Having problems with Springfield...please advise.

S

Steve Smith

New member
OK, I've been very happy with SA until lately, but lately, I'm getting sick. My "loaded" M1A shot far to the right when I attempted to use an ARMS mount and scope, but shot straight when I used iron sights. Off it went to Springfield Armory for repair. That was November. While waiting for the repair, I got to thinking, "While they have it, I might as well have them upgrade it to a National Match" so I call them up and have them to add it to my work outline for the rifle. They also agreed to do the weld type of gas unitizing vice they're typical screw type. ALSO, they dropped the hint that they were going to start full length bedding the NM rifles with Marine Tex vise their standard non full-length bedding that they use now...they agreed to full-length bed the rifle. After much screwing with it and also much complaining about the cold "we couldn't shoot it this week, it's been too cold to go out" they still haven't fixed the rifle as of two weeks ago. They finally decided that they'd probably spent too much time on it, and said. "You'll get the first National Match rifle we turn out, rather than us goofing with this rifle any more." Cool. Sounds like I'll get the M1A back in time to make a NRA Highpower clinic in April (I have not shot highpower or any other rifle competition, and this clinic was to get me "started.") I called today...seems that M21s and Super Matches are being built this week and part of next. When they start making the next batch of NMs, I'll "get the first" and they'll pull it out and unitize the gas system by welding, but they won't full-length bed it because they don't want "one NM out there with full length bedding and all the others with partial bedding." I'll wind up paying the $175 for the NM upgrade.

So let me get this straight, they've had my rifle for 4 months, charging me for the NM upgrade, and won't even full length bed the rifle? Am I getting screwed, or is this standard? It seems like they'd try to make me happy a little more than this.

The floor is open for comments.
 
I don't know anything about M1A's, but these folks sure are fast com pared to all my gunsmiths! If they really get it to you in just a couple of months more, you cannot complain.
Now you know why serious competitors have more than one rifle!
 
Steve: Bitch until you get them to give you the NM rifle with six twenty round mags to compensate for having your rifle for over four months.
 
Steve:

Just curious about this, but if you want to get into National Match Course competition, I played with it for many years, and enjoyed it greatly, who not go the AR-15 type rifle route. As I recall from what I've heard, 30 caliber is almost ad dead as the dodo bird, exception being for unmodified M-1's.

Also, again if I understood correctly, if you want to shoot in Service Rifle competition, or perhaps go Distinguished", the M-14/M-1A is no longer considered to be "service rifle", it's all 5.56x45 (223)M-16/AR-15.

For High Power shooting,M-1A is a first class piece, or can be, if one wants to shoot a semi-auto, however as above, I don't think it qualifies as "Service Rifle" anymore.
 
Ummmm...

Yeah, have to agree with the above posts: four month turn around time is nothing. I sent my M1A "Loaded" to Fulton Armory in Jan 00 to have the bed glassed. Originally a "6 to 8 month turnaround". In Apr 00, I had some money, and asked them to put a Kreiger SS bbl on it, too. Long story short, they called me last week saying they just put the rifle on the table, and it would be another 4 or 5 weeks if they did all the work I wanted. Added to this was the cost to replace all the cast repro parts SA used on it. Total was almost 2 grand. I said thank you very much, and now have the rifle waiting to be sold in my closet, only slightly dirtier than when I gave it to them.

That's the big reason why you'll find fewer and fewer Highpower shooters using the M14 / M1A type rifles in matches. They still qualify as Service rifles, but to bring most of them up to speed takes alot of work. Plus ammo's expensive, even if you reload, bigger recoil, ( a minor inconvienience in all but the rapid fire stages), delicate gas system intracacies and the need for periodic rebedding makes them really more trouble than they're worth to many folks.

While I love the '14, I can't see spending the money on a rifle that needs so much attention in order to produce results that I can find from a used bolt acion rifle for 1/4 the cost.

MHO
 
While the AR vs. M-14 in Highpower agrument is certainly valid, I'll tell you why I'm going to use the M14/M1A. It's because I like the rifle. I want to learn to shoot the M14 exceptionally well, and NRA Highpower is a great way to do it. I'm not going to shoot NRA Highpower to "win" necessarily, but to develop my skills with my rifle of choice.

Kinda like my pistol shooting. .45 acp is certainly not competitive in IPSC and IDPA, but I shoot in matches what I carry...the competition is only used as a training too for me.

Echo3Mike, I think I'd feel the same as you if I were having a rifle built, but this was a repair(the actual repair has not been completed yet...I could live with a longer "upgrade time"). Repair service should be quicker, I think (?).

Thanks for the comments, keep 'em coming.
 
Alan:

I believe you are incorrect. For service rifle you can use either M1 Garand, M1A, or AR15. Lots of folks are going to the AR15 for various reasons, but you can still use an M1A if you want to.

M1911
 
M1911:

I might be wrong, as you point out, however for certain competition Leg Match shooting, for instance,the use of ISSUED MATCH AMMUNITION was required, at least that is what my memory says. Handloads were NOT ALLOWED. Matter of fact, you did not want to have "off brand" empty brass in your camp stool.

So far as I know, there isn't any 30-06 or 7.62 Match Ammunition available any more, so what's done re issued match ammunition, that used to be required? Shooting the Individual Matches, you could use anything you had, that would work in your rifle, but that was another thing.

For the 5.56mm, The Marine Corps were using an 80 grain load, Black Hills Ammunition for long range (600 yards), but is there any sort of "match ammunition" loaded for the 5.56mm? I don't know.

I've been "out" of high power shooting for some time, old eyes do not seem to work all that well at 600 yards anymore. Who was the idiot that blathered on about "the golden years"?
 
Alan, I apreciate your input, but yes, the rules have changed. The "issue" ammo rule is no longer in effect. Besides, the DCM leg matches are apparently drying up, as I know few folks who actually shoot that anymore...they all shoot NRA Highpower. Of course, there's still a lot of DCM stuff at Perry, so somebody's doing it.
 
Steve:

When I started high power shooting, I used a Garand, that I shot for about 5 years. Went to bolt guns after that, with a now and then foray into M-1A/M-14, with a borrowed gun, some of which were fine rifles.

It got to a point where the bolt gun was simply a whole lot less trouble, they tend to be lower maintenance items, many fewer moving parts, which for a civilian shooter I believe can become a significant consideration. I shot left handed, actually not hard to do with a Winchester, though reloads with the M-1 sometimes did get "interesting". Used to pickup a lot of brass, once fired in match guns, courtesy of the USMC at Quantico. In bolt guns, this stuff seemed to last forever.

I would never knock anyone trying to learn how to handle the M-14 type rifle, however not knowing that the rules had changed, thank you for the information, it seemed that you might be courting difficulties, which of course, would be your choice anyhow. Hope that you get your rifle squared away.
 
Steve,

You can always say NO. If you really want a full-length- bedded NM rifle for NRA highpower that shoots fine with iron sights, why worry about the scope issue? Sounds like they pretty much have your rifle finished other than the scope issue.

The original problem may be with the mount, not the rifle.

Dave
 
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