M1a sled?

[gpw_42]

Is there such a thing as a SLED for an M1A? I haven't seen one in any catalogs (but know I haven't seen them all!), or any discussion of them on the board. Or, is there a "routine" modification to a magazine to accomplish the same objective?

Just started shooting an M1A in service rifle matches, and love it so far!

Thanks,
Steve

[Maury Krupp]

Nope, no such thing and no real need either.

Just clip the single round into the mag, pull back on the Op Rod handle, and let go.

Maury

PS - There's an argument to be made that there's no need for a SLED in an M1 or M16 either

[gpw_42]

Maury,

Understood about the absence of a need, given the easy access to M1A magazine lips. I suppose it's sorta like being comfortable when shooting - just get used to being uncomfortable, or stay home!

I'm with you about the similiar argument re: M1s. ARs? I bought a SLED for that, and like it. Was glad to loan it to a guy who's new to service rifle shooting last week when he showed up with an M4gery at the local service rifle match. Hope he'll be back...

Thanks for your thoughts,
Steve

[John Kepler]

Sorry but I'm just perplexed as all hell on this one! ANY SLED you could design would function and look just like.......wait for it.......here it comes......ready or not........A MAGAZINE! It would be a costly solution searching for a problem to solve! I shot a 14 XC for the better part of 20 years and NEVER had the slightest problem single-loading the rifle! It was a welcome feature compared to either a Garand or AR (I have SLEDS for both....still, none of them are as "user-friendly" as the 14!

Now that I think on it, I guess I have what you're looking for......I have what can only be called a "SLED" for my M14! It's a USGI magazine with one feed-lip busted off! I picked it out of a dumpster gratis over at the old CMSD in Port Clinton over 20 years ago......it'll only load a single round, but does that slicker than snot! So there ya go......a SLED that works exactly like a magazine, only it cost a lot less!

[Greg Ficklin]

Years ago the M14 shooters could place the butt on their stool, with the muzzle straight up, snap in a round and let the bolt go home. You cannot do that anymore. An observant block official will gig you if he sees it. It is now a safety violation. So don't do it. There is no such thing as a M1A sled because there is no need for one as John a Maury pointed out.
I like to snap a new round into the magazine with the tip starting into the chamber. Shooting the 30 call wood guns in an XTC match is like having a Harley when every one else has a Honda. They do the same thing just louder, cooler, and more expensive. Shooting a Master, or High Master score with one gets people's attention.
Good for you for diving into the game and doing your part to keep it alive and growing.

[gpw_42]

Greg,

Thanks for the tip on avoiding a safety violation. I like your idea about adding the round with the bullet tip already started up the feed ramp.

Thanks,
Steve

[John Kepler]

I guess part of becoming, to quote George Carlin, an Old F*ck, is discovering that others may not know or ever have seen some of the things that I have. What Greg described regarding starting the round in the ramp has been SOP for shooting a 14 since I was a little kid watching my very first National Matches in the late 50's. Yes, it's a good idea, and like most good ideas.....not exactly new.

Oh......shooting tip: like the AR, you can help yourself on the "long lines" by setting your OACL beyond mag-length to shorten the "jump" in the leade and improve accuracy at 6 and beyond. The "snap in the ramp" trick allows this longer OACL. IIRC, my 1000 yd OACL is 0.050" off the lands set with a Stoney Point guage for an OACL of around 2.940.....nearly a 10th-and-a-half longer than mag-length! But work your load up carefully....you can generate pressure issues by reducing the leade-jump. All other safe loading caveats apply.

Oh.....and since when were Line Blocks anything but anal? In this case though, I completely agreed with the "reinterpretation" of the rule. It was a sloppy practice by "us shooters" and had way too high a "Charlie-Foxtrot" potential to ignore....a de facto loaded weapon pointed at your face just isn't a good idea to save a fraction of a second in slow-fire.

[Griff Murphey]

The RO at the October '11 Texas state Garand/vintage/03 match was jumping guys for thumbing rounds into bolt gun mags rested vertically on stools. I do not remember people closing bolts with the rifles vertical but most of them were certainly at a 45 degree angle or about an optimum angle to get max range out of a slam fire... Not a good practice. He said this was a CMP rule.

[Maury Krupp]

It's both:

CMP Rule 8.1.5(1): "In all slow-fire stages, the rifle will be loaded with only one cartridge at a time. The rifle must remain pointed downrange while loading; a rifle may not be loaded while resting on a shooting stool."

NRA Rule 10.1.6 "In all slow fire events, the rifle will be loaded with only one cartridge at a time. The cartridge shall be inserted in the magazine or chamber only when the rifle is pointed down range. Resting a loaded rifle on a shooting stool or the foot, is prohibited."

Maury

[John Kepler]

It's both:

CMP Rule 8.1.5(1): "In all slow-fire stages, the rifle will be loaded with only one cartridge at a time. The rifle must remain pointed downrange while loading; a rifle may not be loaded while resting on a shooting stool."

NRA Rule 10.1.6 "In all slow fire events, the rifle will be loaded with only one cartridge at a time. The cartridge shall be inserted in the magazine or chamber only when the rifle is pointed down range. Resting a loaded rifle on a shooting stool or the foot, is prohibited."

Maury

Illegal AND dumb! Seen it done, never did it myself (Grandpa was a dear sweet gentle man, but never hesitated to teach "important" lessons with a taste of his belt.....firearms safety was always "important"!)