M1A1 Are they any good?

[kurtflys]

I bought this M1A1 a few years ago.. It came with an Art 2 scope which never mounted worth a darn. I shot better with open sight than with the Art 2.. Anyway I called Springfield and gave them the serial number,, turns out the gun is a Super Match which they say I should not shoot since it is an early gun with all GI parts, and replacing a broken GI part might prove hard to do.. Perhaps they are right.. I have shot 100 rounds and I'm not impressed. It dents all the brass. Is that normal? I can't believe they used this for a sniper rifle.. Perhaps I could find a better scope and mounts.. Has anyone been down this road?
Thanks

[Johnny P]

I never liked the way the scopes mount on the M1A. It mounts so high that it is hard to repeat cheek placement. I notice that most of the pictures coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan show a built up cheek piece for the scoped M14 rifles. I mounted an Art I on my M1A NM for a while, but 3X at 300 yards/meters just didn't suit my type of shooting. I enjoy it much more using the open sights.
The Super Match M1A should be noticeably heavier than the standard M1A. I had a Super Match for a while, but the improvement in accuracy was small, and I liked the standard weight NM much better.

[Sako]

kurtflys, did they give you a reason you shouldn't shoot an early M1A? I have one in the 70000 serial number range and shoot it all the time.The early GI parts are a lot better than what they are selling now.
The M1A as you know is a service rifle and it does what a service rifle is supposed to do but it isn't going to shoot as well as most of better developed match rifles and calibers made today.

[Griff Murphey]

Absolute hogwash

Unless you believe guns are not to be used, I suggest you ignore their advice. M-1s and M-1A/M14 rifles dent brass normally. Suggest you have your brass looked at by an experienced service rifle shooter. Your degree of denting may be just fine.

Your difficulty with the scope could be just you, or the mount may be moving. The military has been tack welding them in Iraq and Afghanistan. I am currently doing well with the Bassett one screw mount on an old Devine NM. However, best accuracy will normally be with a bolt rifle.

[Gary Norski]

M 1a

It is a great rifle but is also hard on brass. The Military rifle team shooters will only reload military brass 2 times then throw it away. The case has a lot of stretch at the base. Its nothing like a 06 and a bolt gun case that can be reloaded about 20 times. Beware of MG brass as it is not worth a hoot, to much case stretch from long head space. Gary

[kurtflys]

It seemed to shoot pretty good with open sights. I think I was 3" at 100 yards.

[RED]

Art II scope mount

Scope mounts for the M1A have come a long way over the past few years. Sadlak Industries have pretty much solved most of the problems with the Art II mount. One problem is the Springfield receivers are not mil spec. Sadlak provides a kit that will allow you to determine if this is a problem and will, I believe, fit a mount to your receiver. IMO the best scope mount out there is their titanium mount. It will set you back about $400 and a really good set of rings will go for another $150.

I know this will open a can of worms but, personally I believe the Poly Tech receivers imported in the early 1990's are some of the finest available. They were forged and the Springfields are cast. Of course there are good cast receivers and there are bad forged ones. LRB makes a good one put they are very expensive. The Polys have received a bunch of bad press that is largely undeserved. The Poly receiver and chrome lined barrel are excellent. I have never seen a Poly dent cases and I usually only discard cases after 4 - 5 loadings.

Most M1A's are ammunition sensitive. The Federal Gold Metal Match is the standard but is also expensive. Yes, you do need a good cheek rest and there are several out there. I Like the one from DWP. I also have one sold by Blackhawk but it was made in Vietnam! Nuff Said?

[joem]

I have two of them and they are indeed ammo sensitive. I've only worked up a load for one of them. One day if I have time I'll work up a load for the other.

[kurtflys]

Scope mounts for the M1A have come a long way over the past few years. Sadlak Industries have pretty much solved most of the problems with the Art II mount. One problem is the Springfield receivers are not mil spec. Sadlak provides a kit that will allow you to determine if this is a problem and will, I believe, fit a mount to your receiver. IMO the best scope mount out there is their titanium mount. It will set you back about $400 and a really good set of rings will go for another $150.

I know this will open a can of worms but, personally I believe the Poly Tech receivers imported in the early 1990's are some of the finest available. They were forged and the Springfields are cast. Of course there are good cast receivers and there are bad forged ones. LRB makes a good one put they are very expensive. The Polys have received a bunch of bad press that is largely undeserved. The Poly receiver and chrome lined barrel are excellent. I have never seen a Poly dent cases and I usually only discard cases after 4 - 5 loadings.

Most M1A's are ammunition sensitive. The Federal Gold Metal Match is the standard but is also expensive. Yes, you do need a good cheek rest and there are several out there. I Like the one from DWP. I also have one sold by Blackhawk but it was made in Vietnam! Nuff Said?

I have the Sadlac mount and you need to be a gunsmith to make it fit right. But it can be done.. I might buy a 10X scope, but not sure which one.

[RED]

Wow! Mine went on in less than15 minutes with zero problems and I promise I am no gunsmith. I thought your post said you had an older Springfield Art II mount that was several years old. That is not a Sadlak mount. Anyway call Sadlak, they have great customer service.

[kurtflys]

I had both mounts.. I also did call Sadlak and they were great, and so is the mount. But mine did not just bolt on. When I did get it set up it was very stable.. I just needed a better scope.

[bd1]

I doubt you're ever going to get to a scoped rig you'll be fully satisfied with on a normal-stocked, unmodified M1A. You've seen the photos of the military's new tube-gun looking stocks for the M14; the optics rail appears to be integral. Just shoot the good M1A you already own and master the metallic sights. All it takes is clicks + decent ammo and you'll be driving tacks waaayyy out there. D.I. Boyd and Greg Strom used to shoot their M14's to National Highpower Championships against the best bolt-gunners up there.

[kurtflys]

Thanks. I might take her out this week and punch some holes.. I think my rear sight is at the bottom and it seems to still shoots high.. I will have to figure that out. I know there is a procedure for setting up the M1A sights, and I may have done it wrong.
Kurt

[kurtflys]

PPS this is a super match gun, so it is bedded, and has a good trigger, and what ever else came with the Super Match.

[bd1]

Thanks. I might take her out this week and punch some holes.. I think my rear sight is at the bottom and it seems to still shoots high.. I will have to figure that out. I know there is a procedure for setting up the M1A sights, and I may have done it wrong.
Kurt

Hmmm. Mystery to me. Conceivably the rifle used to shoot low and a prior owner filed down the front sight post to correct but took off too much and ended up overcorrecting. If that's your case, the only fix is to get a new USGI front sight, won't cost much. The sights are real simple (and real good), same as a Garand - you don't have to adjust the front post for long range elevation like w/ the AR 15. Try to do your practice shooting standing, prone, and sitting, not from a bench, if it's OK w/ your firing range director. Good luck.