Springfield M14 Reliability and Price

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ak47nevada

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I've decided that since i'm lugging around a heavy 7.62x39 AK I may as well upgrade to a .308 battle rifle.

I've owned an Entreprise FAL before that had serious issues but I did like the design and the power. I'm not interested in the gas-piston AR10 and BAR10 design but after not even considering the M1A for the longest time have decided it is close with a DSA FAL.

My questions are:

1) What's the reliability -AK like?- of Springfield Armory M1As such as the M1A Scout Squad Rifle and M1A Loaded Standard?

I've read on certain sites that "Springfield Armory sucks and the receiver will crack after a few thousand rounds, only buy fulton armory."

2) Springfield Armory seem the best priced for a working man like myself. What's price should I expect to pay for a M1A Scout Squad or Loaded Standard?

3) What are M14 mag prices these days? Some of the prices I've seen have made me go :eek: FAL mags from the last I checked can be had for $5

Thanks! :cool:
 
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I have a M1A standard. I bought it a few years back. I can't say I have put a lot of rounds through it, but it has never failed to feed, fire, or extract. I only really factory or surplus ammo. I don't reload. I know one person with 3 M1A's including an Armscorp and Polytech and he has never had problems with reliability. He doesn't clean too often either.

I have heard of people with problems on new rifles, but most, if not all, have said Springfield will fix it. It just takes time. They have a lifetime warranty.

I don't know about mags. Most of mine were bought before the ASB expired, but Springfield still sells theirs for too much, IMHO. I am not sure what the going rates are. I need to get about 4 or 5 more myself. I only have about 4 20 rounders. I was having trouble finding them online just now.

I recently noticed that one of my old beat up mags has a different square clip on the upper edge. The clip is rounded. It won't clip into the rifle and stay put. My others are sharply square and work fine.
 
Thanks for your reply MechAg94. I didn't know the Springfields came with a lifetime warranty - that's great.

I've read extensivly in Boston's Gun Bible about the M1A but always bypassed a serious consideration of purchasing one due to the expensive mags.
 
Well, the other guy is my Dad and I grew up around them. I just wanted one. I have never had or fired an FAL so I could not tell you if they were good or accurate. All I know if the DSA FAL's which I hear are the better quality are just as expensive as the M1A. I may try it one of these days.

My Dad said he bought his M14 mags for $1 a piece. :)
 
"...a heavy 7.62x39 AK..." An FAL, a Standard M1A and an AK all weigh the same.
The M-14 mags run from $17 and up. Depends on where you buy.
 
The SA scout rifles are great, but you will want to consider upgrading to some USGI parts and NM mods.

Springfields have gone many thousands of rounds with no problems, but I know people have sometimes had to send them back for repair.

Expect to pay $25+ for USGI mags. Avoid the aftermarket mags, with the possible exception of the Type 57.
 
Has anyone ever tried the 30 round mags I have seen for sale?
Click to expand...

I don't know about some, but for me the 30 round mag for the m1a is cumbersome. It seems to get caught easier moving around after being slung... it's not impossible, but more of a preference in handling it.
Even the 20's can prone shooting a little interesting.
 
I pretty much assumed that handling would be messed up. That is the main reason I haven't tried to get one for the fun of it. I was just thinking about reliability.

Shooting prone or on a rest, I have been using my 10 round mag primarily. I usually shoot 5 shot sets anyway.
 
1911_Mitch, which parts would you recommend? I haven't had any problems, but it might be useful to have a spare around.
 
I own the bottom of the line, M1A.
In my opinion, it is overpriced. I think you have a lot of options at that price point and I think the Springfield Armory M1A is not a top contender.
I have also heard too many horror stories about M1As breaking down. I don't buy into a lot of stuff I hear on the internet (errornet), but in this case, there are too many to ignore. Right now, my trigger is screwed up. I took it all apart and I can't see what the problem is. So, I am sending it in for repair. A guy I regularly shoot with has a problem with his rear sight: when he starts shooting, the elevation knob starts turning. Another shooting buddy of mine thinks his M1A is jinxed. He swears that everytime he shoots it in a match, it doesn't perform. I would laugh except I have seen him win a bunch of matches with other rifles. The bottom line for me is that you shouldn't have these kinds of problems with something that costs this much. None of the stuff I have mentioned is a big deal, until you factor in the price of the rifle.

The M1A does have a lot going for it. Especially if you are used to USGI rifles. I do most of my serious shooting with an M1. So, the M1A is very familiar to me. The biggest thing the American rifles have going for them IMO is the sights. You can actually adjust the sights and make them hit exactly where you want without a hammer and without using Kentucky windage. I know right now how many clicks to move my rear sight to hit at 800 yards. That is something I can't do with my FAL or my HKs. If I have a crosswind, I can reach up and dial in windage to my rear sight. Again, forget that with a FAL or HK.
Feel, also is something the M1A has going for it. It is a comfortable rifle to hold and shoot. I guess the buzz word would be ergonomic. The FAL is clunky IMO. The HK is very good but the selector is incorrectly positioned. The M1A is the most ergonomic.

For the kind of money a Springfield Armory costs, I would talk to some well known gunsmiths about putting me together an M14 clone using good quality parts. Personally, I would stay away from any kind of "National Match" stuff and stick to what a USGI issued rifle was/is.

I couldn't resist ordering a couple of those 30 round mags. If I would have seen them first, I wouldn't have bought them. They are ridiculous. WAY too big to be practical. I don't know if they work. I haven't actually tried mine.
 
MechAg94 said:
Has anyone ever tried the 30 round mags I have seen for sale? I saw $12.99 mags at Midway.
Click to expand...

I have bought 6 20 round M1A/M14 magazines from Midway over the last few years. The tircky thing is, they have changed what is for sale a few times. For a while they were expensive USGI mags (I have 2), then they were Taiwanese Type 57 mags (I have 4), and now, if the current user reviews are to be believed, they are something else. Frankly, I doubt that the last reviews are accurate. Even the USGI mags had to be throughly cleaned before use. For $ 13.00 I would try one for myself.

I own a Standard Springfield M1A and find that it is a tricky thing to talk about. On the plus side, it is a time proven design, accurate, and has excellent iron sights. It is also an excellent gun for shooting offhand and from the prone position with a sling.

On the negative side it is pricey for what you get. Like tons of others, I have also run into reliability issues. Darn near right out of the box I had to send the bolt assembly in for repair (long story short, the bolt roller was not installed properly at the factory). That is unacceptable to me for any firearm. When said firearm costs over the $ 1000.00 mark, it speaks poorly about the manufacturer. I suspect that the problem is that Springfield, Inc. has tried a little too hard to cut costs in the assembly segment of their operation.

That happened a little over a year ago and I have had no issues since. It still iks me though. The bottom line is I like the rifle a lot, but don't know if it was worth it. If the price were lower I would not give it a second thought, but if I could do it all over again I would save a little longer and get a Fulton Armory M14 reproduction.
 
I think we are confusing the "design" with the " manufacturer". :rolleyes:

I have a Polytech M14S and from the get go it has been outstanding. I bought it used, and it has been great. Also the type 57 mags seem to work VERY well, but the others (from Miday), incluing the 30 rndrs SUCK!

I paid $650.00 for my rifle and I have never regrettted the $$$$$$$$$.

On the other side of the coin, every Springfield owner I know bitche$ about the money they spent and the problems they have. I've never heard a Polytech owner complain.

Incidently, the is a company that is making forged receivers and building rifles for sale...even one that includes built-in picatinny scope monut rails. Here is their website

www.lrbarms.com

I was saving for one of these when the opportunity came up on the Polytech. I should have waited, but I have not been dissapointed.

Hope that helps.
 
My M1A Loaded has been very accurate and very reliable. Then again, I only have about 500 rounds through it from the bench so that's not exactly a torture test.

2-1/2" with Port surplus and <1" with my 168 gr SMK / IMR 4895 reloads.

I use both USGI mags and the Tiawanese mags ($15 from Midway with C&R discount)...they have both been very reliable.
 
Well, I have never had problems and I don't complain about the money. Every alternative I have seen is a good bit more expensive.

Those rifles on the Fulton Armory website look interesting though. I hadn't seen anyone sell an M14 with a collapseable stock.
 
I bought a used pre-ban SA 4 years ago. No complaints here. Shoots fine. After I had it about 2 years, the trigger group went bad and doubled all the time (it was the trigger, not me; we proved that by shooting several M1A's). I called SA, and they sent me a new trigger group immediately, and gave me full credit including shipping for the faulty group once I returned it. I thought the service was excellent and they handled it with a 'no questions asked' policy.

I think all M1A's are overpriced, both FA and SA; I wouldn't buy one directly from either of them. That's why I bought mine used. I spent a lot of time surfin' reading feedback about all the different brands--the only sure thing I can say about Springfield, Fulton, Norinco, and Polytech is that my impressions were that Fulton Armory and Springfield were neck and neck for reputation, dependability and price; Norinco and Polytech were very distant runnerups, with at least as many problems. I must have read Battlerifles and Jouster for 6 months; the other "sure" impression I got was that Springfields were damn near infallable during their pre-ban production years, and that's why I opted for a used pre-ban myself. Components were of supposedly higher quality, and QC was, too. I wouldn't spend the money for a 'retail' Fulton or SA; although shipping is not an insignificant cost, I'd still suggest a used pre-ban SA, or at the very least, a used Fulton or SA, and take the chance that all functions normally. If you get a problem rifle, at least warranty shipping will still keep you well under retail prices. Even with a custom rebarrel, the buyer of a used M1A should be way ahead of the retail prices. You can save a ton if you're patient; I found my 'unfired' Super Match for $1600 shipped (from all indications, it was unfired, too).

MidwayUSA is very good about taking return merch back; I wouldn't be afraid of ordering from them just to see the mags "live" and return them if they're Chinese junk with the pressed 'tab'.

I don't follow prices very much since I'm out of the market--take this with a grain of salt, but I'm real cheap with the emphasis on "squeak"--but I'd guesstimate that $1000 is about right for a used Loaded, and I probably wouldn't go any higher on a "generous day" than $1250 shipped. Mind you, I'm willing to wait a long time to save a coupla hundred dollars. I'm retired, and my time ain't worth anything. Gunbroker leads me to believe that'd be about the same that I'd spend for a Scout.

A last caveat for an alternate viewpoint: you might check in with Skunkabilly by PM (hopefully he won't mind me offering him up) for his thoughts--I know he was highly disappointed with his SA, and finally sold out from under it. Or you could try and search for his username and the topic "M1A"--I don't know if he posted his problems in a thread.
 
I've put a few thousand rounds through my scout squad, with nary a hiccup.

It's a timex, it just keeps ticking, putting milsurp ammo in the 2.60 MOA ring.

Paid (iirc) 1200-1300 for it, which is a bit steep, perhaps.

They're great rifles. Massively overpriced if you pay MSRP, just a little overpriced if you pay "street".

I never bought any of those :what: $95 :what: magazines from SA. Instead, I've gotten GI surplus mags from a variety of ELGS and online sources, paying between $14-$20 for them. A few needed a little scrubbing, but they're both hunky and dory.
 
Springfield does have a lifetime warranty, so at least if you run into any problems, you shouldn't have too much trouble getting it fixed...

Depending on what you want the rifle to do though, you may be better off searching around and finding a gunsmith in the know to build you one. That's what I'm gonna do, time and money allowing.
 
Yeah, you can get it fixed. But with what kind of parts ? And who is doing the work ?
The trigger on my M1 (Springfield Armory) was screwed up (went full auto) and instead of sending it to Springfield Armory where they would put more defective parts in it, I sent it to someone else and had it fixed with USGI parts.
Now the trigger on my M1A is screwed up (it takes about 75 pounds of pressure to set it off :confused: took it apart, everything looks good to me but still the same). So, instead of getting more aftermarket parts, I am going to send it to someone else and get it fixed with USGI parts.
I had a Springfield Armory 1911 that was a real lemon. I eventually sent it to Clark's to get it fixed. Obviously, I am not real confident with Springfield Armory. I know people will chime in with how they "love" their SA stuff. I have now been burned three times.

But, that is just me.

I have to pay for it (big deal), but I have more confidence that it will be right.
 
I have a Yugoslavian M76 underfolder. It's part of the original receiver with the Yugoslavian factory Stamp cut down and combined with a thick stamped receiver made by my smith. It's pretty thick. I love the rifle don't get me wrong, but it's definately up there in the weight category that I believe changing to a FAL or M1A would be worth the extra 1-2 pounds. Especially considering the .308 badguy ballistics.
 
I ordered a SA loaded M1A from my local dealer about two years ago. I've several thousand rounds through it of mostly surplus ammo and I've never had a problem with it. Yes, it was expensive but I've no complaints. It's the most accurate semi auto rifle I have. I regularly peg clay pigeons at 200 yrds and that is plenty accurate for me.

I've never tried the 30 rnd mags myself. I've a slew of USGI M1A mags that I've picked up from one place or another. Figure they work great, so why try non-USGI. The old addage of you get what you pay for is extremely accurate when it comes to mags IMHO.
 
That is interesting. I have 3 .45 ACP 1911 variants from SA with no problems with any of them. Maybe luck of the draw. :)

The ultracompact I got is extremely heavy, has to stay clean, and ain't real accurate, but it works. The loaded model and the mil-spec work fine. They are good guns for the money. I will admit though that my 4th .45 is a ParaOrdnance P14-45 and I just shoot better with that gun. I had always looked fondly at Kimber as well, but the price was too high back when I was looking at .45's. Maybe sometime in the future.
 
Lets see, I have several M1A's. My Supermatch is about 10 years old and has had 2981 rounds down it. The Nationalmatch is about 9 years old and only has 1828 rnds down it.

To me each one is just broken in.

Lifetime warantee.

Hmmm... No problems for me so far, I don't have any issues with the guns. Last time I was out they shot 50 rounds 100 yard groups like this:

sm_targets2.jpg

nm_target.jpg



I don't have any problems with the accuracy off the bench, or the reliablity or parts breakage.



I guess I must be doing something wrong.
 
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