M1-A Socom 16 Receiver Dings

[packerfan]

I recently purchased a brand new Springfield M1-A Socom 16 and went off to the range. Love the rifle to say the least and have fired roughly 400 rounds through it thus far.

My question is this. In cleaning my new baby I have notived a pattern of brass colored "dings" and markings about the receiver (ejection side) and on the operating handle (roughly near the pull lever). This rifle comes with a blued finish which doesn't seem to be too durable as it is already getting wear marks on edges and the like. Q: Are the brass colored markings normal? I do not have a scope...I use an Aimpoint ML2 up on the rail so what is causing these strange markings? Is anyone else having this issue?

Any infor is much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Bwana John]

Brass "kisses" are cool.

 

[ATAShooter]

I have a brand new out the box reg M1A Springfield, and it does it too. As the Italians say " Itzanormal"

 

[trbon8r]

Totally normal. You've got a combat rifle there, not a safe queen.

 

[geekWithA.45]

It's not actually your finish being worn away by your brass.

It's a fine layer of your brass scraped from your shells during the ejection process adhering to your finish.

This is perfectly normal for battle rifles.

In fact, combat rifles without brass stains are suspect, it's a sure sign they haven't been fired enough to be deemed reliable and trustworthy.

Incidentally, back when I was working for a professional sports league, the "elite NYPD" units that guarded the games had AR's with completely virgin brass deflectors.

 

[mattw]

don't expect the finish to last long, especially in contact areas like the oprod channel in the reciever. i've fired my m1a enough to think that anything even M14 shaped could fire bullets without a malfunction..

 

[ScottsGT]

Hoppies removes those brass dings from the op rod.

 

[AK103K]

Your also going to see the stock start to get little chips in the paint in about the same place.

Or you can get a nice walnut one form Fred's

or maybe a GI synthetic and a little OD Aluma Hyde.

and dont forget to get one of these.

 

[packerfan]

Many thanks to each of you for your information. Suppose a pic would have helped to explain, but I think you all are refering to what you see below. Basically I will not worry about them at all and keep on firing away

Btw, AK103K...where do you get one of those nifty bolt catch / releases at? Got to have it! Also love both of your setups. Keepin mine kinda stock for now but love the flexibility this platform lends itself to as I reside in California and missed the boat on the AR's and like. Still I'm more than satisfied with the M1-A experience!!

 

[AK103K]

packerfan,

Smith Enterprises makes the bolt stop/release. Rooster33 offers another. They work great, I think you'll like it.

Careful putting it on as a straight punch wont work. Get some long drill stock of the proper size for the punch.

http://www.smithenterprise.com/products03.html

 

[packerfan]

OK...so your referring to the process of punching out the holding pin for the extention? I'm new to this rifle...is it something I should have done by a smith? Thanks for the link too.

 

[AK103K]

If your not real comfortable with tinkering with it, maybe. I've seen a pic of one that went bad and one of the "ears" on the receiver was broke off.(I dont believe Springfields receivers are forged) I didnt have to much trouble with mine, but I was askeer'd I used a couple pieces of long drill stock, one to drift, one as a lever and tapped gingerly and the pin came right out. If you go over to AR15.com and search around on the M1A section, they have some good info there, including the armors spec for making the tool for the specific job. Funny you have to make it though.

It really is probably the best and most practical aftermarket accessory for the rifle. I'm surprised they never originally made it that way.

 

[packerfan]

Agreed, it is surprising that it isn't designed this way from the getgo. Thanks a million for your help. I'll get mine asap. L8r.

 

[Gewehr98]

That's an easy one...

It really is probably the best and most practical aftermarket accessory for the rifle. I'm surprised they never originally made it that way.

Because it was never needed by the however many thousands (millions?) of GI's who were issued the M14. I've been shooting my M14NM competitively and otherwise for the last 15 years, and have had no problems using the USGI bolt stop catch. Maybe it's an owner's anatomy thing?

 

[AK103K]

Have you ever used one Gewehr98? The GI bolt catch simply locks the bolt back. This one releases it after a mag change. You can do the mag change using your left hand and never take your right hand off the pistol grip. For a slung in target shooter, its not really an issue. For a combat rifle its very handy. I believe Smith Enterprise has the contract for this item with the military and they are retrofitting the M14's in use today with them.

Those millions of GI's that didnt have them when it was the issue rifle were never given the opportunity to know they were missing out.

 

[Gewehr98]

What's wrong with the original method?

Maybe it's my military training, but after inserting a fresh magazine, I just grab the oprod handle and give it a quick pull all the way to the rear and let fly. The original bolt catch was never designed as a release mechanism, it simply holds the bolt back against magazine follower tension and swings out of the way when at least one round is in the next magazine. By using it as a bolt release, you're denying yourself almost 1/2" of bolt acceleration as you chamber a round. Since I use my M14NM for High Power competition, it was a consistency thing for me, and my right hand routine accomodated the op rod just fine.

Don't get me wrong, I like widgets just as much as the next guy, but it's very seldom that you get something for nothing with respect to aftermarket accessories on firearms.

 

[Bwana John]

Im with G-98 on this one. I release the bolt by retracting the op-rod with my right thumb. The right hand never leaves the pistol grip.

It looks like a cool little goober, but comes under the catagory of "bells and whistles" to me.

 

[AK103K]

I think once you've tried it and understand how well it works, you'd have a different outlook on it.(if all you do is target shoot, I wouldnt waste your money though, and its probably against the rules anyway) When you rock the mag in with your left hand, the heel of your thumb is right at the release as the mag locks and the bolt is closed right then. No reaching, turning the gun to get to the charging handle, wasted motion. The rifle is loaded as its coming up. You can load the M1A "almost" as fast as an AR.

I used to think the M1A/M14, AR/M16, AK's didnt need an red dot either, but now I know better.

 

[Bwana John]

The extended bolt hold open looks very fast and ergonomic, but I dont think it was intended to be used to load the rifle. It was intended to hold the bolt open after the last shot, and keep the bolt back when the mag is out.

I believe that the rifle was desigined to be loaded by FULLY retracting the op-rod, and releasing.
I know that the rifle "can" be loaded by pushing the button, but at the cost of reliability, (and accuracy).

Because of the badly out of spec, aftermarket, non-USGI bolt hold opens that are floating around, (and the lack of real USGI ones) these might be a cool goober for a new build or retrofit, but I believe the manual of arms for chambering a round in this 50 year old design should be "The Slingshot"

 

[mndfusion]

My FAL got those all the time, the brass kisses are annoying to me...my AK's and SKS dont have them...if I got a 1000 dollar rifle with a brass kissing action I would be a little pissed...even though it doesnt seem to affect function.

 

[mndfusion]

I was in the ARMy and had a brass deflector issued to me, I never used the thing, and i never got a brass in the face, or kisses. (The older m-16 dont have that new feature, so a post hock plastic design was issued.

 

[packerfan]

I didn't even notice the "kisses" until I went to clean my rifle. It is kinda wierd spending nearly $2K on a setup and having this weird result from firing, but I'll go with the flow since everyone is saying its normal. Heck, even the stock is experiencing white spots on it from wear only after 400 rounds. Its a battle rifle and I'll look at it as such while enjoying the shooting experience...still can't figure out exeactly how those kisses are happening though