springfield m1a questions

[zooski22]

I'm trying to decide between the socom 16 and scout squad. The barrel lenght of the socom 16 is 16.25 inches and the scout is 18. Honestly is the 1 3/4 inches going to make a world of difference? Will I even notice? I'm not planning on shooting out to 500 yards or anything. Mostly going to be used as a bush gun/fun gun out to maybe 300 yards.

Nest question is scope options both of these rifles have the scout rail on them for a forward mounted scout style scope. I've been kind of researching them and haven't really found what i wanted. Looking for variable power something low power 1-4X preferablly illuminated rectile. Maybe an aimpoint with a 3x magnifier behind it I dont know.

Help me out with your experiences.

 

[FelixCanyonRanch]

Optics Options

I have a Socom 16 and currently have an Aimpoint CompC3 with a 2MOA dot mounted low on the scoutrail. This works really well easy out to 300 yards (except your planning on a prairie dog hunt I also had a Leupold 2.5 power scout scope on it that worked really well.

I don't thing there is a big difference between the socom and scout. Just be aware that the Socom with the ported 16 inch barrel is very very loud. The Socom packs easier obviously.

They also carry much nicer with the optics mounted forward.

PS: I can also get you a Comp C3 for a great price if your interested.

 

[fragout]

Either would work just fine for the kind of shooting you said you will be using it for. I own both,( Gave the Socom to my oldest boy actually) and here are the differences between them, other than bbl lengths.

1. The Socom uses a proprietary muzzle brake vs the Scout's std castle nut brake. Both work well for thier intended use.

2. The gas port on the Scout is the same as that of a std, while the Socom port is a tad wider. (At work right now, so cant tell you more specifics.

3. The front and rear sights are also different. The Socom rolls with the XS 24/7 type front sight ( very wide front blade), and has a wider rear sight aperture vs the Scout. Both excell for what they were meant to do.

4. Muzzle velocity is less than the Scout due to the shorter bbl. For the purposes you already stated this rifle would be used for, it matters either way.

5. My personal favorite is the 18in bbl types, and I use an SEI "front end" to achieve an OAL that is very close to that of a Socom.....



Note: Most of the difference in OAL involves the lengths of both muzzle brakes.

On the left = an M1A-A1 Bush rifle
On the right = A rifle sporting the SEI Vortex direct connect flash hider/gas lock front sight.

More about SEI is here...
http://www.smithenterprise.com/

I am currently looking at the following for use in an upcoming Scout project involving an M14SA......
http://ultimak.com/m8.htm
Unlike the SAI mounts, this mount will allow co-witness with the iron sights/ red dot optics.

I'm still hashing out details on what type of "Scout scope" I wanna use. Looking at the Leupold as of now, and also at pistol scopes.

Either will make for a decent out to 300yd rifle for you imo.

Good luck with your decision.

11B

 

[Pilgram]

I own a Scout with a Nikon variable power pistol scope (long eye relief) mounted on the rails with quick release rings. That way, I can remove the scope when not needed (which is most of the time).

I could not warm up to plastic stocks on a battle rifle with a wood heritage (Garand), so I rejected the SOCOM versions.

 

[fragout]

You do realize that it is a simple thing to install a wood stock on these rifles, regardless of what stock came on the rifle originally.....right?

11B

 

[Welding Rod]

I put a wood stock and brown handguard on my SOCOM. I wish I could have bought it that way and saved some money.

I tried a Leupold 2.5 Scout scope on mine and didn't like the balance of the gun with the extra weight in the "Scout" location. It just reaffirmed my belief the M1A / M14 is an iron sight gun. So I took it off, as well as the scout rail, and replaced it with the conventional brown handguard. Now I really like the gun.

I haven't owned a Scout M1A, but the more conventional thin blade front sight sounds appealing to me. Personally I think the best route is get either a SOCOM or a Standard, then later buy which ever you didn't buy the first time. If you get a Scout first, you may then need to get all three ; )

The Scout does look pretty cool though.

My SOCOM shot high with rear sight bottomed out after I installed the new SAI wood stock. Springfield paid to pick up my gun, replaced the front sight with a taller one, tested it, and send it back. Stand up company there. The replacement looks identical to the original with the Trijicon insert, just a little taller. However I wouldn't have minded a regular GI style blade.

Anyhow I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. The SOCOM is very handy, and works well close in. I haven't shot mine past 200 yards, and in that range is shoots gongs pretty well. The sights and sight radius on the Standard make precise shooting and shooting at longer ranges easier though.

The SOCOM is pretty darn loud as stated above. Personally I don't shoot anything without hearing protection anymore so it doesn't matter to me. Foam plugs seem perfectly adequate to me. I also don't shoot at crowded ranges where being unneighborly could be an issue.

 

[kmcintosh78]

I would say do the Scout Squad.
I always hear owners of the SOCOM having to do major tweaks to get it to function 100%.

 

[DBryant]

I have a Socom 16 and love it. The only thing that I've done to it is to remove the forward rail and replace the factory furniture with GI Big Red Birch and fiberglass handgaurd from Fred's M14 stocks.

Having said that, if I was going to drop some money into it, I would have rather gotten the 18" version and used an HK style front sight like fragout has and put a BA BattleComp on the front.

As I stated earlier, I removed the scope rail and just use the irons. This was partially because I'm just used to using irons and partly because I can't afford to buy a quality scope and refuse to buy junk. At any rate, I can't help you much with scope selection.

I can say that I haven't had any issues with reliability that could be contributed to the gun. I had some rounds that didn't want to feed properly but that was my fault for not seating the bullet deep enough. That's it! The gun has functioned flawlessly with Taiwanese 20 round mags, CMI 25 rounders, and the 10 round Springfield Armory magazine that came with it.

 

[Welding Rod]

I took both my SOCOM and Standard out today. Shot a couple boxes of Win 147 grain 7.62 and a couple boxes of South African 7.62. Both functioned perfectly as usual and the new front sight on the SOCOM works great.

Anyhow shooting both back and forth, side by side, I must say I definitely would lean torwards the Standard were I to get only one. The sights and sight radius really make the gun a great shooter.

 

[axeman_g]

I got to shoot a Scout and a SOCOM model this weekend against my Loaded. I will keep the loaded. It was cheaper, shot softer, trigger was nicer and was accurate. past 200 yards.

Plus it was about $250 cheaper.