Your impressions of the M1A Springfield rifles

Progunner

Progunner

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Oct 22, 2001
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I have been thinking of getting a .308 and the SOCOM series from Springfield has me thinking. Any one have any experience with these?
 
Progunner said:
I have been thinking of getting a .308 and the SOCOM series from Springfield has me thinking. Any one have any experience with these?
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Quality varies a lot depend on when they were made. I had a nice M1a that was built in 1982; it was all USGI parts except the receiver. The more modern cast parts in the gun, the more the quality varies. The problem concerned me enough that I bought the used 82 model over buying a new in the box gun. Now I have a Fal.
 
i want a SOCOM myself, plan on getting one soon looked at them at the gun show a few wks back.

i havent ever fired a SOCOM but have fired a couple of std M1As, one from the early '80s and one from the late '90s, no problems with either.

if ya want a 7.62 battle rife ya could do worse imho, another bud has a H&K 91 and its certainly a cool rifle but i dont know if its really better than a M1A, havent ever fired a FN FAL but want to i have heard good things about them.
 
I just ordered a DPMS Panther LR-308. The AR is my favorite rifle design and the .308 my favorite round so I figured I"d go ahead and take the plunge. Takes 3-4 months for them to build the gun for you but I think it'll be worth the wait. Here's a link to the site.
http://www.dpmsinc.com/308_series.asp
 
All the reviews I've read have been favorable, with only one real criticism. The rail system (especially on the SOCOM 2) are bulky and heavy. Other than that I believe it is a very good weapon. To be honest though, the only M1 I've fired is a Garand. The only rifle I've fired, that I like more is a Remington 700 BDL. But, that isn't the same style as we're looking at here. Have you looked at HK? I had a 93, and it was a phenomenol shooting machine. Anyhow, I'll try to find some reviews, and send them to you.
 
Owned a std M1a--Plastic stock---took it to the range and dumped it that same day---wasn't for me at all. Just my personal opinion---the Springfield is not a good gun---not claiming to be an expert---but I own and have owned A LOT of types and brands of guns.

Now own a DSA FAL and life is good.
 
A freind of mine had one, the M1A, bought new a wee bit less than 10 years ago: he also had an HK91. I bought a CETME. We took the three to the woods. Personally, I prefered shooting the CETME over the HK by a long shot (no puns intended.) Then, to compare to the Springfield, well, I couldn't get over the tinny ka-ching I heard after every shot... sounded like something that was a cheap piece of metal ready to fall off... But, it shot a dang site more accurately at the short distances we were shooting. That being said, I don't think I'd have liked to have had to hump either the Springfield or the HK under combat conditions... I know it's just me, but over all, I prefer my CETME to any other semi-auto I've shot... Except for home, then I rely on my AK...
 
i have the socom 16 and it it my favorite rifle and second favorite gun of all time with the colt .45 in first. the socom has the best stopping power and inherant accuracy of any rifle. the only thing that i would advise is to buy a recoil pad, and a sight.

i think that the verson w/ rails is a waste of space and weight. you should not need a vertical grip and IMHO it makes an already tactical gun way too tactical. the light and laser are just bs IMHO. i can carry a flash light in my weak hand while shooting and the only reason i would need to is if a person broke into my house and my instinct would be to grab the .45 because of the lower chance of over penetraction.

sorry for draggin it on but the gun is great and you will be very happy with it
 
spyder10 said:
the socom has the best stopping power and inherant accuracy of any rifle.
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So tell me how it has more stopping power than any other 308 with a 16" barrel. I can tell it has less velocity and stopping power than a regular M1A with a 22" barrel

Pretty much any Remington 700 will beat a Socom for out of the box accuracy.

I actually think the concept is cool; I looked at getting one when they first came out. The first ones had some teething issues, so I looked at getting a custom one built on forged receiver with all USGI parts. Price and how much I get to shoot shot that out of the water. So I have a nice DS Arms Fal that shoots better than I do off hand, off the bench I might shoot better than the gun. All in all there are several ways to go if you want a 308 semi auto.
 
omaha-beenglockin said:
Owned a std M1a--Plastic stock---took it to the range and dumped it that same day---wasn't for me at all. Just my personal opinion---the Springfield is not a good gun---not claiming to be an expert---but I own and have owned A LOT of types and brands of guns.

Now own a DSA FAL and life is good.
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what exactly was wrong with your M1A?
 
spyder10 said:
i have the socom 16 and it it my favorite rifle and second favorite gun of all time with the colt .45 in first. the socom has the best stopping power and inherant accuracy of any rifle. the only thing that i would advise is to buy a recoil pad, and a sight.

i think that the verson w/ rails is a waste of space and weight. you should not need a vertical grip and IMHO it makes an already tactical gun way too tactical. the light and laser are just bs IMHO. i can carry a flash light in my weak hand while shooting and the only reason i would need to is if a person broke into my house and my instinct would be to grab the .45 because of the lower chance of over penetraction.

sorry for draggin it on but the gun is great and you will be very happy with it
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imho a lot of folks would say that lights/lasers/optics arent BS.

few would argue its a lot easier if the light is attatched to the rifle vs holding the light w/your hand.

that said the rails on the SOCOM are a bit bulky, not a biggie to me though.

i can think of a lot of guns i might grab vs a M1A in a house, SOCOM or not.
 
Hi Progunner,

I've had a Springfield M1A for about 12 years now. It functions very well...it should considering the similarities in operation to the M-1 Garand. If some of the "thoughts" you can find on the web concerning the Springfield M1-A turn you off there are several other versions by other companies that use forged receivers and military parts. The price will be higher since military parts are drying up due to the war. Fulton Armory comes to mind...great services and products every time I've dealt with them. http://www.fulton-armory.com/ If you want to see what my rifle looks like, click on the M-14 section then go down to the Sage EBR/Mark 14 stock. If you put a Sage stock on it (free floated barrel), I might advise shortening the original size barrel to the shorter barrel or the Sage is a bit front heavy in balance.

Warrifles.com has a whole forum section devoted to the semi automatic M14 rifle. http://www.warrifles.com/

BTW, it is supposed to have that little metallic "cha-ching" that the shooter can hear after every shot. Think of it as money in the bank. ;)
 
A few photos...
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I like the original M1. I like the M1A. I like the FN-FAL. The later two are .308 NATO, of course the M1 is .30-06. I'm partial to the older styles, using a .308 NATO Czech VZ24 bolt-action Mauser carbine for hunting. It still has the original military hand guards and sights (I don't pretend to be able to make those 200-300 yard shots, even with a scope). It was rebarreled from 8mm to .308 NATO sometime after WWII by the Isralis for their defensive use in the late '40's.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/brnovz24/index.asp

http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Gorge/4653/vz24.html

My rifles were all in need of some TLC, which I enjoyed doing it. Basic gunsmithing is fun, doesn't take any fancy expensive tools, and can save you a ton of money over buying something new or completely reconditioned. I see old 98 Mausers in American Rifleman magazine for $300. They look great. I paid about $75 for my VZ24 Mauser, reblued it, glass bedded the action, and refinished the stock. It looks really nice now and it is .308 not 8mm like the ones in the magazine. This makes it lots easier to get ammo. I spent about $25 for supplies to do it.
 
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