sluggish gas system functioning, aggravated by the T48's close-fitting surfaces between bolt and carrier, and carrier and receiver. FN engineers opened the gas ports in an attempt to improve functioning, but this caused early/violent extraction and broken parts as a result of the increased pressures. As a result, the T44 was ranked superior in cold-weather operation to the T48. The Arctic Test Board report made it clear that the T48 needed improvement and that the U.S. would not adopt the T48 until it had successfully completed another round of Arctic tests the following winter. In June 1954, funding became available to manufacture newly fabricated T44 receivers specially designed for the shorter T65 cartridge. This single change to the T44 design saved a pound over the M1 Garand. Tests at Fort Benning with the T44 and T48 continued through the summer and fall of 1956. By this time, the T48/FAL rifles had been so improved that malfunction rates were almost as low as the T44. The T44 was selected over the T48/FAL due to lower weight, simplicity with fewer parts, the T44's self-compensating gas system, and because the T44 could be manufactured on existing machinery built for the M1 rifle (which was later found to be false). In 1957, the U.S. formally adopted the T44 as the U.S. infantry service rifle designated M14. Production contracts Initial production contracts for the M14 were awarded to the Springfield Armory, Winchester, and Harrington & Richardson. Thompson-Ramo-Wooldridge Inc. (TRW) was later awarded a production contract for the rifle, as well. In all, 1,376,031 M14 service rifles were produced from 1959 to 1964. National Match M14 Springfield Armory produced 6,641 new M14 NM rifles in 1962 and 1963, while TRW produced 4,874 new M14 NM rifles in 1964. Springfield Armory later upgraded 2,094 M14 rifles in 1965 and 2,395 M14 rifles in 1966 to National Match specifications, while 2,462 M14 rifles were rebuilt to National Match standards in 1967 at the Rock Island Arsenal. In total, 11,130 National Match rifles were delivered by Springfield Armory, Rock Island Arsenal, and TRW during 1962–1967. Production M14 rifles made by Springfield Armory and Winchester used forged receivers and bolts milled from AISI 8620 steel, a low-carbon steel