M1A Purchase?

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Buy the M1A, and find a local High Power match to attend. You won't outshoot the AR's(unless if you dump a ton of money into it, maybe...), but you'll have a darn good time.
 
Had one for many years. Was able to buy ammo at $165/1000rds delivered. Traded it when ammo cost went through the roof.
I'm just a happy with my AR.
 
Wow! IfRobert says FAL!!!

Prices is California are always higher...but even for that it does seem high... I mightwaffle long enough for it to be gone

Thanks for the input gentlemen...
Greg
 
I am going to recommend against it. Springfield cuts too many corners. I had too many parts rattle loose or fall off of mine to recommend it. For the price you pay for an M1A, you can get an AR-10 that will shoot circles around the M1A in every single way, and will have far less cast or MIM parts. Add Springfield's shaky politics the last few years, and you can certainly find a manufacture to give your money to that is going to support you and the shooting industry more than Springfield Armory.
 
I was in the second Series at PI to get M16's....so the whole time there I had to see everyone else marching around and drilling with M14's and envying them because that is just one beautiful rifle in my eyes. Manual of Arms with the full size rifle is just one of the beautiful things Military people learn....which sucked with the tiny little M16.:( Only time the M16 seemed worthwhile was toward the end of a 20 mile hump...where it felt PLENTY heavy, but besides that time I wanted an M14 ever since. Got the M1A in 1987 with all GI except receiver and stock and it's sweet.:)

Agree that if the rifle in question is an earlier one it might be well worth the price, but later ones did seem to suffer a bit now and then as they ran out of GI parts and had to make their own which sometimes had some teething problems. The early rifles still have all of the foibles inherent to the platform, but our warts are what make each of us special....and the M14 is special to me.
 
I had too many parts rattle loose or fall off of mine to recommend it. For the price you pay for an M1A, you can get an AR-10 that will shoot circles around the M1A in every single way...


and then as they ran out of GI parts and had to make their own which sometimes had some teething problems.

My '06 Socom still had a mix of USGI and SAI parts... I've never had a problem with mine. It is, as I mentioned, very sensitive to maintenance... you need to pay attention to it. I love my AR's... but there is nothing like running that heavy metal M1a. For that matter... you can read online about parts rattling loose and falling off AR's, too... it is what it is. As I said, the M14/M1a platform is different, and not for everyone.
 
My '06 Socom still had a mix of USGI and SAI parts... I've never had a problem with mine. It is, as I mentioned, very sensitive to maintenance... you need to pay attention to it. I love my AR's... but there is nothing like running that heavy metal M1a. For that matter... you can read online about parts rattling loose and falling off AR's, too... it is what it is. As I said, the M14/M1a platform is different, and not for everyone.

If something rattles loose or falls off of your AR, you can usually fix or replace it yourself, and regardless, there is a plethora of parts and service providers to fix it for you. Or you can just replace the whole rifle for a few hundred bucks. The M14 was always difficult to mass produce. The corners Springfield cuts in this regard make the rifle somewhat proprietary. People who work on M14s are becoming more scarce, and most of them won't work on M1As, or at least won't work on some areas of the M1A. Parts are harder to find and more expensive, and the rifle isn't as easy to work on in your garage.
The military tested the M14 in 1968 and found the MRBF to be 599 rounds. And that is from forged receiver rifles that actually met the TDP. You think cutting corners is going to make the M1A more reliable or more durable than the military rifles? Probably not. Meanwhile the military claims its getting 3600 MRBF from current M4 carbines. So it is possible to get an AR much more reliable and much more accurate than an M14. The AR is more modular and easier to work with, cheaper, and easier to maintain.
The M1 is a nice rifle. It is nostalgic, and it just feels right to the rifleman in you. But M1As are expensive--the Springfields really aren't that good of quality for what you pay and the LRBs and Smiths nearly double the cost. If I really wanted to get an M1 for range and nostalgic use, I would just get a CMP Garand. If I was looking for a decent magazine fed semi auto .308, the AR-10 has only advantages over the M1A.
 
I have some experience with the rifle in its various military guises (M21, M25, EBR). For the cost and performance, and the issues with scope mounting, I would not own one. I prefer the AR10 for a 308 gas gun. For a 308 semi to use with iron sights, I would prefer a FN FAL. Unless someone desires one out of nostalgia because it is what they had in 1960 in the military, or is competing in service rifle matches, I just don't see the point.
 
I have both an excellent GMP Garand and a recent M1a standard model with their new walnut stock. I love both but it’s no contest, I far prefer the M1a. They’re both beautiful but thr M1a is just all around a better rifle for me - accurate, reliable, and fun. Fantastic trigger. Practical? Not so much, but who cares? If you need practical buy an AR10. Checkmate mags are excellent too and run under $30, less than Sig or FN pistol mags. Thr snobs sneer at the lack of gi parts of course, but again, so what? Springfields warranty is first class. If it really bothers you then start collecting gi parts to swap in as time and money allow.

Buy the M1a - you’ll love it. However the deal offered isn’t too good based on recent pricing I’ve seen.
 
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Finally! Now I know why the infantry guys would come down to Qui Nhon and try to steal my M-14, because it actually worked and had more penetration than their 16s!!

The M14 had the shortest service life of any US service rifle. Because it sucked.

We used them again in Iraq and Afghanistan and my generation was able to discover first hand that they sucked. Pretty much as soon as guys got trained on them the .mil started looking for something else to fill the DMR role. Because the M14 sucks. Your fond memories of the M14 indicate to me that you didn’t use it very much, or you didn’t know any better, or you got indoctrinated in boot that the M14 was so awesome.

I never had a problem with my issued M16A2’s or my last M16A4 (I got out before USMC infantry switched to the M4), and 5.56mm did just fine on dirt bags. Once the USMC infantry switched to M4’s the 5.56 still worked, same for the M27. The 7.62 round offered effectively no advantage over the 5.56 in defeating barriers in my experience. You want to have a chance of chewing up mud brick or cinder block walls get an M2 and get to work. Otherwise an AT4 or SMAW were your best bet. I guess the Carl Gustav is phasing out the SMAW, and the Gus is bad ass from what I’m told by a former 75th Ranger Regiment guy.
 
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
That's a little steep for a standard. For a loaded that's an OK price. You can get standards for around $1100 if you wait for a sale. Try to talk them down a little. Caveat: If it's an older one with GI parts then buy it right now.
 
The M14 had the shortest service life of any US service rifle. Because it sucked.

That is not true at all... the decision to drop the M14 in favor of the M16 was political... it is well documented, do your research.

All you M14 haters bring up reasonable points of view... based on experience or your experience with a poor example, and I'm not going to deny any of it... cause I didn't have the same experience as you. I was never issued an M14... I always got clapped out M16A1's... and guess what? They were great! If you did your maintenance, and lubed them (or not) for the environment you were wagging it around in, there were few problems. All that being said, the M14 isn't worthless, useless, and it doesn't suck. It has it's merits, it also has it's quirks... just like most any other platform... including the AR, 10 or 15. Is the AR more versatile? Absolutely. Is it more accurate? Generically, yes, but not absolutely. Is it easy to work on? Sure. Is the 5.56mm round superior to the 7.62mm? Depends.

This is one of the reasons the AR vs M14 debate is banned over on the M14 forum... you can split hairs and trade 'I been there' stories all day long... none of it matters a hoot.
 
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