jobu07
Contributing Member
Wanted to share some pics of the new toy and a quick range report.
I know a little bit about these rifles. I know what they’re capable of but not necessarily the intimate inner workings of them and am always looking to learn more.
So I came across a deal on an M1A that I couldn’t pass up. It’s a Springfield with a high serial number. A little Google searching shows it was produced in 2009. I believe it was a standard model that the previous owner put a little work into. It came with the sling pictured and two magazines. The gas piston is not factory, of that I’m certain. I was told it was replaced with a titanium one. Not sure about the claim but it is stamped BKFLD PREC TL ®. I take it to mean Brookfield Precision Tool. The front half is brass colored (tin plated?) and the rear portion is just steal colored.
The front sight is marked NM 062 on the side. I take it to mean National Match and the 062 means the front sight is 62 mm tall. The fine front sight makes for a really nice sight picture. Standard flash suppressor on it.
The bolt is stamped 7790186 TRW ZH. I imagine the first part is a production lot number and the letters are the manufacturer of it. The trigger pack is stamped 7267030 66118 but has no letters that follow it. The Op Rod is stamped 7067064 HRA (H&R?).
She wears a standard surplus GI stock with the circle P on the pistol grip and an inspector’s mark on the left side above the trigger. Stock is in nice shape so I’ll keep it in place.
Now, onto the range report. The good and the bad, of course.
Pictured, you’ll see the first 3 shot group from the rifle. Ammo used was 1980 dated South African surplus, which has always been good ammo in my experience. Not bad in my opinion. A little low but a nice group for irons. This was fired at 100 yards in sand storm conditions with high wind gusts. I’m pretty happy with the grouping, but not with the location. The rear sight is set at 100 so my thoughts are that the front sight needs to come down. I’ll probably need to file it down just a hair to put it on target at 100. Should shoot fine at whatever distance after that.
Now, onto the bad. I couldn’t fire three shots without a malfunction. The gun was short stroking – I put 20 rounds through it and out of them only 2 or 3 times did the rifle function properly ejecting the cartridge, stripping a new one, and feeding it. Most of the time the empty would stay in the chamber and not eject. Some of the time the action would work enough to reset the hammer but not eject the empty. So, I’d have to manually cycle the action after each shot. I’ve gone over the gun fairly closely – piston is clean and free of debris, gas port is clean, op rod seems to be in good shape, barrel and chamber are excellent and clean (chrome lined).
So what say the experts?
I know a little bit about these rifles. I know what they’re capable of but not necessarily the intimate inner workings of them and am always looking to learn more.
So I came across a deal on an M1A that I couldn’t pass up. It’s a Springfield with a high serial number. A little Google searching shows it was produced in 2009. I believe it was a standard model that the previous owner put a little work into. It came with the sling pictured and two magazines. The gas piston is not factory, of that I’m certain. I was told it was replaced with a titanium one. Not sure about the claim but it is stamped BKFLD PREC TL ®. I take it to mean Brookfield Precision Tool. The front half is brass colored (tin plated?) and the rear portion is just steal colored.
The front sight is marked NM 062 on the side. I take it to mean National Match and the 062 means the front sight is 62 mm tall. The fine front sight makes for a really nice sight picture. Standard flash suppressor on it.
The bolt is stamped 7790186 TRW ZH. I imagine the first part is a production lot number and the letters are the manufacturer of it. The trigger pack is stamped 7267030 66118 but has no letters that follow it. The Op Rod is stamped 7067064 HRA (H&R?).
She wears a standard surplus GI stock with the circle P on the pistol grip and an inspector’s mark on the left side above the trigger. Stock is in nice shape so I’ll keep it in place.
Now, onto the range report. The good and the bad, of course.
Pictured, you’ll see the first 3 shot group from the rifle. Ammo used was 1980 dated South African surplus, which has always been good ammo in my experience. Not bad in my opinion. A little low but a nice group for irons. This was fired at 100 yards in sand storm conditions with high wind gusts. I’m pretty happy with the grouping, but not with the location. The rear sight is set at 100 so my thoughts are that the front sight needs to come down. I’ll probably need to file it down just a hair to put it on target at 100. Should shoot fine at whatever distance after that.
Now, onto the bad. I couldn’t fire three shots without a malfunction. The gun was short stroking – I put 20 rounds through it and out of them only 2 or 3 times did the rifle function properly ejecting the cartridge, stripping a new one, and feeding it. Most of the time the empty would stay in the chamber and not eject. Some of the time the action would work enough to reset the hammer but not eject the empty. So, I’d have to manually cycle the action after each shot. I’ve gone over the gun fairly closely – piston is clean and free of debris, gas port is clean, op rod seems to be in good shape, barrel and chamber are excellent and clean (chrome lined).
So what say the experts?
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