I've always wanted an M1A,but their prices have always seemed a bit steep to me.Magazines too at $50 a piece.I know they come in differant models(Standard,Standard Collecter GI,Loaded and the top of the line National Match versions).I'm interested in either the Standard or Standard Collector GI version.What do you guys think?Are they worth the money?As always,I appreciate any advice you can offer.

Its all in what you want. If you like the M14/1A platform go with one. I've seen and shot most of the variations that springfield offers. Personally,I'd go with a USGI milled reciever,over the casted shit that springfield offers. If you look around,you can find a real M14 minus the auto features,for the same if not cheaper then the M1A springy.

Look around and talk to clubs or guys that shoot highpower. Most have or are changing over to the AR platform and will have M1A's for sale usually cheap. You'll get a known performer with a good barrel like douglas or krieger,for the price of some cobbled piece of shit springfield.

The springfields shoot fine,the quality simply isn't there like the USGI made rifles. You'll pay as much if not more for the standard as you can buy a real USGI based rifle for.


You didn't mention it,but if you're just looking to run .308 in a battle rifle,take a look at the AR stoner clones that various manufacturers make. Most take the M1A mags or cheaper proprietary ones. The AR platfornm is easier on optics and is way more accurate out the gate.

dirtbikerider, I have a Springfield standard grade M1A and a LRB M14. Both are very fine rifles. Each are what you would call rack or service grade. Each is accurate enough for anything except the toughest competition.

The SA M1A has the cast receiver while the LRB has the forged receiver. Which is best I'll leave to others to argue.

The SA MiA is all GI parts except for the operating rod. The newer SA's are mostly made from commerical parts. My LRB is all GI parts except for the barrel. The LRB was purchased as a barreled receiver with headspaced bolt and I installed the rest.

Concerning the "real" GI receivers, I personally would run far away from them. One reason is very few that has been made semi-auto are legal and the ones that are legal would probably take a lawyer and the ATF to document. ATF's position on that is once a machine gun, always a machine gun. The second reason is quality. All receivers are cut in half with a 1/4inch torch cut and welded back. The dimensions are likely to be off and what about the heat treatment?

The M1A/M14s are a lot of fun to shoot. Mine are shot 95% standing offhand and only off the bench to check loads. Except for hunting, I usually shoot surplus ammo. Very much fun shooting clay pigeons laying on 100 yard berm.

Joe A.

quote:

Are M1A Springfields Worth The $$$ ?

That's purely a matter of opinion. NO is mine and for simply that there's no good use for them.

I'll have to disagree about cast receivers in M1As. Springfield Armory has ALWAYS made their M1As using cast receivers. There are simply too many vintage Springfield Armory guns that have been used quite literally for decades by competitors like myself with no issues as to cast vs forged. Dimensionally the Springfield guns are very good and of the half dozen barrels I've screwed onto Springfield Receivers I found they timed and headspaced perfectly. My late 1980s vintage M1A is on its 4th barrel and has no measureable wear on the bearing surfaces, raceways, lugs etc. I own a total of 4 M1As all built with USGI parts (except for my match rifle which has the odd civilian part, match barrel etc). I'll put any of them up against any forged reciver M1A/14...oh wait the only manufacturer is LRB and they run $800 for a stripped receiver...which makes a LRB gun built on genuine GI parts a $2500 gun and nobody with any real trigger time on an M14 can prove to me its better in terms of reliability, accuracy or durabiility. A forged reciever is estimated to have a 400,000 round service life vs an estimated 250,000 round service life for a cast receiver. If you changed out barrels every 10,000 rounds it would take you 25 barrels (@$350 a pop = over $10,000 for barrels alone) to wear out a cast receiver and over $50,000 in ammunition at .20 a round. As I said, my Springfield match rifle has a good 22,000 rounds through it and is on its 4th barrel and you can't measure any wear anywhere. Genuine M14 receivers used for service rifle competition cracked with regularity. Ask anyone who shot on the Marine Corps rifle team back in the day. (This was really an issue of using VERY hot match ammo with a slow burning powder that caused the bolt to slam into the inside rear of th receiver)

My advice for anyone who wants an M1A is to shop around for a used gun with a 75,000 or under serial number. Guns made prior to that range were generally assembled with genuine USGI parts. As GI parts supplies have dired up Springfield Armory has turned to cast reproductions and I'm not a fan of those parts especially bolts and operating rods. You can find a great condition Springfield rifle with USGI parts for about $1100 if you look around.

There are no legal USGI M14 semi-auto receivers. Period. The only legally owned USGI M14's on the civilian market are full auto and they run between $15-20k and require a class III license.

BTW, the Taiwanese M14 magazines which are on the market now for about $20 are nearly perfect USGI copies and function just fine in My 4 M1As.

That's my experience....

My M1A experience began in the early 1980s with a pair of brand-new M1A rifles. Almost all the parts were of GI origin. Unfortunately, I was talked out of both those rifles, and my M14 addiction was then satisfied by a pair of GENUINE TRW-built M-14s, which were available rather inexpensively on the Canadian market in the '80s and '90s (the second one, in excellent condition and all-TRW, cost me all of $190!)

Since the M14s weren't importable to the USA when I moved here, I bought a brand-new M1A "loaded" model last September, serial #170xxx.

That rifle just passed the 3,000-round mark, and it is FLAWLESS. It functions perfectly with any half-reasonable handload, including the 2500 wildly-assorted cast-bullet rounds I've fired in it. It has never seen a factory-loaded cartridge. It's accurate.....the last time out I fired three ten-shot groups from the bench which I won't even quote here.

Trust me, this is a fine rifle even without mostly-GI parts. I would lose no sleep about buying another late-production M1A.

As to "no need for it"...who in blazes has to justify owning such a rifle on the basis of "need"? Competitors use M1As by the thousands, and hosts of others use them for their own purposes. We have to make our own decisions about whether or not our selections are "worth it", but in my case and for my purposes, this rifle is most certainly worth the price.

I've owned four M-1As, and performance has been flawless in each one of them (.308,.308,.308,.243) The .243 is a helluva lot of fun, and the only politically correct M-1A I own (no bayonet lug) I haven't worn one out yet, despite having used the remaining .308 for 18 years - I've dropped out of regular competition shooting. Still, yes the M-1A seems worth it. ALSO I do concur with running away from original M-14 receivers. The BATF uses a rule that goes "once a machine gun, always a machine gun" so take the hint and avoid trouble.
LLS

The simple answer is that they are great rifles. Rugged dependable and reasonalbly accurate and with supprisizingly good triggers out of the box. They are more fun that a barrel of monkeys. They only have one down side. They are so much fun to shoot that you will always and forever more be short on 7.62 ammo if you get one.

In a word: "Yep!" I've got a SA National Match (single lug), with carbon steel barrel. This rifle is legal for High Power Silhouette, semi-auto military rifles. A real blast to shoot the 500 yard rams offhand with iron sights. Note: If you hit a couple the other shooters will come up and start talking to you....)My brother qualified with an M-14 in the Marine Corps and was issued an M-16 in VN. He told me he couldn't understand why the US went from a "totally reliable weapon" to one that could/would jam after 3 or 4 rounds....I've promised him my NM if something happens to me. You shoulda seen the grin on his face....Shrps74

Honestly, I don't know much about Springys... But I just love the way Sledder writes! We need more straight shooters like him around! Screw the BS, tell it the way you see it! Level off and fire away!

The Polytech is a forged receiver. That being said the rest of the rifle may be OK or junk. I think it is safe to assume most are in meed of major reconstruction-bolt,barrel,op rod. gas cylinder,etc. Add about $1800 to the cost of the receiver to get it done these days in most places. You can find it cheaper but you'll have to look.
If you have a Polytech that headspaces correctly you may be able use it for years or replace the bolt and see if you get away with it. I have 2 Springfields and a Polytech. The Polytech shoots 2MOA with irons and the headspace is not good. The GI bolt won't headspace at all. I'm waiting for the day I have to do a major overhaul but I got the rifle right.

Nothing better than spending a Sunday morning in June shooting an M1-A at a local National Match competiition. They are just a lot of fun. Figure on $1,000.00 each for the last two 1/2 MOA if you are serious about a match version.

LD

I love the M1A. I had my SA National Match M1A stolen in 1977 and I don't think I've ever gotten over it. Some of the most fun I've ever had was with an M1A and a Garand, harassing coyotes at ridiculous yardages in the badlands east of Bend, OR. If you can find one that's not abused at a reasonable price, buy it.

quote:

Originally posted by sledder:
You didn't mention it,but if you're just looking to run .308 in a battle rifle,take a look at the AR stoner clones that various manufacturers make. Most take the M1A mags or cheaper proprietary ones. The AR platfornm is easier on optics and is way more accurate out the gate.

Unless I'm mistaken The Armalite AR10 uses a modified M14/M1A magazine.... (a hole must be cut for the magazine catch)
the Bushmaster 7.62 rifles OTOH uses an FN-FAL magazine and they are dirt common and priced accordingly.

AllanD

Hi Allen,

New M-1A, M-14 magazines are being produced now, and the price is dropping. Armalite has gone to a new and improved magazine, which is not cheap. It does function very well, however.

The AR-10 game is not cheap, and never will be. IMO, it is the best way to go. It is getting heavy use by the military these days. The army is replaacing all its bolt action M-24 sniper rifles with a version of the AR-10.

This is like the old CRF vs PF contraversy. If you want the best, you go with an LRB, Norinco or Poly, FORGED receiver with all GI parts and a match barrel of your choice. If you just want to have a great time and shoot 308, you choose any M1A and go to the range. Look at the M14/M1a forums you'll learn. Just like when you want to hunt DG, you ask the big boys in the Big Bores and African Hunting forums.