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.