[glynb]

OK Guys,

I finally did it I got the cadillac of all combat rifles. I just ordered a new base model Springfield M1A. I plan on doing the following:

1. Informally shoot with friends at the local range on weekends.

2. Partcipate in an occasonal stock rifle shoot.
I prefer open sight shooting.

Can you officianados give me any tips on upgrades for the weapon, or will it do everything I want it to out of the case.

Also tips on makers of the best aftermarket mags for the M1A, as well as stock manufacturers. I prefer to leae the rifle as is, but if the customizing bug hits me I would like to have some facts. Thanks for any help.

glynb

For those who fight for it,
Life has a meaning that the sheltered will never now.

unknwn U.S. Marine/ Khe Sanh

 

[Tady45]

Wow,
Good for you and your new purchase..... This will be my next rifle. As for upgrades, I am to new to be sure. I have been talking to a friend however who has mentioned a few things concerning this rifle. He tells me to look at the bolt for one thing. If its a "TRW" for example, its likely to be better than a Springfield. I also believe a "crome" barrel, is something that is considered "extra." Some of these features are for match shooting I believe. By the way, did 20 round clips come with this, and if so, how many. Do you have a flash hider and a muzzle break? These features very from state to state legally speaking. I am curious as to how accurate this baby will be from say 200-300-400 yards out? What type of rounds will you be using? I read in this months "Guns & Ammo, that the M14 was developed to be an accurate 500 yard rifle. Hell, its hard to see/hear if you hit anything from that far....

Larry C.:sniper:

 

[glynb]

Thanks for the reply, Larry.

To answer your questions that since the rifle was built by Springfield, I feel sure the receiver will be made by Springfield, however I won't know until I get it (hopefully Wednesday). I believe the rifle has a built on muzzle break, and comes with at least 1 20 rd. mag. Due to the fact that the purchase of the gun has about broken my savings account I will probably be shooting inexpensive military ammo to begin with. I do not plan on reloading, but will order a case of ammo at a time to keep the cost down (I hope). We appear to be the only ones on this site.

By the way I saw yor thread about the M1A in Somalia. What you saw was one of the Delta Force Snipers shooting a scoped M-14 out of a helicopter. This was also one of the guys that received the posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor for roping down to the scene of a downed chopper that was being overun by Somali's and attempting to rescue the crew, and hold the horde back.

The rifle was not effective in a select fire version because of the heavy recoil of the calibre. It is most effective as a snipers weapon, or as a combat rifle semi-auto only.

glynb :sniper:

 

[glynb]

Originally posted by glynb
Thanks for the reply, Larry.

To answer your questions that since the rifle was built by Springfield, I feel sure the bolt will be made by Springfield, however I won't know until I get it (hopefully Wednesday). I believe the rifle has a built on muzzle break, and comes with at least 1 20 rd. mag. Due to the fact that the purchase of the gun has about broken my savings account I will probably be shooting inexpensive military ammo to begin with. I do not plan on reloading, but will order a case of ammo at a time to keep the cost down (I hope). We appear to be the only ones on this site.

By the way I saw yor thread about the M1A in Somalia. What you saw was one of the Delta Force Snipers shooting a scoped M-14 out of a helicopter. This was also one of the guys that received the posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor for roping down to the scene of a downed chopper that was being overun by Somali's and attempting to rescue the crew, and hold the horde back.

The rifle was not effective in a select fire version because of the heavy recoil of the calibre. It is most effective as a snipers weapon, or as a combat rifle semi-auto only.

glynb :sniper:

 

[john humphries]

The M-14 was and is a modified M-1 Garand. As to extras, the basic "Loaded" Springfield comes with a stainless match barrel and walnut stock. This rifle is a Military rifle and is really made to be more reliable than accurate. It requires a lot of work to be a long range nail driver. My Springfield 1903 is much slower to shoot, but much more accurate. Congrates on a fine rifle.:sniper:

 

[ches]

Get the mags (not clips) that have a spot welded button on it to engage the magazine catch on the rifle. A Springfield fiberglass stock will knock a pound off the rifle weight and comes where you have to rasp a little off to make it a snug fit receiver to stock on the bottom of the receiver. I shoot mostly 150 grain FMJ with varget or 4895 powder and Win large rifle primers. I do not like the scope mounts much. The facts are: if you want a scope mounted rifle, then get one that was meant to have a scope mount on it. That is why AR15's come with flat top picitinny rails on them instead of trying to mount a scope on the carry handle model. Patton did not like peep sights because they did not let enough light in in dim conditions. Also they are not very quick in the woods for close up type shooting. That is why the AR15 has a ghost ring for 100 and 200 yards. I cannot see any great advantage to my loaded model over the standard model at 100 yard groupings. They both shoot as good as I would want them to. If I want to put them all in a little connected group of holes then I use the Rem 700 heavy barrel with leopold 3.5x10 50 mm scope.
ches

 

[Robert D. Lyons]

The only thing I did to my M1As was to get synthetic stocks from Fred's, the A.R.M.S #18 scope mounts, and a Beartooth comb raising kit. I use my M1As for hunting, (I've taken goats, wild hogs, deer, feral dogs) and target shooting.

 

[djskit]

I sent my Springfield M1A "Loaded" ( included a med weight barrel and NM trigger) back to Springfiled and had them glass bed the action and do the front end modifcation (full description would take pages) but basically it ties up the front end for more consistency.
It shoots MOA with Fed 168gr Match ammo and 2moa with the right surplus ammo. I might scare myself if I ever put a scope on.
If I really wanted a sniper tackdriver set up, I'd get a double lugged springfield receiver, a McMillan stock and send it off to Fulton for a Peerless package and an ARMS scope mount.
So, as soon as I have $2,500 to blow, I'll ready to go.

 

[OSOKUSMC]

I have an M1A that I bought new 2 yrs ago. The recievers are made by Springfield Inc, but the rest of the metal parts, on a standard model at least, are surplus GI parts. The barrel on my brand new rifle was made by Winchester in feb 1962. It is a chrome lined ( according to the people at springfield) barrel with a 1:10 twist rate. I have bedded the stock and glassed in the reciever area and 1.5 MOA is the best I have gotten so far. That is with reloads. Factory ammo gets 2.5 MOA. Military ammo comes in around 3.5 MOA.

 

[Harley]

I have a M1A1 NM and I find that it tends to be very fussy about which ammo it likes. This is especially true with reloads. In some cases it won't cycle(chamber) the next round. Any suggestions? What ammo works best? I'm looking for accuracy.:sniper:

 

[Robert D. Lyons]

When you say the round will not chamber, what exactly is it doing?

If the bolt is only coming back far enough to eject the fired case, but not enough to pick up a fresh round and closes on an empty chamber, it could be that the gas cylinder has moved forward and the gas port is partially blocked. It could also be that the reloads you are using are underpowered.

If the bolt pushes a round into the chamber, but the bolt will not close all of the way, you may have a short chamber, a dirty or corroded chamber or the round hasn't been sized down far enough.

If the bolt is only pushing the round partially into the chamber you may have a weak recoil spring as the spring no longer has the strength to overcome the pressure from the magazine spring.

 

[Harley]

Robert, how likely is it that the gas cylinder has moved forward in a rifle that has less than 100 rounds thru it? Also, about the short chamber, that doesn't sound good. But I figured that Springfield would take extra care to make sure everything on their Full NM M1A1 (not the loaded version) would be just right.

 

[djskit]

My guess would be that some deficiency in the reloads would be 100% responsible for your problem. Do any of these problems happen with factory/military ammo? There's your answer.
I don't re-load, but from what I've read on the subject, it sounds like there is 100 different things that can go wrong when you reload for a gas operated semi-auto (vs a bolt action.)
Just my 2cents.
As for accuracy, Federal Gold Medal 168's are generally the most accurate factory ammo you can buy. My M1A loves them at about 1 MOA! But they are $20 a box
For cheap ammo, I simply bougt a box of every cheap ammo made (American Eagle, UMC, Winchester white box, PMC) and a sample of just about every surplus ammo I could find. One type stood out head and shoulder above the rest (British surplus made in the early 80's, shoots 2 MOA) and I bought 2000 rounds of it.

 

[Harley]

djskit,
Is that british ammo deal still available? If so, where and how much$$$ ?

 

[djskit]

It was everywhere about a year and a half ago.
Head stamp reads "RG" and "83" and NATO stamp.
I've tried to find some more, but all that's out there is British amo sold linked. Don't know if its the same and don't feel like de-linking it!

 

[john humphries]

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ctd/default.asp for ammo.

 

[djskit]

The 308 in the 50 round range trays sound like stuff I'm talking about - quantities are limited!

 

[Robert D. Lyons]

Mine moved forward after about 700 rounds. This can only happen if you remove the gas cylinder plug and then re-tighten it after cleaning the gas system. It turned out there was a gap between the gas cylinder lock and the gas cylinder. When I re-tightened the gas cylinder plug it would pull the gas cylinder forward a little more each time until it blocked the gas port. I tapped the cylinder back into place after putting locktite on the splines and I haven't had any more problems out of it.

In my other M1A, The fired casing would be ejected, but bolt would only push the next round half way out of the magaine and stop. The recoil spring gave out after 3,300 rounds and didn't have the strength to overcome the upward pressure from the magazine spring. I replaced the recoil spring and now it chambers like it should.

 

[Harley]

Thanks Robert, I'll keep my eye on the stuff you mentioned.
I think I'll try to load a little hotter-more like mil. ammo-and see what happens.:sniper: