Howard Roark
Member
Here is some interesting little known history of the Springfield M1A NM. From 1974 for over 20 years they were made in Columbus, GA by Glenn Nelson’s shop. I'm fortunate to own one of Glenn's personal rifles and met Glenn and Hook several times over the years. Both are true legends.
From M14 Rifle History and Development Third Edition copyright 2008 by Lee Emerson:
"Springfield Armory, Inc. and Glenn Nelson
Glenn Eugene Nelson joined the U. S. Army in 1954 and became a member of its shooting team in 1961. He earned Distinguished Rifleman status in 1962. He remained on the Army shooting team until late 1965 when he accepted an offer to become a match armorer. He completed the U. S. Army match armorer school at Rock Island Arsenal then began building M14 rifles for competition as part of the USAMTU at Fort Benning. He was trained at the USAMTU by Sergeant "Hook" Boutin. Mr. Nelson went on to serve in Viet Nam and the Non-Commissioned Officer-In-Charge of the AMU Custom Gun Shop. Master Sergeant Nelson retired from the U. S. Army in 1975. As soon as Reese Surplus, Inc. purchased Springfield Armory, Inc. in 1974, Bob Reese hired Glenn Nelson to establish a shop that could build competition grade M1A rifles.
Mr. Nelson began building Ultra Match M1 Garand and National Match and Super Match M1A rifles from his home. However, by 1987 the business had grown such that Nelson’s Custom Gun Shop occupied 5,000 square feet of building space. Over the years he put together a first rate staff of former AMTU match armorers and former Army team shooters. Mr. Nelson and his staff kept up with and implemented the latest accurizing techniques used by the AMTU as time went on. Mr. Nelson built competition rifles for Springfield Armory, Inc. until 2004. Mr. Nelson’s FFL Book had logged over 41,200 entries for rifles received for his gifted touch. When Mr. Nelson retired from business, his machine tools and shop equipment were sold to Chief Warrant Officer 3 Ken Corcoran, U. S. Army (Retired) of North Pole, AK. Chief Warrant Officer Corcoran was an AMU armorer himself.
The custom Super Match M1A rifles were fitted with either Douglas or Hart heavyweight barrels. These heavyweight barrels were available in 1:10, 1:11, or 1:12 twist rates. Mr. Nelson required the air-gauged and stress-relieved barrel blanks supplied to him have a bore diameter between 0.2999 " and 0.3004 " and a groove diameter between 0.3079 " and 0.3084 ". The heavyweight barrel blanks were supplied with rifling obviously, but the rest of the machining was done by Mr. Nelson or his employees. National Match medium weight barrels were supplied by Springfield Armory, Inc. to Mr. Nelson already for installation by other suppliers. The operating rod guides were soldered on to the barrels. For individual customers, Mr. Nelson machined hand picked medium weight and heavyweight Douglas Premium barrel blanks and installed them in rifle builds unless the customer specified otherwise.
To give the reader an idea of what is possible with the M14 rifle and a talented armorer, the following will illustrate the point. In April 1986, Glenn Nelson built a Super Match M1A rifle from stripped receiver serial number 033187. The build included all TRW parts and a National Match rear sight. After final assembly, this rifle was tested on a machine rest. It grouped fourteen shots under the size of a nickel at 200 yards with 168 grain Sierra bullets. The test target was presented to the buyer, a member of the Second Army Shooting Team.
Mr. Nelson and his staff used the same Springfield Armory, Inc. M1A receivers used on standard models to create state-of-the-art competition rifles. They performed the match conditioning work and 90 % of the assembly on the receivers sent to the Nelson shop in Columbus, GA by Springfield Armory, Inc. Mr. Nelson purchased TRW bolts for building all the National Match and Super Match M1A rifles in his shop. Headspace on these rifles was kept between 1.631 " and 1.632 ". The M1A rifles dressed in wood stocks were coated several times with raw linseed oil. The almost-complete rifles were shipped back to Springfield Armory, Inc. for final assembly, test firing, packaging and shipping. Final assembly in Geneseo, IL included installation of the front and rear sights, operating rods, hand guards and slings. Mr. Nelson passed away on February 17, 2007 after battling several types of cancer."
Here is a page with a video interview of Hook.
From M14 Rifle History and Development Third Edition copyright 2008 by Lee Emerson:
"Springfield Armory, Inc. and Glenn Nelson
Glenn Eugene Nelson joined the U. S. Army in 1954 and became a member of its shooting team in 1961. He earned Distinguished Rifleman status in 1962. He remained on the Army shooting team until late 1965 when he accepted an offer to become a match armorer. He completed the U. S. Army match armorer school at Rock Island Arsenal then began building M14 rifles for competition as part of the USAMTU at Fort Benning. He was trained at the USAMTU by Sergeant "Hook" Boutin. Mr. Nelson went on to serve in Viet Nam and the Non-Commissioned Officer-In-Charge of the AMU Custom Gun Shop. Master Sergeant Nelson retired from the U. S. Army in 1975. As soon as Reese Surplus, Inc. purchased Springfield Armory, Inc. in 1974, Bob Reese hired Glenn Nelson to establish a shop that could build competition grade M1A rifles.
Mr. Nelson began building Ultra Match M1 Garand and National Match and Super Match M1A rifles from his home. However, by 1987 the business had grown such that Nelson’s Custom Gun Shop occupied 5,000 square feet of building space. Over the years he put together a first rate staff of former AMTU match armorers and former Army team shooters. Mr. Nelson and his staff kept up with and implemented the latest accurizing techniques used by the AMTU as time went on. Mr. Nelson built competition rifles for Springfield Armory, Inc. until 2004. Mr. Nelson’s FFL Book had logged over 41,200 entries for rifles received for his gifted touch. When Mr. Nelson retired from business, his machine tools and shop equipment were sold to Chief Warrant Officer 3 Ken Corcoran, U. S. Army (Retired) of North Pole, AK. Chief Warrant Officer Corcoran was an AMU armorer himself.
The custom Super Match M1A rifles were fitted with either Douglas or Hart heavyweight barrels. These heavyweight barrels were available in 1:10, 1:11, or 1:12 twist rates. Mr. Nelson required the air-gauged and stress-relieved barrel blanks supplied to him have a bore diameter between 0.2999 " and 0.3004 " and a groove diameter between 0.3079 " and 0.3084 ". The heavyweight barrel blanks were supplied with rifling obviously, but the rest of the machining was done by Mr. Nelson or his employees. National Match medium weight barrels were supplied by Springfield Armory, Inc. to Mr. Nelson already for installation by other suppliers. The operating rod guides were soldered on to the barrels. For individual customers, Mr. Nelson machined hand picked medium weight and heavyweight Douglas Premium barrel blanks and installed them in rifle builds unless the customer specified otherwise.
To give the reader an idea of what is possible with the M14 rifle and a talented armorer, the following will illustrate the point. In April 1986, Glenn Nelson built a Super Match M1A rifle from stripped receiver serial number 033187. The build included all TRW parts and a National Match rear sight. After final assembly, this rifle was tested on a machine rest. It grouped fourteen shots under the size of a nickel at 200 yards with 168 grain Sierra bullets. The test target was presented to the buyer, a member of the Second Army Shooting Team.
Mr. Nelson and his staff used the same Springfield Armory, Inc. M1A receivers used on standard models to create state-of-the-art competition rifles. They performed the match conditioning work and 90 % of the assembly on the receivers sent to the Nelson shop in Columbus, GA by Springfield Armory, Inc. Mr. Nelson purchased TRW bolts for building all the National Match and Super Match M1A rifles in his shop. Headspace on these rifles was kept between 1.631 " and 1.632 ". The M1A rifles dressed in wood stocks were coated several times with raw linseed oil. The almost-complete rifles were shipped back to Springfield Armory, Inc. for final assembly, test firing, packaging and shipping. Final assembly in Geneseo, IL included installation of the front and rear sights, operating rods, hand guards and slings. Mr. Nelson passed away on February 17, 2007 after battling several types of cancer."
Here is a page with a video interview of Hook.
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