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M1A are the match and super match versions enough better to justify the expense over a standard? And also just how hard are the scope mounts to take off and on? I'm talking Springfield Armory.

What is the price diffrence? Is there an accuracy guarantee?

I traded into a Springer M1A Loaded some years ago, with judicious attention to handloading detail, and 168gr SMK bulllets, best I have ever achieved is .75" @100 yards. Not repeatable every time. Consistently it will hold 1.25"-1.5".

I keep it on a 10" gong at 300 yards 8 for 10 with the above bullets, not so much with cheap bullets.

I use a Sadlak scope mount, tactical rings, loctite everything (the M1A due to the way it operates are tough on mounts, rings, and scopes) all the scope mounts for the M1A are a bit different but easy enough to install and remove. You Tube is your friend.

Check out M14 Forums.com. Lots of knowledgeable shooters over there.

it depends on what you intend to use it for larry.
super match is usually for 600yd or 1000yd events using specific projectiles matched to the twist rate of the bbl installed.
its been my experience that ALL run of the mill MIA's are just so so. REAL MATCH M1A's are hand made and will pass an LTI at perry.

most owners of SA MIA's are just shooting them under 200yds. even as short as 100yds. even a rack grade MIA will work for that.

i dumped 4 grand into my hand made obermyer match M1A for navy team use. it was built by the best the world ever knew. it paid off. it had to. it was used in TEAM competition. the TEAM deserved the best.

individuals normally have personal reasons to own MIA's. thus the quality or lack of can be broader.

biggest mistake buyers make is they go backwards with the purchase.
they see a gun, they look at the cost, buy it, then shoot it.

M1A's require you to:

determine the target
how far away is it.
how accurate must the shot be
what round will be used
what bbl will send it down range?
what sights will be used and how precise must they be
everything else is just tacked on to achieve it.
trigger job
bedding
lugging
gas system tweek
op rod fitting
clothing

then build it. SA will do that on request. hold on to your hat, pay for it and fogetaboutit.

been there done that.

scopes arent hard to put on or take off if you have the right mount. mounting it properly is the key.


btw, my MIA will shoot the spotting disc plug out at 600yds.
mission success.

if youre shooting under 200yds, my answer is simply...no.

What he said ^.

as I recall, match was bedded into a standard sized stock and supermatch into a heavy stock. (my neighbor had a "SOCOM" M1A in a flimsy plastic stock that rivalled an SKS with wolf for accuracy)

M1A was the absolute KING of the NRA/CMP Camp Perry style High Power rifle sport (200-300-600yds), until about 2000 then the AR15A2 took over until about 2016 when the scoped AR15 took over. (of the over 1000 shooters in recent years' Camp Perry service rifle week, I'd say 15 used M1 Garand and 5 used M1A and about 10 used iron sighted AR's and ALL the rest used scoped AR's. Just a guess walking the firing/ready/assembly lines.

most serious Camp Perry M1A shooters (prior to the switch to ARs) had match barrels, double lugged, bedded in heavy stocks, 1/4" sights. Kinda like a Super Match but mostly not stock mostly built.

After the conversion to AR15s, the M1A became a "vintage" rifle with its own match at Perry (and local), just like the M1, 1903 Springfield etc. (although the M1 and M1A and iron AR15A2 are still classified as "service rifle" for NRA & CMP).

The M1A match is the National Match course (standing, sitting, prone, slow fire, rapid fire) all at 300yds.

M1A scope mounting system never struck me as repeatable or robust.

get whatever one you like the best, 2 paychecks later you won't remember how much you spent, or care....

shoot good!

Poole

btw...is this the old langley bill poole speaking?

The posts above are spot on - IMHO, and it's not been a buy cheap, shoot great rifle - ever.

I've fooled with the scope mounts, and for me - unless there is an absolute "must have" need for the scope - I'll leave it off.

The single large knobs are simplest, easiest for on/off, and generally the least robust for use and banging around - and, you have know if the receiver grooves are truly mated with the rail in the mount, this union is frequently out of whack, and will require some work to seat true.

Good discussion on the receiver and general changes to the M1-A as it has come forward through the years:

https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Springfield_Armory_M1A

The two points mounts are better, but you lose the quick on and off - and the scope tends to stay on more than off.

My biggest down for a scope is the amount of cheek riser needed to get set behind the scope, especially if it's a Hubble, and mounted in rings too high - even as low as it will go - it's up there above the stock.

probably no, I've never been associated with Langley, neither have my father, son or grandson (same name) but I have encountered other "Bill Poole's" over the years, one works at NRA
Poole
(Arizona)

Up on my research and suggestions, I'm leaning toward a "loaded" model SA produces. I've got several barreled and bedded bolt guns , I do understand accuracy and what it takes to get there. For me a M1A is just for fun 90% of the time, and a bit of history ,but I like accuracy and quality and tha loaded model seems a good compromise.

Just to answer a question not asked have you considered Fulton Armory?

Fulton Armory

They have built some fine M1As over the years. I have one with a low round count built in the mid 90s, it is a hammer.

The founder Clint McKee passed away early this year.

Know nothing about Fulton, checking it out .

I used early-90s SuperMatch and Match rifles for Service Rifle competition and never had any reason to doubt their quality. The Scout Squad I owned a few years ago was a poor comparison; quality-wise, not accuracy-wise, as I don't think comparing accuracy is fair. The newer guns seem to have poorer quality (non-GI) parts and lack of finish on wood stocks. If I was going to buy an M1A today, whether it was for match use or general fun/utility use, I'd look at Bula Defense.

Consider LRB Arms. Forged M1a receivers.
https://www.lrbarms.com/

Springfield Armory M1a receivers are cast.

Quality of build ? Accuracy ? I've got an M1A Squad Scout and a Socom 16. All they have had done are trigger jobs. The SS shoots 1.5 MOA with my hunting load and a 2X Scout Scope. That's a 130 gr. TTSX over 46 grs. of TAC in a Prvi Case with CCI 34's. That's a 4 rd. group which I've shot countless times.
The Socom never did better than 3 MOA with iron sights and cheap Hornady 150 gr. FMJ's. With Sierra 150 FMJ's and 43 grs. of TAC, and Mil spec brass, it's about 2 MOA with a Scout Scope.
The only Loaded version I've seen shot was an iron sighted 6.5 Creed with "crappy" non- adjustable synthetic stock. The owner shot a couple of five shot groups at 300 yds. with factory ammo that measured 4 inches. BTW, the trigger break on that gun was awful. E

I have 2 or 3 MIA in the stable. None have been shot in 25 years I bet. They are good, reliable, and accurate on the military target scale.
They are needy, and require maintenance. Stuff like bedding, gas system carbon, and moderate barrel life are part of the deal. A "match" rifle needs upkeep.
I just "found" a rifle I had built by a Army armorer from Lettakenary Arsenal. I know I have a new standard Springfield that I was going to have bedded and a match stock, but the AR15A2 kinda killed that devotion.

in re-reading my own old post while checking the latest posts on this thread, I see a typo I made back in December...

M1 & M1A match sights were set up with 1/2" windage and the standard 1" per click elevation but a rotating rear sight aperture in a hood that was offset 1/2moa so you could add the extra 1/2" to you elevation just by rotating the hood. The aperture was smaller too. So NM sights were 1/2x1/2 (as opposed to 1"x1" on the as-issued M1/M14). AR's were often built 1/2x1/2 then nearly everyone went to 1/4x1/4 then nearly everyone went to scope.

(I'm sorta using " (inches) and moa interchangably here since that's how we talk on the line)

ya'll shoot good!

Poole

TerrK

I noticed the Polish flag in your "avatar" picture...

is this your cart at Camp Perry?

[Linked Image] arizona-rifleshooting.com/Perry18-068.JPG

and why can't I post a photo as a photo instead of a link?

Poole

You need to use the image tag, which is img with a [ on the right and a ] on the left. You need to close the tag too with a / after the [ but before the img.

It looks like this:

that's the tag I always use, Actually I use the liitle image icon just above this wndow.... I think this forum page has HTML disabled (its at the bottom of the full editor mode)

lets try this:
[Linked Image]

yeah, same thing happened, instead of displaying an image it turned it into a clickable link to the image I wanted to display....

that particular one came from my 2018 trip to Camp Perry here's my web page of pictures
http://arizona-rifleshooting.com/Perry18-pics.html

in my mind the M1A is very tightly tied to Camp Perry and that style of NRA/CMP service rifle of the 80's and 90's.

years ago, Springfield Armory had a photo that appeared in their catalogs and a large 4' tall version of it posted in front of their store on commercial row at Camp Perry, it showed a side view of a 300yd rapid fire prone stage of a team match and all down the line you just see an endless row of those distinctive M1A/M14 muzzles sticking out (with the occasional very rare garand muzzle and not a single AR!). (I tried googling for that photo but couldn't find it)

Poole

That's due to a setting on arizona-rifleshooting.com