M1A Stock Question

[TXHORNS]

I have a Springfield Scout, the stock is black synthetic with grip/forearm checkering and a rubber butt pad.

My buddy has a SA fullsize, and his stock has no checkering and came with the metal butt pad. Different texture and feel too.

I see both these stocks all the time, why is there a difference? Not so much with the butt pad, but with the actual stock. Did Springfield change the stocks? Which is preferred? Is mine composite and the other fiberglass?

 

[Welding Rod]

The new one is plastic. The older rifles (Steel butt) came with a GI fiberglass stock painted with something that looks like spray on pickup truck bedliner.

Personally I don't like the look or feel of the new stocks.

From a function perspective, who knows? They may be even better? They just look cheap to me though.

 

[Glock Holiday]

I just got a base model M1A yesterday off of a friend's fire sale and the stocks leave a little to be desired,you're right.
I had a PolyTech M-14s and the Springer isn't as heavy to me.
I'm hoping the stock will grow on me because it is very light.

 

[Frankl03]

Get a walnut or birch stock. It looks better and feels better as well. It also may absorb some recoil. The nice thing about having a wood and a synthetic stock is that if you plan on carrying it for hunting its easy to change out.

Here's a pic of my M1A loaded in a birch USGI stock:

 

[Glock Holiday]

I like the looks of that stock.

 

[TXHORNS]

Interesting.....I have heard stories about the fiberglass stocks being flimsy when shooting, I have not noticed this at all with my plastic stock, its real firm. The fiberglass certainly feels better than the plastic but the wood would be better than both, for me. I may try a wood stock and keep my black handguard, I think that might look pretty cool. Nice M1A Frank.

 

[TXHORNS]

UPDATE:

Well I found an older SA stock - a USGI textured and painted. I could literally see through my rifle with that stock on -pretty big gap between the stock and the receiver at places. The bigger problem for me was the the receiver also had a very slight amount of play in the stock. I went back to the new composite stock. The composite stock SA is putting out now may not look or feel as good but the dang thing fits.

I think I am getting a wooden stock now but I am curious if it is common for the USGI stocks to fit this way?

 

[herkyguy]

i've got a surplus USGI synthetic stock on mine. it's great, heavy duty, and fits well. i had to paint it though, it was somewhat rough after however many years on some shelf. i like it more than wood - won't swell or crack.

 

[TXHORNS]

So do you just cross your fingers that the USGI you buy will fit well? Cause mine certainly didn't. Or can they be made to fit?

 

[Maj Dad]

The GI fiberglass stocks should all fit very well - they were made to fit and I have never seen one that was out of whack (don't deny they may be out there). I have some like-new fiberglasses I got from Fred's & one I filled in the selector cut-out with Brownell's Acra-Glas & Acra-Glas Gel and painted it with Brownell's flat black Aluma-Hyde II. Looks absolutely awesome, and after glassbedding the receiver it shoots like a match gun. It is by no means flimsy. I have a beautiful oil-finished walnut heavy match stock that can't touch the fiberglass for consistency (and the entire wood surface under the metal is sealed with Tru-Oil, half-way down the butt-traps). I leave the wood stock in the closet & keep the glass stock on the gun until I want to "wow" someone with a pretty stock, then switch back to shoot it. I didn't set out to make it a dedicated match gun, so I don't fret too much about swapping stocks; the fiberglass makes it less an issue.

 

[madcratebuilder]

UPDATE:

Well I found an older SA stock - a USGI textured and painted. I could literally see through my rifle with that stock on -pretty big gap between the stock and the receiver at places. The bigger problem for me was the the receiver also had a very slight amount of play in the stock. I went back to the new composite stock. The composite stock SA is putting out now may not look or feel as good but the dang thing fits.

I think I am getting a wooden stock now but I am curious if it is common for the USGI stocks to fit this way?

The gap at the back of the receiver is not uncommon, in fact normal on glass stocks. I'm sure you see how the receiver ears fits into the stock liner, that's where you want the tight fit.

 

[Coronach]

Here's a related question:

What did they did/do they do with the M14 in service when the selector switch was absent? Did they just leave the hole there? Or was there a plug that was put in place to keep debris out of the action? I know that commerical, aftermarket, and some of the .mil stocks eventually were manufactured without the cutout for the selctor, but I have one nice USGI wood stock, complete with cartouches, that has the hole.

Mike

 

[RSVP2RIP]

Here's somethingto ponder, how tight was the fit when the selector switch was there? I think crap got in there but it did not matter, because the working stuff was above the hole, and the trigger was tough enough to handle any foreign matter. Anyways, when the disabled the selector they put a "button" in place that protruded from the stock and held the... something bar, can't remember what it is called, the select fire part.

 

[Birddog1911]

I've been told that the new composite stock isn't as flimsy as the USGI, but that it still flexes. The nice thing about the USGI is that they can be had for a reasonable price, and can be reinforced to strengthen the front. With the mod on mine, it is rock solid. That said, I still prefer wood.

 

[TXHORNS]

Thanks to all who chimed in, I am gonna try another usgi stock, this time not modified by SA and see how it does. If it fits better and I like it I will likely modify it myself to some degree.