My dream is to own an M1a, but...

[Illuminaughty]

I'm in the same boat. Go with an M1 Garand from CMP.

 

[I LIKE IT!]

TimboKhan & Cbn620,

Ok so your hurting financially, that's part of college no surprise.
The rifle itself is really not expensive, your other commitments are
the issue, which do you value more? Can you compromise any?

There are ways around anything in life it just takes sacrifice.
I'm not saying give up on college, I'm saying find what it is you really
don't need.

Some people don't have it in them to live without "creature comforts".
Just take alook at how you live, how can you save $$$?
If there is a will there is a way.

 

[Illuminaughty]

Yeah, I had to change my lifestyle a bit and stop putting the bestest most bleeding edge components in my computer and just settle for a certian fps, but now that I have some money I can at least save up and occasionally get a rifle I have a nice little collection now.

And of course, I definitely have to say my income affects my collection, but I'm happy with it.

 

[H2O MAN]

Quote:
California-legal M1As have a muzzle brake instead of the standard flash hider (which is an evil feature).

Which is interesting because I heard the military contracted out SAI (or was it someone else?) to provide the few troops who have been issued M14s/M21s with said muzzle brakes, as they're actually quite effective and more useful than the standard flash hider.

SEI has sent hundreds of Vortex flash suppressors to the troops issued M14s.
The Vortex has been proven to perform better than USGI

 

[Roswell 1847]

Clint, tell us about the Chinese M14S

I'd be happy to go through this. Here's the scoop:

1. The locking lug helix (surface contour) of the Chinese bolt does not agree/match the locking lug helix of the receiver. Thus, the bolt locking lug surfaces only partially contact the receiver locking lug surfaces. As you fire the rifle, the bolt will "collapse" back onto the locking lugs of the receiver until "enough" surface contact is engaged to stop the rearward force caused by the 50,000 PSI or so that is produced on each firing. As the bolt moves rearward, headspace is lost. Often/mostly/always massive headspace loss occurs. I have seen Chinese bolts that close & move back & forth with a field gauge. I have witnessed headspace readings estimated (no gauge long enough to be certain) at greater than 20 thous. beyond Go. G.I. bolt's will also "collapse" when receiver locking lugs are not correct (commercial receivers sometimes have poor locking lug surfaces which is why we at Fulton Armory always hand lap every bolt to every commercial receiver to ensure excellent engagement before we install/set headspace), though they move rearward more slowly due to better heat treat & steel. The fact that the Chinese bolts are very soft, amplifies the problem. BTW, the locking lug helix of the Chinese receiver does agree/match the helix of the G.I. M14 bolts quite nicely. I have never had to hand lap a G.I. bolt for more than say, 15-20 minutes to get a beautiful engagement. It's quite odd. It's as though someone ground on the Chinese bolt lugs with a handtool.

2. The Chinese bolt is "too long" as it relates to the firing pin bridge of the receiver, which retracts the firing pin on loading. As the Chinese bolt moves reward, the firing pin tail also moves reward. So much so that the firing pin bridge does not effectively/at all retract the firing pin! I have seen Chinese rifles where the firing pin did not retract at all. This is quite dangerous. Add to this bolt "geometry" problem the fact that the trigger & sears, & hammers are also way too soft (hammer fall will occur) one can see the train wreck ahead.
http://www.fulton-armory.com/M14S_Eval.htm

Note to Walt: The barrel must be replaced to allow for a G.I. bolt to fit, and even then, the receiver needs relieving to safely accept the bolt! THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT POINT! Also, the Hammer, Trigger & Sear need to be replaced.

So to make a good rifle using a Chinese receiver you have to do some modifications to allow use of a GI barrel and bolt then replace a number of internals with GI surplus parts.

 

[H2O MAN]

So to make a good rifle using a Chinese receiver you have to do some modifications to
allow use of a GI barrel and bolt then replace a number of internals with GI surplus parts.

Not really - the IDE Poly Tech rifles are usually GTG out of the box and a qualified M14 gun smith can head
space a USGI bolt to the existing barrel. Others want to sell parts and services that may not be needed.

That said, all of my shooters are built on pre-IDE Chinese receivers with new SEI/Wilson barrels and TRW bolts.
Two of my trigger groups are all TRW and two are all Chinese and you can't tell the difference

 

[lamazza]

the IDE Poly Tech rifles are usually GTG out of the box

Yes...for awhile and then the improperly heat treated gen-u-ine milled reciever s t r e t c h e s.

 

[Rshooter]

I am a little late to the party but I might be able to impart a little wisdom to the mix. I own a mini-14, AR-15, Garand, M1-A, and a few others, now if my right eye still worked.

Personally I would save for what you want. I am currently a Disabled Veteran on a fixed income and I am back to saving for what I want myself. Shooting ammo is a bummer at the current cost, even with reloading.

Do not buy a Polytech, at least the ones I have come across were not holding up as well as the Springfields. A mini-14 has a similar action to the M1-A but the Ford Focus has a similar motor to the Cadillac. An AR-15 is an option now but they can cost as much as an M1-A. A Garand is always nice, nothing beats the Garand.

Good Luck.

 

[H2O MAN]

Yes...for awhile and then the improperly heat treated gen-u-ine milled reciever s t r e t c h e s.

The 4 ChiCom receivers I have rifles built on were checked for hardness and
none of them required any additional heat treating - they are as good as USGI.

Stories of a few problems in the early days have been blown way out of proportion.


On the other hand... ChiCom M14s are crap - I'll give you $300 for yours.

 

[Bazooka Joe71]

One more thought about your decision, if ammo is a concern, is that the garand is coveted more for its historical value and just all around fun time to shoot(gotta love the ping!) rather than its accuracy; the M1A is more of a precision rifle(especially if you intend to add optics later), so ammo price isn't a big difference, because you will tend to rapid fire the garand a bit more, and take more slow, methodical shots with the M1A, trying to get the tightest groups possible.

So in the end, you shoot the cheap(er) ammo more, and shoot the pricier ammo less.
(At least I do).


With that said, I still think you should get an M1 garand first. The M1A will be around for awhile, while the garands are slowly drying up.