Accurizing the M1A

[Georgiaboy61]

Anyone here have extensive experience with accurizing the Springfield Armory M1A? Considering having the stock on mine glass-bedded - and have heard pros-and-cons on having it done. My rifle was sold to me as a National Match, but it actually is a "loaded" version, which is SA's version intermediate between a std. M1A and the National Match. Mine has a NM non-hooded iron sight, NM barrel and NM two-stage trigger. I did install a Sadlak Industries NM guide rod in the rifle, but other than that, it is bone stock. With match-grade ammunition, it is capable of consistently shooting 1-1.5 moa groups - if I do my part. That's not bad for a gas gun, but I'd like to do better. I understand armorers in the military are capable of tuning M14s/M1As to consistently shoot less than one moa.

Wondering whether it is worth it to have it bedded or not.... and would appreciate any input. If I can get it to perform well-enough in terms of accuracy, I wouldn't mind doing some NRA or CMP service rifle shooting competitions with it - but that's about it.

I love that wood furniture and traditional look, but I would consider a composite stock if needs be, or some sort of chassis system - to enhance stability, accuracy and consistency. With the wood stock on mine, the groups do tend to open up a bit when the barrel gets hot.

 

[MistWolf]

The best source of knowledge on the M14 in the universe- http://teamm14.com/forum.php

 

[boricua9mm]

I understand armorers in the military are capable of tuning M14s/M1As to consistently shoot less than one moa.

I'm sorry to report that you have been misled. I'm pretty unpopular in the M1A world for challenging people to produce statistically significant groupings showing M1As, whether accurized or not, to be sub-MOA. Nobody has ever shown evidence to suggest that what we're being fed is indeed true. The comments continue to roll in about people's mythical sub-MOA guns, but you will notice that those comments are almost always without context (# of rounds in a group, distance fired, number of groups averaged, etc.)

What is often quoted, and used out of context, is that TACOM RI by way of Smith Enterprise EBRs have been able to obtain sub-MOA 3-shot groups fired at a range of 100m. No doubt, my M1A will do that with regularity, and I'm sure yours will too. What happens when you increase the shot groups to 5 or 10 shots is that the groups begin to open up. The measurements then show that these rifles usually fall somewhere between 1 and 1.5 MOA when using Match Grade or equivalent ammunition. In a select few cases, members of the AMU have been able to piece together rifles that shoot honest-to-goodness sub-MOA, but they cannot be consistently built. It's an exception rather than the rule.

If your rifle is shooting between 1 and 1.5 MOA with 10 shot groups, or even 5, then I would suggest leaving it alone. You can dump all kinds of money into the M1A seeking better accuracy. You might spend $500+ just to shave off a marginal amount in the spread of your groups.

Try a NM gas piston; that's not too expensive and it could help a bit. You can unitize the gas system if it's not already done, or you can buy one outright. You can bed the stock if you wish, but then you lose the advantage of being able to tear it down regularly for maintenance. As you can see, the money is racking up and it's still unlikely you'll wind up with a true sub-MOA rifle, unless of course you are content with the internet lie of the 3-shot groups.

 

[Edarnold]

You say you want to shoot Service Rifle matches with your M1A. The X-ring on these targets is just shy of 1 MOA; the 10-ring is about 2.5 to 3.0 MOA. Your rifle needs nothing to be competitive in these matches, your shooting ability from a non-supported position is the limiting factor. Any stock change that falls outside the dimensions in the rule book will place you out of the Service Rifle group; the best you could do is a National Match stock, or replica, but don't expect that to change the accuracy. I'd say leave the gun be and go shoot some matches, and find out how much YOU need to improve.

 

[Georgiaboy61]

That's good advice - thanks for sharing it. There's always more the individual can do to become a better rifleman - no question of that.

 

[Georgiaboy61]

Re: "I'm pretty unpopular in the M1A world for challenging people to produce statistically significant groupings showing M1As, whether accurized or not, to be sub-MOA."

Truth-tellers are sometimes not the most-popular of people, but I respect your dedication to reality rather than myth. Per your reference, I have heard a lot of scuttlebutt about the EBR chassis system enhancing accuracy - that's probably the origin of most of the sub-moa tall tales. In a way, it is a relief that I am squeezing most of the accuracy out of the rifle as it; I certainly don't "need" to dump a bunch more money into the thing. I'll try the NM gas piston - that strikes me as a good idea and not too expensive, either. Thanks for the info...

 

[Peter M. Eick]

50 shots, 100 yrds, off the bench.

I tend to agree that the M1A is not a sub 1 MOA gun. Even in the SuperMatch (shown above) it will not put 50 rounds in a row at under an inch.

My recommendation is simple. Put 50 in a row off the bench into a target and sit back and look at it a bit. If they are clustered like these are, then consider it good enough and look for a different launching platform to get a better result. If it is more scattered then you might be able to improve it with some of the NM type techniques.

 

[dvdcrr]

I don't know if I would say that my national match M1a was Sub MOA but I know I could put 5 shots in a one inch group at 100 meters. Any more than that and I am more likely to pull one. It was a very consistent 1 MOA shooter. It had the best glass bed job that I have seen. I put it up for consignment sale once I realized that there was one thing it could never be: light. It was stolen before it could be sold ( I was informed.)
Now I am getting a hankering for another one to complement my standard M1a rifle, and thinking hard about the LRB.

 

[Georgiaboy61]

DVDCRR, re: "Now I am getting a hankering for another one to complement my standard M1a rifle, and thinking hard about the LRB."

Don't know if it is of interest to you, but noticed recently that Fulton Armory is now in the M1A business. They guarantee their premium versions of the M1A to group under 1 moa. Haven't read the fine print, but it is noteworthy that they have that much confidence in their product.

 

[ncmitch]

OP if you are getting 1- 1.5 MOA out of your M1A leave it alone. If your talking 3 shot groups that doesn't count

Before you send your rifle off to someone get yourself a Scott Duff book: http://www.amazon.com/owners-guide-match-conditioning-instructions/dp/188872207X
Use the book as a guide to see what you would like to do.

The cheapest and easiest thing you can do to improve accuracy is to shim the gas cylinder.
After that you should NM modify the front ferrell, ensure your handguard is not touching the stock or the receiver.
Bedding is expensive, but you CAN learn to do it yourself, I would save it for last.

 

[Reloadron]

Another good book is:
The U.S. 30 Caliber Gas Operated Service Rifles: a Shop Manual Volumes I and II by Jerry Kuhnhausen.

You don't need the hardbound as the paper back is fine. Just about everything you could want to know about the M1 Garand and M14 (M1A) in a shop manual including all the tips and tricks for accurizing both rifles, including bedding and bedding techniques.

Just keep in mind what was covered as to competition as to rules and regulations for different competitions.

On a side note I have a NM M1A and over the 20 years I have had it the rifle has always performed flawlessly and accurate. I accumulated two oversize real nice walnut stocks with the intent of one day (the infamous "one day") of using one of them for bedding the rifle. I guess over the years I just never saw where there would really be enough gain doing the job. You get to a point of diminishing returns for the efforts.

Ron

 

[dprice3844444]

http://m14forum.com/gun-professionals any questions,here are your major m14 guys.

 

[dprice3844444]

is your gas system unitized and shimmed?