[djskit]

Took my M1A to a 2 day practical rifle class at Frontsight in Vegas.
What a kick in the pants!
Shot 200 plus rounds at ranges from 10 to 250 yards. Iron sights, steel silhouette targets, british surplus ammo.
Rapid assumtion of off-hand, squat, kneeling, sitting and prone positions.
At 200 yards the M1A SHAMED all the AR's on the firing line. The only rifle to put all shots at center mass.
Tactical simulator - the .308 hammered the steel targets out to 250 yards as .223 shooters could only dream.:cannon:
If you really want to use your rifle the way it was meant to be used, go to a class like this. Doesn't matter where.
If you had a Ferrari, you wouldn't just drive it to work.
That's what its like if you have an M1A and just take it to the range.
On the down side, the rifle is heavy, and my tactcal sling really helped. A 18" barrel would have made things easier with size and weight as well as a sythetic stock. That would knock off a pound or so.
And, that tiny peep sight slowed down target acquisition, especially at dusk. I took a spare rear sight and drilled it out to 3/16", similar to the large peep on an AR. When I go back, I'll install that and it will help.

 

[Robert D. Lyons]

Those kind of shoots are a lot of fun. Hitting the weight room will have two benefits. You will be healthier and your M1A will seem a lot lighter and be easier to handle.

 

[Indiana Joe]

What a blast. I have always wondered if an M-1A was competative. Sound like you did well. Thank you for shareing.:usa:

 

[Tady45]

Hi Djskit....Congrats on you M1A kicking some ass.. This rifle will be my next purchase. I was wondering the same thing however about "the tiny peep sight." You mentioned drilling out the sight to 3/16 on putting it on a spare. Is this the only option? Are we stuck with that very small opening sight if we are not proficient enough to change it ourselves? What is up with this sight situation anyway on a $1500 dollar rifle? By the way, I also thought the "heat shield" was a bit flimsy!! any heating issues etc?


Larry

 

[djskit]

A spare rear aperature is about $4.95. Swaping it out it quite easy, all you need is a screwdriver.

What is up with this sight situation anyway on a $1500 dollar rifle

You have to remember that rifle was developed in the 50's where the term "ghost ring" meant something Casper wore on his finger. Nowadays it is used primarily for target and match shooting where the small peep is an asset. The 18" models are going with optics. I've mentioned my drill out idea elsewere and was suprised that no one else has seemed to think of it.

By the way, I also thought the "heat shield" was a bit flimsy!! any heating issues etc?

No real "rapid fire" :ar15: situations to speak of so no, heating was not an issue. I have been eyeing the fulton-armory upgrade hand guard.
http://www.fulton-armory.com/M14Handguard.htm

 

[Bill]

The M1A (M14) sight is AWESOME in the stock format. If you want something more OPEN (close combat?), you can get a spare sight and drill it out. The parts are interchangeable with the M1 Garand, and there are a TON of parts on the market.

If you want a finer aperture, there are lots of aftermarket addons, including hooded National Match sights.

http://www.fulton-armory.com/NMRearSight.htm

I suggest you cruise around http://www.fulton-armory.com/ and read everything they have. That web site certainly helped me with my M1 Garand and AR-15 knowledge. Clint at Fulton is one of the best.

 

[djskit]

Amen to what Bill said.
You can spend hours on Fulton's web-site.
The FAQ's are awesom.
Between that and Scot Duff's book (for sale at Fulton) you will advance rapidly along the learning curve.:usa:

 

[OSOKUSMC]

I too have drilled my rear peeps out. I did not take it out to 3/16 though. It really made a difference. I also put the front sight post in a tool grinder and slimmed it down about half what it was. That made a HUGE difference. I also made the front site post shorter. This allows me to zero at 100 yards with the rear sight in the full down position. My reason for this is so that the rear sight doesn't stick up so much, thus making them more stable.
I have 2 stocks for my M1A. One is a military issue M14 fibreglass stock that I have glassed in. The other is a military issue wooden M14 stock that I have filled in around the reciever with wood. Nice tight fit and no select fire cut outs.
The wooden stock has been bedded but not in the usual way. I placed a solid piece of wood into the forward portion of the stock and then , using a Bridgeport vertical end mill, milled a groove in the wood that is an exact fit for the barrel. The bottom of the

 

[OSOKUSMC]

groove supports the barrel without putting upward pressure on it.
The effect has been to take a 2 MOA rifle to a 1.5 MOA rifle. This is a standard Springfield M1A with a Winchester barrel manufactured in Feb 1962. Obviously this barrel is a surplus GI barrel. I bought the rfile new about 3 yrs ago.
The woodedn stock has a nice red mahogany stain and a few coats of tru oil. I left the black wrinkle paint handguard on it and the effect is pretty cool.
The best load that I have found for this rifle is a 175 grain HPBT,federal brass full length resize trimmed to 2.005, winchester large rifle magnum primer, 46 grains winchester 760 powder. The unfortunate thing about this rifle is that the optimum bullet seating depth is 15 thousands longer than my magazines will accomodate. When I seat them to optimum depth, the groups average 1 MOA. Seated to mag maximum depth the groups open up to 1.5 MOA.

 

[Bill]

Sounds like a great looking, and shooting, rifle.

We need more pix, folks!

 

[maddon]

Here is my NM M1a, am getting 5/8 in groups at 100, with a 168 grain sierra match hp. Springfield mount topped with a sightron 4x16. My other stock is a synthetic. My only complaint is the weight. The scope and mount added a bunch.