M1A Purchase?

[ExAgoradzo]

so, a nice M1A with 500 rounds is for sale at my LGS for about $500 more than I expect to get for the gun I’m selling. That’s a step for me at this moment...But I’ve always kinda wanted one. A buddy has one so part of me is like, I can live for a while on his joy...I own a Ruger GSS in .308 Win as my ‘woods gun’ along with my 45-70...

Talk me out of this, please...

Greg

 

[Tommygunn]

You really really really should buy that M1A.

 

[JeffG]

I won't be good for your "walk away" plan. Since the last time I turned my M14 into the armory, I have wanted one. I have rarely held a rifle that will point, shoot and stay ready, like that rifle. Granted, when I pick one up, it's like dancing with a high school sweetheart; a lot of memories come flooding back. Make sure what model you are dealing with, there are several.

 

[ExAgoradzo]

I can’t remember all the names of the M1As. I know there are several. I’ve looked in the past. This is their standard, no frills, just shoot the 7.62/.308 in a semi-auto way...asking $1500.

Greg

 

[troy fairweather]

500 round sound like a even trade to me, you gotta buy ammo anyway.

 

[LoonWulf]

Yeah im no help, an M1a is really the only .308 i want lol
If i could swing it and it was a variant i wanted id probably get it.

 

[Coal Dragger]

so, a nice M1A with 500 rounds is for sale at my LGS for about $500 more than I expect to get for the gun I’m selling. That’s a step for me at this moment...But I’ve always kinda wanted one. A buddy has one so part of me is like, I can live for a while on his joy...I own a Ruger GSS in .308 Win as my ‘woods gun’ along with my 45-70...

Talk me out of this, please...

Greg

No problem. The M14 platform is garbage, and always has been.



Go to the 2:20 mark and listen to some dudes who had to use one.

I’ve had 2 M1A’s and don’t anymore and will not in the future.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I had the M1a Loaded version with the full length stainless heavy barrel-

The good:
Very accurate
Awesome trigger
Reliable feeding (with good magazines)

The bad:
Awkward handling due to its great length, would be impossible to get in/out of a vehicle with.
Nose heavy and poorly balanced.
The N/M iron sights have a TINY aperature and front blade, making reaquiring your target after each shot difficult.
High quality magazines are tough to find and pricey, old GI surplus and the stainless Checkmate mags worked fine, other brands not so much.
The bolt would not fall into battery if lowered slowly due to rough receiver machining. Ive handled other Springfields which were better and this did not effect function, but it was annoying.

So, for a bench/target rifle, it was good, but as a fighting gun I wasnt really satisfied with it. I may give one of the shorter/lighter variants a try at some point such as the SOCOM- I still have a stack of $$$$ magazines, lol.

 

[Ks5shooter]

Not in love with the gun. Sold mine.

 

[johnmcl]

Hi Greg,

My M1A Loaded is one of the most fun guns in the weapons locker. I enjoy the historical story behind the last wood and steel rifleman's rifle. In addition, a 30 cal rifle at 200m is no one's little sister. A lot of the comments really are saying that the M1A is not an M4. Got it, really, I do.

None of these nay-sayers have any effect of me on a spring day, prone, all slinged up, and pounding the heck out of a target with this fine gun.

Best of luck, and if you jump in, do remember to show us photos.

 

[lightman]

Well, I have 2 so I won't be much help talking you out of it! Price wise? I don't know where that $1500 falls but the ammo is worth something.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

I want a Squad Scout.

 

[maxxhavoc]

Just throwing this out there ..
https://palmettostatearmory.com/spr...-socom-308-win-kryptek-highlander-aa9613.html

Not my cup of tea since I wanted the GI configuration, but a good deal anyway.

 

[lemaymiami]

This thread brings me all the way back to 1968 - and how I struggled to do well with that M-14 in basic training.... and how relatively easy it was to qualify expert when less than a year later we had access to our first M16's...

I'm sure there are lots of vets who remember the M14 fondly - I'm not one of them... Back then I was barely 5'9" (if I stretched a bit..) and hardly weighed 140... that might have had something to do with it. Thank heavens I was only a pencil pusher back then. If I'd ended up in a combat arm I'd have learned to love it - out of necessity... but those first memories are still with me all these years later.

 

[Grumulkin]

If you're wanting both very nice accuracy and an M1A you're probably not going to get both. I had the National Match version for a long time. My Remington 742 did quite a bit better than it accuracy wise. If you wish to attach a scope you can but in my opinion the options for attaching it are quite poor. The iron sights are fine in my opinion.

If you're the spray and pray kind of guy with a lot of ammo (i.e., money) to burn, then the M1A might be for you. It's also a nice gun for CMP matches.

 

[AlexanderA]

Make sure what model you are dealing with, there are several.

There are many variations of the M1A, along with wide variations in prices. In general, for domestically produced ones, the earlier made the better, because the early ones had more GI parts. The "gold standard" are the very first civilian M1A's, marked "Devine, Texas" on the barrel. That was before production moved to Illinois. Then there are the Chinese knockoffs, some of which are rare and valuable in their own right.

I have a Devine M1A, serial number below 1000, that I bought new back in the day. Therefore the current production doesn't interest me at all. It was all downhill from there.

Incidentally, the semiautomatic M1A is better (more accurate) for shooting than the GI M14. That's because the wider right rail of the receiver makes the receiver more rigid, and makes for firmer bedding to the stock. The M14 was a failure in full automatic anyway.

 

[marksman13]

I had a good friend carve a walnut stock for my Scout. I’m 6’4” and the factory plastic stock was a bit short. I carried an M21 around Iraq for a while and wanted an M1A for nostalgic reasons. I don’t shoot it often. I don’t love it. I do appreciate the history behind it and I am prone to fond and not-so-fond memories whenever I pull it out of the safe. You’ll never know if it holds a place in your collection unless you buy it. You can always sell it if you hate it.

 

[Nature Boy]

Where were all you guys that have "always wanted one" when I was selling mine a couple of months ago?

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/springfield-m1a-with-extras-price-drop-texas.843190/


Edit:

BTW, I wasn't selling because I hated it or had problems with it. I'd own another one again if I thought I'd shoot it more. 2018 was a big $ expenditure for me on custom rifles. Something had to go and the M1A drew the short straw.

 

[Charlie98]

Nature Boy... I was tempted.

The M-14 platform isn't for everyone. Maintenance on it is critical, most need some amount of work done to them to get them to shoot to their full potential. It is not as versatile as the AR platform, or any number of other similar rifles... it was designed as a battle rifle. It is not a handloader's dream... there is a fairly narrow margin for reloading properly for the M14's gas system, and it can be picky.

Having said that... I have a Socom16 (16" barreled M1a) and I love it, it's not going anywhere. Like the M1 Garand, it is a very physical rifle to shoot, and lots of fun.

You can buy a brand new Standard for $1200, now, and generic FMJ ball ammos is about .50-.60/rd... so $250. Unless the rifle in question is something specific (a National Match, for example) it's not that good a deal.

 

[Nature Boy]

@Charlie98

I agree, the platform has it's quirks, but those idiosyncrasies are what kept me interested. Learning how to accurize the M1A provides gratification when you see the results show up down range. Chasing the accuracy bug in my M1A is what lead me to start reloading.

If you've always wanted an M1A then get one. There's nothing else that going to scratch that itch.

 

[Jackal]

You can buy M1A's for around $1100 online. I just got a Socom 16 for $1200 from PSA.

 

[Robert]

Don't do it Greg! Buy a FAL instead.

 

[dh1633pm]

Please call me and I will do my best to convince you to buy buy buy. 1-800-buy-aM1a.

 

[Garandimal]

Well...

The CMP has Service Grade M1 Garands for $750, and Special Grade M1 Garands w/ new Criterion Bbl's chambered in .308 for $1050.

​

Spend the rest on ammo.




GR

 

[AlexanderA]

Don't do it Greg! Buy a FAL instead.

I would tend to agree. Objectively, the FAL is a better gun, and one the army should have adopted back during the trials to replace the Garand. But the M14 / M1A has its place, to fill a slot in the collection. It can be quite accurate, when tuned to National Match standards.