New Springfield M1A

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Joemidd

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I am new to the M1A world. I am waiting on the brown truck to bring my my rifle to my FFL. Anything special that I need to have on hand? Any products that work well for this rifle or items to avoid. Any Tips or techniques that you are willing to share would be helpful. Anyone care to suggest ammo suppliers mags ect...

Thanks Joe
 
The only mags you want are Checkmate (CMI) mags, and 44mag.com tends to have the best prices.

Use grease, not oil, all explained in the owner's manual and the military field manual.

The military combination tool for the M14 is handy and can be found for as little as $10 or so. MidwayUSA had some good surplus ones recently.
 
I bought one recently too, got the mags, & turner sling. This is a fun rifle to shoot. One thing that gets me is that it is a little costly to shoot a lot. Yes, the owners manual pretty much explains everything. One funny thing, the manual says not to disassmble it too much (field strip & clean) or it could affect accuracy.
 
This is amazing, no one has jumped in and told you of the multitude of aftermarket parts you have got to replace to make your gun run.:scrutiny:

You are getting a fine rifle, get some quality range time with it and enjoy it as it is before you get too caught up in replacing perfectly good parts.


For your ammo needs, check out these two search engines, and one website. They usually can find you decent prices.

http://ammoseek.com/
http://www.ammoengine.com/
http://www.ammoman.com/index.htm
 
no one has jumped in and told you of the multitude of aftermarket parts you have got to replace to make your gun run.
Click to expand...

Probably because there aren't any. :)

Re: ammo, most brass cased .308 surplus is fine. Good prices can often be found at AIM Surplus and Palmetto State Armory. Occasionally ammoman.com but be sure to comparison shop. You can also use any common .308 commercial hunting ammo, such as the Federal red box sold at Walmart. Avoid the out-of-production Hornady "Light Magnum" ammo, which says on the box not to use in semiautos. New, current production Hornady "Superformance" is probably fine.

Get a quality sling, but do some research on types before you buy. Many people use a true shooting sling with an M1A, and that's good but specialized in a way. Others just want to carry it around, in which case a $10 carry strap works fine, but a $30-40 quick adjustable sling can be a lot nicer.
 
Stick to bullets under 180 grains. 150 is what the rifle was meant to shoot, and using powders with a burning rate between 4064 and 4895. Some M1as have generous chambers (7.62x51 headspace, which is not the same as 308) and will work the case a lot if you are a reloader. You'll need to full length resize.

Enjoy your rifle!
 
Get everything mentioned in the second post plus a GI web sling (the one that was standard issue for the M1 and M14), plus a case of good surplus ammo (I like the British or German stuff), and bring it to an Appleseed.

www.appleseedinfo.org
 
Sooner or later you will need a USGI extractor. You may as well get one and learn how to install it now.
 
Ratcheting chamber brush, and a bore guide-muzzle protector that fits inside the flash hider are two things that I consider essential for cleaning and maintenance.

+1 for mags from 44MAG, best prices on quality mags. Dont even bother with cheap mags.
 
Get the GI field manuals for this rifle, and the ordance depot manual. They are cheap, and are good references.

Heavy bullets (above 150 gr.) will batter the operating rod and the bolt. Use ammo that is close to GI specs. Better yet, load your own.

7.62X51 ammo is not cheap, even when shooting corrosive berdan surplus. (NOT RECOMMENDED).
 
Acera said:
This is amazing, no one has jumped in and told you of the multitude of aftermarket parts you have got to replace to make your gun run.
Click to expand...

There is really very few aftermarket parts for the M1A. Op-rod spring and spring guide, piston...what else? The only part I would replace on a new SA is the extractor. Get a USGI extractor and shoot it.
 
As for that Bore guide, you can easily make your own out of a 12 gauge shotgun shell by depriming or drilling out the primer.. I love to save money by making my own gadgets when its possible. The rifle is made to shoot 168 HPBT made by any of the big bullet manufacturers. You will want to reload your own. Varget is a great powder for the M1A and M1 Garand. Your M1A has a built in overpressure safety valve that the M1 Garand didn't get. You can shoot that light magnum Hornady with no problem, then you have 30-06 power with up to 25 rd capacity if you buy the magazines that were produced for Israeli Armed Forces. Springfield for some reason didn't start back putting the bayonet lug back on after the assault weapons ban eclipsed but you can find aftermarket or USGI flash suppressors all day long on Gun Broker. Did you buy a national match or loaded or just the standard M1A?
 
Everytime I get mine out of my safe I think about what Chuck Mawhinney did on Valentines Day 1969. Of course he had a starlight scope :)
 
For clarification, regarding my post which some have questioned.

I have seen a bunch of threads on here where it seems the marketing department from SEI and others insist that this solid rifle is junk, and post that you must spend hundreds on aftermarket parts. Glad the trend is away from such things.
 
Your M1A has a built in overpressure safety valve that the M1 Garand didn't get. You can shoot that light magnum Hornady with no problem, then you have 30-06 power with up to 25 rd capacity if you buy the magazines that were produced for Israeli Armed Forces.
Click to expand...

Uh, the M1A/M14 gas system is not exactly an "overpressure safety valve." It's more of a pressure-compensating piston system, like some newer gas shotguns have. It allows the gas system to adjust for a moderate range of port pressures with no user involvement - for instance, running one type of ammo at both -20 F. and 105 F., or running from 147 to 178gr bullet weights at typical pressures. There is nothing in the system that will safely release excessive pressure beyond what you could expect within those parameters. I would not treat it as an overpressure safety valve and personally would not run Light Magnum or any other higher-than-standard pressure (even if within SAAMI limits) ammo in it. Really, if you can't do a job with a standard pressure .308, you need a .300 WM or larger.

But hey, to each their own. And I repeat that Light Magnum is out of production, and per Hornady the replacement Superformance should be safe in all semiauto firearms.
 
Aim surplus does have some good deals on 7.62 NATO when they have some in stock. I also think you cant find a better place on line to buy your CMI mag's then 44mag.com. they are 25$ each and free shipping.
 
I made the bore guide out of the 12 guage shell also, and used it for a while, but I just was not 100% happy with it, it did not seem to completely eliminate rod contact at the muzzle. I like the guide that fits inside the flashhider much better. I dont think it works with those M1As fitted with a brake though.

Here is another item that I consider indispensable for an M1A or a Garand:

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=318010

I modify a cleaning jag to work as a pull through.
 
For clarification, regarding my post which some have questioned.

I have seen a bunch of threads on here where it seems the marketing department from SEI and others insist that this solid rifle is junk, and post that you must spend hundreds on aftermarket parts. Glad the trend is away from such things.
Click to expand...

OK, I got you now. Yea, don't drink the advertising kool aid. You can buy all kinds of bolt on crap, some good, some worthless.

The M1A needs two things, the correct ammo and grease.
 
"Oh yeah, you should get an empty .30 '06 case for changing your extractor." I keep the following parts inside my stock for use in the field. An extractor, extractor spring and plunger, ejector and spring, firing pin, hammer pin, trigger pin, and a 30-06 case.

Sometimes when you extractor goes south you lose the other bolt parts also.

Something else that good to have is at least one stripper clip. Use it to hold the bolt open when cleaning or working on the rifle. The bolt catch WILL pop lose if you bump the rifle on something and if your fingers are inside the receiver you will ALWAYS remember it.
 
My current M1A ("loaded", model 9222) was bought in 2005. It has now fired over six thousand rounds, the vast majority of which used cast bullets.

This rifle (#170,xxx) has been literally flawless. My only modification is the addition of a Sadlak spring guide, which I bought at a gunshow just "because it was there".

The rifle has never seen a factory load, and it's totally dependable over a wide range of handloaded ammo.

To anyone who thinks Springfield Armory is making junk, allow me to quote one of Jack O'Connor's favorite expressions: such folks "are full of prunes". My particular rifle is a very fine instrument, in which I have complete faith and satisfaction.
 
word brother!

the M1a is tuff enough. i mean, hell, its a 1500 dollar gun.....it shud be rite?
 
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