Springfield Armory M1A Rifle

[chazthebiker]

Has anyone here had the opportunity to handle and fire a Springfield Armory M1A 308 Rifle? Just wondering if anyone has any thought about these rifles. They look like a nice rifle.

[Eric]

Mine has spent more time in the safe than I would prefer, taking a backseat to the AR, but the M1A/M14 has a large following. Mine was purchased about 10 years ago, with a SA 22" NM SS barrel and their synthetic stock, but the SOCOM sure looks interesting. Is there a particular configuration you're looking at?

[chazthebiker]

Hi Eric,
Yes, the SOCOM II is what I was looking at. They look like nice rifles, all of them. I have 3 AR rifles and I guess I could go the MAH TEN route for a 308. Have lots of time to decide. I still need oprtics and doo dads for my AR rifles. How do you like your M1A?

[chazthebiker]

To be honest, something more geared towards "long range" like the super match might be more to my liking.

[tpelle]

From what I've seen, they can be hit or miss -no pun intended, Springfield Armory, Inc uses castings instead of forgings for a lot of parts, and some parts are not in spec. Same with their M1 clones. It seems like, if you're persistent and keep shipping it back for warranty work, you will eventually get a working rifle. Just don't expect it to shoot out of the box.

[chazthebiker]

From what I've seen, they can be hit or miss -no pun intended, Springfield Armory, Inc uses castings instead of forgings for a lot of parts, and some parts are not in spec. Same with their M1 clones. It seems like, if you're persistent and keep shipping it back for warranty work, you will eventually get a working rifle. Just don't expect it to shoot out of the box.

So I am to understand that you purchased one of these rifles and had a bad experience? Which parts are cast vs. forged?Please elaborate. Thanks!

[tpelle]

No, I didn't, but my neighbor, who values shiny things over function, did. His pride and joy caused him a lot of grief, while my "real" Springfield Armory M1, made in May '44, ran like a top - despite it's worn parkerizing, mismatched stock, etc.

I don't recall the name, but there's a maker, on Long Island IIRC, that makes M1A's identical to the original military rifles (except for the machining cuts to permit installation of a select-fire trigger group, that are first class. Not cheap, though.

Ahhh... Here it is -LRB Arms:

http://www.lrbarms.com/m14receivers.html

[thatdamngoat]

You also might check Fulton Armory.

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

[chazthebiker]

Thanks for the Fulton and LRB info guys.

[Nuclear_Arms]

I bought a Springfield M1A loaded with the NM stainless barrel back in 2006. Even though it spends more time in the safe than my ARs, it's still my favorite rifle.

I geared it more towards long range work by putting in a lot of little Sadlak NM parts, and putting the rifle in a JAE-100 stock. It's a shooter for sure, but I have heard of plenty of issues out there. I ran into the notorious out-of-spec mounting area on the left side of the receiver. Springfields are known for having improperly machined grooves on the left side that prevent the proper mating of scope mounts like the Brookfield design (used by Sadlak and Smith). I circumvented that by using the CASM mount, at the cost of losing the excellent rear sight.

When I first bought my rifle, a friend of mine bought one as well. He was plagued with extraction issues until he bought a USGI extractor and bolt. I experienced a few of the same problem, but I suspect it was actually the old South African ammunition we were shooting. I have never had a malfunction with modern ammunition.

M14s are a great rifle to shoot. Not one person comes away from shooting mine without a smile on their face. But the truth is, if you are looking for real useful long range precision in a semi-auto, then look into the .308 AR platform. The M14 is a battle rifle. It has acceptable accuracy, but getting it there (and keeping it there) is an expensive affair. For the amount of money I've invested into my M1A over the years getting it to where it is, I could have bought two MA-TENs, and I haven't even done one of the big accuracy investments like unitizing the gas piston.

That said, if you want a fun DMRish rifle to mount a scope on and blast away without worrying too much about little holes at 400 yards, then have at it. I am a fan of LRB with the integrated mounting sections. Smith Enterprises has also entered the receiver game, though you will pay for it.

Here's an obligatory crappy cell phone pic of mine. I could have gotten some great pictures at the range that day, but I got too focused on having fun shooting it.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-h5zWp2uMMzs/T4S_5qe-KuI/AAAAAAAAAVU/Qp7X0HITjwE/s720/2012-04-10.jpg

[chazthebiker]

Great photo and thanks for all the information! Like your rifle allot!