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Springfield Armory M1A Standard Walnut Accuracy Test
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- Опубліковано 3 чер 2022
- I pull no punches here. Without the bells and whistles of expensive upgrade models, the M1A Standard Walnut is the closest resemblance of the various Springfield Armory rifles to the standard issue M14 rifle, for good and bad. Rarely, if ever, has this version received any serious attention in accuracy tests. I've done just that in this video, testing several popular brands of .308 Winchester ammo, along with a popular NATO ball round, which perform both better and worse than military standards of accuracy. Be amazed, and see which round turns in quite respectable, match grade performance, with this lowly M1A Standard Walnut!
Always good to see coverage on the standard. Like you said it seems like the majority of videos are about the fancier ones.
I love the standard. The wood stock and the wheel sights r incredible
Yup, I have an M1A standard and did a few videos on it because only the fancy ones were being showcased. Glad I found this video too.
I got a Springfield M1A for my ex-wife..
That was probably the best trade I’ve ever made!
Excellent video! When I was shooting match in the 80's, the M1A and M1 were the standard. The AR platform was just coming on to the scene. Almost everyone was shooting the 168gr Sierra Match King over IMR 4895. I still shoot this combo today. Yes, glass bedding is almost a must for accuracy. If you shoot rapid fire as in the matches, you will begin to see signs of pyrolysis (charring) on the stock without glass bedding. Also, changing at least the rear sights to NM helps. New or old, the M1A is a great platform.
Appreciate the look at the M1A Standard!
2:07 - Introduction and discussion on M1A Standard
4:21 - Discusses loose rear sight
6:08 - Ammo to be tested
9:10 - Barrel diameter
11:40 - Barrel diameter, length, bayonets (history)
13:50 - Accuracy (history)
15:27 - Thoughts on scope use
16:58 - Stock fit
18:55 - Description of test and conditions
21:35 - IMI 7.62x51 150 gr NATO
21:56 - Discusses trigger pull
24:20 - Discusses barrel mirages
29:02 - IMI 7.62x51 NATO results
29:32 - Federal .308 150 gr Non-Typical Whitetail
33:31 - Federal Whitetail results
34:08 - Softpoint ammo discussion
37:22 - Winchester Super-X .308 150 gr Power-Point
40:38 - Winchester Power-Point results
41:20 - Norma .308 150 gr Soft Point
46:38 - Norma results
47:45 - Sako .308 150 gr Super Hammerhead
52:11 - Sako results
53:30 - Federal .308 175 gr Gold Medal Match
57:10 - Federal Gold Medal results
58:00 - Outro, steel target shooting
I don't comment much on your channel because unfortunately there isn't enough space to write down all that I appreciate about it. I will just say thank you for sharing, I truly enjoy your content.
I believe if John C Garand were alive today, this video would have put a smile on his face. What a beautiful piece of history and also that was some fine shooting! I'm picking up after a long term hiatus from shooting and going back to the basics to improve my shooting skills. I bought peep sights for my mini-14 and am practicing with that. Your instructional videos have really helped my daughters and I! Thank you for the very nice production of this video! It was a beautiful quality and good sound! 👍
Great evaluation! My M1A has been ignored for some years. It’s the standard weight stainless “match” barrel (according to Springfield Armory) with synthetic stock. When I got it, the rifle had the best two stage trigger I’d ever experienced. But it started to double and I sent it back to SA. Not as good now, but OK and safe. I never found great accuracy, but didn’t play with it much. Now that I’m retired it’s time to dig it out. Thanks again for the video! 👍
Check out his videos on shimming the gas tube. Should tighten up your groups.
Mine tripled & Springfield had it for 5 weeks, they returned it repaired with a paper test target and a 2 sentence synopsis.
Yep. I talked only on the phone to Springfield, then sent only the trigger group. The BATFEces has been known to intercept match guns that doubled, then charge the owners with conspiring to manufacture and manufacturing automatic weapons. @@jameswilson1407
Great to see you again. This summer I'll be trying to do with my M1A what I was able to do back when I first qualified with the M14. I am hoping for a really great summer. Oh, no sloppy sites.
14:01 14:06 😊
Thank you for your service. Sir.
It’s unfortunate that so many firearms companies are on a race to the bottom in quality control . Always enjoy your content. Thank you
Nice shooting Sir. Thanks for showing off the abilities of a Standard M1A. Very interesting.
love NH, greatings from the Northeast. The snow on Mt Washington. Love it, know it all too well!!!
Went through basic at Fort Leonard Wood, September, October 1968. Last cycle to be issued the M14. Seemed like a lot of bayonet training. Great rifle!
Yep, I was spring of 69, M-16.
Nice intro. Very beautiful there.
At 55:20 The "Match King" bullet is so devastating that even the wind turned and ran the other way! Ha!
I enjoyed the intro and music as well.
Very relaxing and enjoyable video! Thank you.
Best Wishes from Montana M.H
I'll never sell my national match. most iconic rifle I'll ever own
Alway enjoy the history and your insight of the firearm at hand… I’m 65 yrs old now & I bought one some time ago from a younger collector who went mote towards the AR platform. I guess I should take it out and fire a couple of rounds down wind like you before it gets to heavy for me to control it…. Thank you for your posting. 😎🌺🤙🏽
That “non typical” ammo seemed to eject in random directions.
The Norma ammo looked to eject very fast.
The IMI did not eject consistently.
The Sako ejected from 2 o’clock to 4 !
The Federal premium ejected from 3 to 4.
EXCELLENT VIDEO. As good a way to spend Decoration Day as anything else. About 25 years ago, I bought a “loaded” SA M1A. First thing I noted was the lack of USGI parts. Fired the first half dozen rounds and blew the oprod right off the track. Sent it back to SA. It came back with all GI parts and as a much better shooter. About that same time, I picked up two Polytech (chinese) M1A clones. Tossed everything but the receiver and had two very fine shooters built from them by Clint McKee (RIP) of Fulton Armory. Back in those days, one could buy NOS USGI M14 parts from CMP at excellent prices, as well as like new M14 parts kits for $100 - $150 on ebay.
I’m with you 100%. I’ve got two of these Springfield armory beauties! the first being a standard M1-A & and the Springfield armory SoCom squad rifle. I’m Not much for Scopes and red dots. I can rest my rifle on any hard surface or static surface and hit my target. As long as I can get a good line of sight and a site picture. I’ll drop whatever I’m shooting at. I appreciate your story and you taking the time to share that rifle with us.
Thank you for a wonderful video. Finally at 68 got my own standard walnut, now it's in my hands after decades of that picture of the man holding one off hand in the springfield armory ad.
Was very pleased to see your Memorial Day video. I salute you for it! Great day at the range and you brought us along for the ride. Nice job with the Federal ammo as I was betting on it performing that way. You are a UA-cam treasure Sir! Best of luck and stay safe.
Thank you, and God bless.
The optimization of a rifle barrel is intended for a certain round with a military in mine. Where we get into trouble is when we put in a heavier ball and a faster foot per second ammunition. Optimization of the barrel was done to eliminate the weight so a soldier had more energy to fight while carrying this rifle. They calculate the pressures every inch of the length of the barrel and it reduce this diameter of the barrel to about 150% of the required pressure normally it would be over 200%. Many things take into account when you optimize this barrel the vibration of the bullet traversing the barrel and it does make it vibrate the sound vibration of the shot discharging 8,000 ft per second four times the speed of what the bullet comes out the end of the barrel barrel whip which is a result of all these vibrations. So if you're looking for accuracy to go back to the original round that was designed for that barrel won't be perfect but it will be much better than some of the new ammo. The powder is very critical for this rifle that has an optimized barrel faster burning powder puts a lot of pressure and heat back at the breach of the barrel where it is the thickest. The successful load will be down to zero at the end of the barrel when pressure if powder is being burnt after the ball leaves the barrel you're going to lose accuracy. Also a gas operated rifle powder burn rates are very important
In the history of mankind, the US included, burdens of a marching soldier are and always have been the requirement of the individual to bear, without consideration for his fighting stamina. He fights because he must survive, and he has stamina because he has been getting up every morning to run 4 miles before breakfast, and marches 6 miles back and forth to the range with full gear. Stamina is a product of training, muscles, and endurance, not weight reduction of his burden.
Ordnance wasn't in the least concerned when they engineered two consecutive ten pound rifles, and certainly didn't care when the weight of 20 round magazines of 7.62 were added to the mix. Even today, soldiers are packing more in 60 pound rucksacks than they were required to bear in WWII, and they are still required to fight when they arrive. The name Grunt has meaning.
The common belief that military autoloaders are only efficient with ball ammo is entirely a myth, which is proven by competitive shooters who rarely use ball ammo or 150 bullet weights. They have used them all, quite satisfactorily, with trophies to show for it. They pump velocity to the ceiling to reduce flight time and reduce wind effects as much as possible.
Autoloaders are a slave to a certain pressure timing for correct operation, not accuracy. On a given page of a handloading manual for "service loads" that have been laboratory tested in Garands and M1A rifles, dozens of satisfactory loads may be found with all available bullets and many suitable powders. There's no such thing as a one load rifle or magic load.
While a cartridge can be loaded with powders and velocities that provide the correct harmonics for a given bullet in a given barrel design, barrels are not optimized for harmonics. Harmonics occurs with all barrels. The only difference between light and heavy barrel harmonics is the degree of vibration, but both have nodes and overtones that are satisfied with any number of bullets and velocities.
With the correct powder and charge, ammo of any bullet weight and speed can be fired in any barrel of any length and any diameter. Rifling twist is the only limiting factor. Correct harmonics are not isolated to any velocity in the M1A or any other barrel or cartridge. The issue, unmodified Garand and M14 have chalked up countless wins at Camp Perry with competition bullets ranging up to 190 grains; substantially heavier than issue ball ammo. I have great loads in a variety of velocities for various guns. It's just a matter of testing to discover the powder and charge that produces the desired velocity..
@@GunBlue490 Damn well said! You Sir are spot on!!!
oh BOY im glad you made a video!
great gun an all ... just not the same when theres no "ping"
Carried and trained 1967 Ft. Beginning,Ga. From Korea 67 to Nam 68 and for awhile in the 1970 509th Abn Mech Infantry, Mainz, Gonsenheim Germany. Then the 16A1. Now I have the M1A in the Socom model with one weird camouflage. Very accurate with iron sights better then 100 yards. Grouped within inch to inch and a half at 100 benched held right firing left support arm elbows on bench table. Not to fond of the new type battery operated digital optics. Had a recon platoon with 11 man sniper squad with the M21 system.3/325 Abn Inf. Thank you for the expert videos. I’m also very fond of the 1911’s 4.25 to 5”.
Welcome home, brother.
Nice video; it made me nostalgic about my old Fulton Armory Peerless that I traded off about 11 years ago for an FN SCAR 17S. Wish I would have kept that one.
You won monetarily... But the peerless is more classy.
There’s a special place in hell for people that put loose sights on rifles.
BTW , That’s some pretty sweet guitar pickin’.
Hi, thanks for the video. I miss Benny, I hope he is well. Cheers
Benny is doing well and is enjoying the afternoon with me on the porch while I have a cigar with my Dewars Scotch.
It does seem that bayonets and butt strokes were replaced by extended magazine capacity. A short piece of plastic and aluminum just doesn’t have the oomph of a large walnut or beech log with a steel butt plate.
That’s because a bullet wound is much more effective than a smack with a rifle stock.
@@rifleshooterchannel208 When you're out of ammo, a good butt stroke and bayonet is a pretty good ace in the hole.
Tough man 70shots of308andstill maintain accuracy .hats off to you my friend.excellent content also .thanks for posting
Great shooting sir!
I think I saw Benny in the drone footage.
Always a pleasure to see and hear from you gunblue. Am I picking up on a few of your dislikes regarding your M1A? 2moa with irons is superb shooting. Thanks for another enjoyable video.
What you correctly picked up is a great dissatisfaction for quality, not type. Sights that wiggle and stocks that rock are entirely unacceptable, given the repeatable precision of investment cast receivers and modern CNC stock inletting equipment. This is no longer 1955, and wood can be inletted to machine tolerances now. If Ruger can turn out tight fitting wood stocks for the Mini-14 that require no epoxy, SA can. Unfortunately, I suspect it's intentional for the reasons I stated. It's a great rifle, and I thoroughly love it, but I know they are deliberately creating a market for scaled upgrades.
@@GunBlue490 Spot on explanation. I can imagine you'll be turning this good rifle into a great one. Observing you bedding your M1A would be a tremendous video.
Now it's a better mourning sir
Outstanding weapon with a beautiful stock. Welcome back Sir!
Great work. As you state, there's no issue with firing jacketed softpoint bullets. The issue is with using CAST LEAD non-jacketed bullets, which will shave lead on the gas port. It happens in the M1 too. The only reason anyone ever did that was to cheap-out on reloading supplies. over time, the gas cylinder and piston will get fouled with shaved lead and the weapon won't function.
Looks like some pretty country out there. My semi auto .308 has shot the Gold Medal Match 168 grain Sierra Match Kings in very tiny groups right out of the box. I have wanted to come up with my own loads for this one, but these Gold Medal rounds would be hard to beat from my experience.
Thanks.
Especially, for the mirage explanation.
Hope your pup dug a hole in the shade.
Love the music. Chris
I sold the 2 M1A models I had in 20014 which were from around 2009 which I was not satisfied with & replaced it with a Fulton Armory M14 - I was & still am speechless of the quality - accuracy & precision, accurate & beautiful workmanship AND reliability is TOP TIER, if not THE Best There is !! - I NEVER looked back & NEVER will !!! HIGHLY recommend Fulton Armory - it's a one stop shop ! instead of shipping what I had to a guy like smith enterprise which shipping & insurance gets expensive & timely, PLUS - he was VERY arrogant AND I figured why build on a shitty foundation so I sold & just started over & ordered exactly what I wanted and done.
Finances permitting some day, I may give one a try. For the time being, I'll be grateful for having this rifle.
Im proud owner of M1A standard rifle two month ago and i have fired rifle two week ago too tight group inch two shot aint apart from that it like together that's incredible accurate as ever i will never regret ever since my FFL dealer international told me that is best decision you make no one else want buy but im proud of you get taste od history battlefield rifle 🤜🤛💪
My gunsmith was in the hundred first Airborne in the early 1960s and had the unique job amongst several, of checking the m-14s for their accuracy. He would usually take 224 rifles of every 100 and test them on a regular basis. According to his tests, he stated he was getting subbed to minute of angle accuracy out of 96% of the rifles he tested. And most of the rest would shoot within 3 in.
He became a Firearms instructor while he was in basic training because he could outshoot his drill instructor. His drill instructor was trying to explain how he was using his sling wrong while he was shooting. And he told the drill instructor that he would listen to him when his drill instructor could outshoot him. He found that he had fired 13 Rounds into the bullseye and immediately tasked him with teaching the people who had never picked up a rifle in their life. My drill instructor had been shooting competition with m-1 garands since he was 13 years old.
44 Hawk. I'm sure that I'm misreading something here, but how could he take 224 of every 100 rifles and test them for accuracy? Surely you meant 100 of every 224?
Thanks for making this video enjoyed watching you shoot and hearing you talk about all the ammo you shot . I had just bought my first M 14 sprinfeild . All the rifles I have owned this is my favorite and best shooting . Wish I would have bought one sooner and not wasted all my money on other rifles . I guess you figure that out with age I'm going on 50 soon . Anyways thanks for the video
Great info, being a nam combat vet with experence with the m16 an m14 carried both plus m60 hog,, of all my choice was the m14 , now not light weight an back then being phased out by m16 they thought I was crazy asking for one but got my wish, took my ammo off the m60 belt I carried 5 or 6 box magazines in claymore mine pouches ,, it had reach out range like the m60 on full auto it would climb Mt Everest , but being the only grunt in the company carring one I'm still here,,as far as acurracy we didn't have time to worry about it in combat situations great weapon with fire power
Raymond Quave After having two failure to fire episodes after going through approximately 1 bandoleer of 5.56 ammo per episode, I also traded in my M-16 to the armory for the M-14. I was an advisor back then in 1970 and could choose which weapon I wanted to carry. The M-14 was heavier and the mags were bulkier, and you couldn't carry as much ammo as the 5.56 allowed, but the reliability of the M-14 was of utmost importance to me. And yes the penetration of the 7.62 round was of great importance to me as well.
I’ve been waiting for this since you posted the video about modifying the sight to remove the wiggle.
Honest review. Many many years ago I traded an M16 for a M14. Never looked back. I've owned and shot many a weapon since then. My favorite being the 1911. Wanted to try a 9mm back when they first became popular and ordered a Smith & Wesson 1911 on 9mm. Waited about 6 months and my dealer called and said they could not find the S&W but found the Springfield Amory Range officer in 9MM. Biggest piece of scrap iron I have ever bought. The extractor was a Just blog of metal, the ejector fell out in the first mag. Jammed the gun up good. Found the ejector was held in with lock tight of some sort in stead of being staked. Dumb. Spent a couple hundred more $ and put all Wilson Combat guts in it. (extractor, spring kit, bushing, disconnect, etc.)Not a bad pistol now, but never again Springfield Amory.
Beautiful rifle and scenery gunblue. Interesting info as usual!
Great work. I have been putting off getting an M1-A finally. The MOA discussion scared me a bit, and made me consider my motivations. Many voices make them out to be 1000 yd rifles.
All in all though, compared to an M1 Garand, I'm not as big a fan of the 30-06, as the .308. I may still go down the same path. In the end, it's similar to wanting one or several SKS rifles. It's another way to enjoy the hobby/obsession.
Mine is a 1000 yard rifle all day
Great video. Mine also started out as a standard model , hovering around 3moa average with various ammo. After putting it in a Sage EBR Chassis, putting a ss medium weight match barrel, getting a national match reemed flash suppressor, national match sights, nm trigger group and sadlak piston and recoil guide rod, it now shoots right around moa. But that cost about $1,600 in upgrades to make happen
In 1970 I personally watched an M21 shoot a ten shot, two inch group at 300meters out of a machine rest. Lake City match, bullets pulled and reseated with 168 SMK International rejects (they were rejected as a reault of air guage testing; the ones that passed were loaded into Winchester virgin brass for the bolt guns). The M21 was sent to Vietnam with others built the same way. That was at FORT BENNING, not long after my first son was born there. I happen to know and stay in touch with one of the snipers who got one of those M21s. The riflemen and the rifles did the job. They made the legends that so many talk about now. Then we come to these days and the rifles sold today. I would not stir a bucket of paint with a NEW rifle that could not do better than "about" three inches at 100 yards. About a year ago that same old sniper, now in his 70s, has shot better than 2 inches with my slap together M-1 and TW 69 M2 Ball fresh out of the bandolier. I think I'll stay with the M1.
Let's give the 175-grain cartridge a round of applause. Now we're talkin' !
Thanks! Great review. 168gr FGMM is my standard for the M1A. The other great ammo is M852 if you can find it. Basically, the M852 became the 168gr FGMM. Both shoot very much the same accuracy.
Always enjoy your videos and the wealth of knowledge you have. Love the content. Keep it coming!
Awesome!
Love your channel!!
Glad to see you are still at it.
God willing, I'll be persistent in this for some time to come! Thank you and God bless.
Part of the cost savings is in the lack of QC. I wouldn't complain about that Rifle. That FGMM is an excellent group!
Great shooting Sir!
Thank you. Correct stock to action fit as Ruger does with the wood stocked Mini-14 would have made for a better group. I think it's more intentional than QC.
@@GunBlue490 I have some experience with the M1a. The one I bought is a Polytech with a Walnut stock. I got it for a song, considering it wouldn't hold a group better than 8" O.o
After bedding the stock, unitizing the Gas Valve, and timing the Gas 'nut' to lockup properly, it's a MoA Rifle.
It even has a chrome lined barrel.
The stock fitment concerning forend length on these rifles is paramount as well.
They really are a magical piece of equipment when happy HaHa. :D
@@GunBlue490 I also have a Mini 30 that holds amazing groups. I agree with your assessment of the fit and finish on them.
I forgot to mention proper trigger lockup tension!
Thank you for this episode As I think the m-14 is one of the greatest rifles ever made … Hopefully you can get ahold of a 1941 Johnson I’m sure your itching to take one to the range ….it and the LMG version were designed by a Marine and the Marines really liked his rifles
Great video Sir! I was working on my M1A GI model for last six months trying to fit it in Service Rifle match. I have tried different loads and couldn't get a good 5 shot group without a flyer. Situation got changed when I replaced factory recoil spring guide rod with NM Sadlak. My group shrunk by around 35%, and no unexplainable flyers.
My current M1A accuracy is about 2MOA now from prone position. Which is just enough for local Hi Power matches.
I’ve recently been getting my Springfield NM out more often. The best I got with that is a 2.6” 5 shot group at 250 yards but not sure if I could do it again. Also I color filled the sight with crayon as per a previous vid
I have a Tanker version of this rifle. I hope it will become a family heirloom for many many generations. I love this rifle.
Thank you sir.
Outstanding video! LOTS of good information. Thanks for your efforts!
My Standard M1a, circa 1995 made shoots standard M80 ball 1.5" groups at 100 yrds. My handloads with imr4064 and a Sierra 168 grn. Match shoot 1" groups all day long. Guess I got a good one!
I’m not used to seeing 10 rd mags on the 14, and I’ve got to admit I like it! It almost resembles a Gewehr 43.😎 great video! 👍🏼
They're very practical. The 5 is nice, too, (required for hunting in many states) but it's a bit challenging to snap in.
Hi another great and informative video. It has been my experience shooting M1A Rifles that they tend to like heavier bullets. I,am NOT surprised the Federal 175 grain match did so well.
Sometime in the mid 90’s Springfield ran out of USGI parts to build new M1A’s. Seems ever since then things have gone down hill. I somehow got incredibly lucky and got one made in 88 unshot. It’s the standard M1A with the walnut stock but it’s fitted immaculately and it’s wildly accurate with just irons.
Great video. I have a para ordnance m1a. Had it rebarrelled and its a driver at 100-300.
My dad carried the M14 his entire stay in Veitnam. He swore by it and said it got him home alive. Hard to argue with that lol 😂
Nice Opening. You brought back memories of Collin's Cotton Mountain Cottages on Little Squam. For plinking with my Scout Squad, I use the Winchester White Box M80 149 gr. and although a bit pricey - it does the job form me. BTW , I took your advice on the Tech Sites for my 10/22 and Mini14 - THANK YOU. Nice Video.
The federal gold medal match is some of the best factory ammo I have ever shot. I had a Savage 10 fcpk .223 and it was shooting single hole groups without even opening the hole up any with the federal gmm 69 grain bthp. It was insanely accurate and consistent for a factory load
Another great video; makes my 3rd one on the M1A. I subscribed on the first video when you took it out of the box. Have the Scout version and also found the 175g Gold Match the most accurate. Love the gun! Thanks for the detailed reviews.
Great video! Always enjoying them. I know that Federal and Springfield have a relationship. Hence maybe that's why the last group was so good... been using their ammunition in all my Springfields. Not a bum in the lot. Thank you sir for the video and looking forward to your next one.
There’s something that just feels right about not putting a scope or optic on these rifles, the way that they were issued and trained to be used. I think that it’s extremely important to learn how to be lethal within a couple hundred yards with iron sights before considering a scope.
I have one and I love it. I have a standard m1a and I put a gas piston in it and hand fitted a N/M rear hood aperture on it. What helps is shim the gas cylinder and clock it to the 5:30 position right before it gets snug. It really works.
Yes, but Springfield Armory knows that and could do the same with a five cent shim at the fitter's bench, and that's the issue I have issues with. Buying a costly shim set from Brownells should not be required to make the gun worthy of its substantial price tag. Such nonsense is a scandal to the modern gun industry.
@@GunBlue490 I agree . I'm not happy of spending 1400$ at the time but it is what it is. Mine is alot better then when I got it from Springfield. I think tops for any model of m14 should be 900$ to a 1000$ that's just me and I do love shooting this rifle. The shim are not expensive.
I have an M1a National Match. I've been very happy with it. I'm not match shooter but I enjoy shooting it. Clay targets in the burm at 100yds have no chance.
In 1966 at Fort Polk I zeroed (1, 000 inch range my well-used M-14 with standard issue ammo and had 6 rounds in the black ( have photo) if interested) That was in August In Lousiana - plenty of heat and humidity.
I have an LRB M14SA standard with USGI standard sights. The rear sight has play like you described. I have 2k rounds through it and it is a 2MOA rifle using the iron sights of course. I have qualified as rifleman at Appleseed marksman clinics using the Army AQT targets with this rifle using iron sights. That is under timed conditions, with reloading magazines in mid stage, shooting offhand, sitting, and prone, and requires at least 4MOA to achieve sufficient accuracy to score passing. The play in the sights worried me when I recieved the rifle, but it's performance dispelled my doubts.
Regarding the loose sight issue, I bought a “loaded” model and had the same issue of a VERY loose rear sight. I ended up buying an oversized NM sight, from Fulton Armory, and fitting it to the rifle. Works great now but, as you said, I shouldn’t have had to do that on a brand new $1,500 (then) rifle.
holy cow the price is way up. only one year later and it's $2k
I've had one M1A with wood stock and another with composite stock. I believe the composite stock is better bedded for tighter shot groups
Excellent job on the video & discussion …..you remind me of Robert Duval in the original Jack Reacher … 😁👊🏾 keep up the excellent work brother 🤘🏾
Excellent video. I always enjoy them because of your expertise. There were a couple of descriptive text that appeared on the screen. Would you consider leaving them on screen a few seconds longer. I couldn't read them completely before they disappeared. I'm interested in knowing what you had to say with those messages.
Thanks for the informative videos. Always a pleasure to watch.
Curious about where you are shooting, private ,public, people riding through?
We share God's gifts in NH. Many of our back roads are privately owned and graciously open for use. Posted land is very uncommon here, and when such a sign is tacked up, it's generally for a genuinely good reason.
The m14 i trained with in 2009 was tight fitting. It also had decent iron sights. Our rifles hadnt been built yet and i got my replacement after training but i carried it through the mountains and loved it, all 12 1/2 pounds of it.
Not sure what tool you needed to drop the action out but i use my hands.
Great content on the m1a. Using lake city bulk I get very consistent ES and SD.
Mine also being a standard model, my rear sight did not have the play that yours showed in a previous video but am glad to have seen your fix for a reference.
I think I heard your stomach growl, at about the 45 min mark…lol. Great vid!
Update on the pup please!
Yep, my M1A Loaded came with the same sloppy rear sight. I replaced the pseudo NM aperture with a real hooded NM sight.
This area is very similar to the Chena Hot Springs area near Fairbanks AK.
It's hard to go wrong with the twist rate to shoot Federal Gold Medal Match 175gr Matchking. My old stock Savage m10 heavy 1/10 barrel shoots it rather well. Almost as good as my hand loads with the same bullet. If only they worked as well for hunting.
Nice job!
Keep'em coming!
That's quite a barren scar in the normal green NH landscape.
I have a Fulton Armory M1a, all as standard to the original and uses mostly GI parts other than the barreled action and bolt. I had an old gunsmith build it, a great rifle.
That scar will be entirely gone in five years.
@@GunBlue490 Trees grow fast in NH. This must've been just clearcut this winter.
@@3ducs Yes, it was. In three years, new growth will obscure the target. In a couple more, trees will be five feet tall.
GunBlue490, I agree with your replies to some of the comments on this video. For what this rifle costs, it should be more accurate out of the box. I have heard many on the M14 Forum state that these rifle are generally 3-4 MOA out of the box. I do not think many would accept that from another rifle. You really have to be a fan of this rifle to be willing to put in the funds, time, and effort to owning one.
A lot of research went into making the M14 lighter after soldiers that carried the M1 said that they would like a rifle that was not so heavy. They managed to get a 20 round detachable magazine but about the same weight.
Zombie eliminator
I've always wanted an M1A just because of how it looks. Now that my son and I have gotten into deer hunting and possibly black bear hunting, I'm really looking into this rifle as a kind of do it all rifle. What are your thoughts on that? I know the .308 is a good whitetail deer round and have been told it's good for bear as well. I feel this rifle could handle business if I were to ever need it in a crisis situation...
great content. thank you for the review.
What year model is that M1A, they were not supposed to have 308 ran out of them, at least not the early ones from seventies through early 90’s, every one I had by the owners manual and barrel stamp was 762.51, I’ve heard the latest generations run both.
My M1a manual says the same thing even though my barrel is stamped 308. It's from the late 2000's. I think the manual that comes with the gun is just a old reprint for collectors sake. In reality it should run 308 or 7.62x51, it's more dependent on how the cartage was loaded. I think the reason why it says to run only 7.62x51 originally is just to avoid liability in case someone got some hot 308 loads with really heavy bullets and ends up causing damage to the gun. It's the same thing with M1's warning people not to use hot loaded commercial 3006. If you want to 100% replicate what it was tested with back in the day then you need 7.62x51 sized brass, make sure your only using 147gr .307 bullets (yes .307 not .308), and always with milspec primers. But, that's something that I don't even see in commercially labeled 7.62x51 ammo.
Read the owner’s manual for the rifle or contact SA customer service if in doubt. SA M1A rifles were/are designed to shoot either SAAMI spec .308 Winchester or 7.62x51 mm NATO. The early model rifles were marked 7.62 on the receivers. This changed in the 1990s, but they were still fine to fire .308 ammunition.
There are two issues here. One is that military spec 7.62 ammo has hard primers. Some commercial .308 has softer primers. Chambering a round causes the firing pin to hit the primer causing a slight impact crater. If the primer is too soft the round could fire, aka slam fire. This has been known to happen but is not very common. This issue can also happen in AR15 pattern rifles, again very uncommon. NATO 7.62 is less susceptible due to their hard primers. So always observe the cardinal rules of forearms safety and keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. This is true regardless of the ammo used.
The second issue is that the chamber specs are different between .308 and 7.62. SAAMI sets the specs for .308. These dimensions are less than what is allowed for military 7.62 chambers which allow for longer chambers. There is an overlap. SA builds the M1A with chambers cut in the mid range where .308 and 7.62 overlap which is why both cam be fired in the M1A.
If you are unsure have a gunsmith check the headspace on your rifle to make sure it is in that mid range and hence safe to shoot either round. Some specialty houses make M14 clones closely copied from the M14 and for those it might be specified by the manufacturer to shoot only NATO spec 7.62.
Suffice it to say many shooters have fired lots of .308 Winchester safely in their SA M1A rifles.
@@jamesjohnson4159 damn Lotta info.. so 308 thru m1a
762 thru m14
That's basically what you said?
But both models shoot both? Depending on if the chamber can fit the cartridge due to overlaping lengths?
Did I get that right?
Plus primer issues depending on rifle model too?
This rifle, and the manual that accompanied it, give it a .308 rating. A .308 Winchester chambering can always safely fire both, just as a 5.56 NATO can always safely fire .223 Remington ammo. Slam fires can occur when a bolt falls on a previously chambered single fed round, which is true with the Garand or M14/M1A. All rounds should be stripped from a magazine to prevent slam fires before bolt lockup.
@@KurticeYZreacts I made a long reply to your questions but it’s been deleted by someone. Sorry. I’m not going to repeat it all. In summary:
1. The SA M1A is made with a .308 chamber. You can shoot any quality commercial .308 ammo that’s made to SAAMI specs and any 7.62 x 51 NATO spec ammo.
2. If you have an M1A or M14 clone chambered for 7.62 x 51 from another manufacturer check the owner’s manual or better yet contact the manufacturer for their ammo recommendations.
3. Slam fires are possible with any rifle which has a fire floating firing pin. Including all the rifles in the M1A family including the M1 Garand, the M14, the M1A and their clones. It’s also possible in the M16/AR15 family of rifles. Quality SAAMI spec .308 ammo or NATO spec 7.62 should not be a problem.
The possibility increases if you single load one round into the chamber by hand and then let the bolt slam forward. In that instance the bolt velocity is much higher because the bolt is not being slowed down by stripping a round from the magazine. This will give a harder primer strike which causes the slam fire. So best practice is to chamber from the magazine. If you do load one in the chamber by hand the way to decrease the chance of a slam fire is to release the bolt slowly. Once it’s at about 1/2 closed then let the bolt go. This will result in a lower bolt velocity more akin to the velocity when chambering from a magazine.
4. Make sure you understand there is .308 ammo and 7.62 ammo. There is also a .308 spec chamber (SAAMI spec) , and a Military 7.62 chamber. 7.62 and .308 ammo is essentially the same length, so either chambers just fine. However the chambers can be different. The Military spec 7.62 chamber can be longer. So the issue is not caused by the ammo per se as much as with the chamber length and head space.
So as a rule it’s fine to shoot either .308 or 7.62 NATO spec ammo in an M1A with a .308 chamber. The safety issue arises in shooting some .308 ammo in a rifle with a 7.62 chamber. If the chamber is cut longer, as the 7.62 chamber spec allows, and the head space is greater then after firing the case can push back more and expand so the case is not fully supported at the rear. This can allow the case to bulge or even for the case head to separate leading to extraction failure. As long as the bolt was fully closed so there is no out of battery detonation this case separation typically shouldn't cause injury to the shooter. It just results in a cycling malfunction.
7.62 NATO spec ammo cases are thicker at the base (the web) and so less likely to separate. Some .308 ammo has thinner cases. That’s why some manufacturers of rifles with a 7.62 chamber say to only shoot NATO spec 7.62 ammo. Shooting some of this weaker case .308 in a long cut 7.62 chamber can result in case head separation. It shouldn’t be a problem with quality commercial .308 made to SAAMI specs but there is lower quality ammo out there. To be safe shoot what the rifle manufacturer says.
Excellent shooting as always! Did you decide to glass bed the rifle, and if you had, did you see much improvement at the range. I picked up a standard and unfortunately my AR10 is leaving it behind in the accuracy department.
Thank you. I may bed it some day, and I'm sure it will show some degree of improvement if I do. As I mentioned in the video, the M14 was designed to satisfy the long standing 4 MOA military requirement that was no different than the battle rifle accuracy requirement for its predecessor or its successor. Despite its legendary status that grows fonder in the memory of US veterans, it was not an accurate rifle by modern standards, and it shouldn't be expected to measure to such standards. Most folks buy it for nostalgic and sentimental reasons that have little to do with accuracy.
Very thorough! Thank you Sir
The thing I’ve found is that a lot of these rifles are mass produced and even often by people that don’t even shoot and what I’ve found is to resemble the stock to the barrel with locktite and torque to spec. I missed 2 bulls because of an issue like this with a savage and I’d keep re sighting it in and miss them at 100yrds I finally found that every bolt from the barrel to the stock were loose causing inaccurate shots.
My standard M1A shoots 150 grain bullets great. Don’t waste your time with Hornady 168 match bullets. Back when I played the highpower game I had two rear lugged M1As with Krieger barrels. Those shot any bullet that came in a little green box very well.
I certainly agree with you on taking each brand/weight/bullet type on its own merit. My Remington M700 shoots sub MOA with Fed Premium GM Match .308 168gr BTHP but my M1A only shoots 2-3 MOA….and it occasionally slam fires. I finally got a hold of some IMI 7.62x51mm 168gr Match HPBT. Also I was surprised how well TULA .308 168gr Match ammo performed. It is steel cased and the cheapest of the bunch!
M118LR for the win