Shooting 1000 Yards with your M1A Rifle: What You Should Know

The M1A rifle is not an inexpensive rifle—the standard model typically costs between $1000 and $1800. So, understandably, people who purchase it want to know if it is reliable and effective. They also want to know how it performs at shooting 1000 yards. Can the M1A rifle shoot 1000 yards, as some people say—or is this just nonsense? Read on to find out.

Background of the M1A

The M1A is actually a high-quality reproduction of the United States M14 rifle that was used during the early years of the Vietnam War. Actually the M14 rifle is still being used in some branches of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marines. Some countries around the world use variations of the M14 as well. So, this should indicate just how reliable and useful the M1A rifle is.

The M1A is classified as an assault weapon if it is equipped with a pistol grip or flash suppressor in many states. In those states, people can get a legal muzzle brake for the rifle. It would be wise for anyone to check local laws before purchasing this rifle.

Shooting 1000 Yards with the M1A

It is definitely possible to shoot 1000 yards with this rifle—no nonsense here. However, it is not simple to do. Anyone—even the most experienced rifle shooter—is likely to have trouble starting out. After all, take a look at any 1000 yard high-power match and you will see that there are very few service rifle entries. And, the people who have entered with service rifles are typically from the military. But this simply points to the fact that the M1A can (and does) shoot 1000 in experienced hands. Why? Well, the military entries in the high-power matches are using the M14 rifles—and these are like the very close relatives of the M1A’s.

Tips on Shooting 1000 Yards

You really need a lot of practice with your M1A in order to be able to shoot 1000 yards, of course. However, there are a few tricks you can try in order to boost your odds of succeeding. Give these tips a try:

• Choose the right bullets. For long-range shooting, you need bullets with the highest ballistic coefficient (BC).

• Try a steady prone position. While this doesn’t work for every shooter (bench shooters), many people still use the prone position for an accurate shot —which, therefore, helps to get their bullets to go further.

• Get a rifle scope. Try buying a M1A rifle scope that is sealed, waterproof, and fog proof. This might help you to get better precision in your aiming, which could help with your distance.

When all is said and done, it all comes down to this—you are going to need to practice. The accuracy and shooting potential of the M1A is exceptional, but only if you put in the time and effort. And, yes, this rifle is definitely dependable and worth the cost. It is excellent at shooting targets, of course, but it can also be put to work for hunting and for tactical uses.

Hog hunting with Your M1A Rifle and What You Should Know

Hog hunting can be a lot of fun if you do it right. An M1A is an ideal hunting rifle, but you have to make sure you can find hogs to shoot. You'll need to find natural hog trails so that you can put feeders down for the hogs to find. If you put the feeders in obscure places, you're diminishing the likelihood that you'll get to bag a hog. Put the feeder where hogs travel. Find a trail or a wallow and that’s where you'll need to put it.

Using hog scents is as effective as using feeders, but again you must put it where the hogs naturally travel for them to be able to find it. Choose dominant boar urine or heat scent, and be sure you're actually putting it where hogs will naturally be near a stream, wallow or trail.

You'll also want a good hunting light to shine on the feeder. Being able to light up the target will make all the difference in both how much enjoyment you'll get from the hunt and how accurate your shots are.

Get yourself a good hog hunting light to hunt at night with. A good feeder light will make those late night and early evening shots much easier to make. Also, you can help attract hogs to your feeder by adding sweetness to it. Any sort of sweet, fruit-flavored powdered drink mix will work as long as you can smell it when you drop it into the feeder and it smells sweet. This tends to attract the hogs.

As far as using an M1a for hog hunting, you'll find it's a bit heavier than some other hunting rifles you may be used to. But the biggest factor in making sure you have a successful hog hunt with your M1A is going to be your scope. You're going to want to be within 100 yards of the target for best results, so a scope with at least 7x magnification should be ideal. Also, the smaller the MOA the better so go with 2 over 4, for instance.

Neck and head shots are the best for bringing down a wild boar, and in order to get that precision shot you don't want to be too far away with a poor scope. Any shot you make typically in the head and above the shoulders of the hog should be a fast, fatal shot. Otherwise, there's the risk of only injuring the creature. Shoulder and front quarter shots are undesirable because of the animal's tough hide and fat, and lack of vital organs. You can avoid the bad shots by making sure you have a well-secured scope and the proper setting on your sight so that you can get a good aim at whatever yardage you're sitting away from the hog.

You also don't want to get too close and alert your prey, because they can be dangerous. Standard .308 ammunition works well for hog hunting, if you go with the heavier bullets.

Choosing The Best Rifle Scope

Many firearm enthusiasts in this day and age are using an optical sighting device or rifle scope on their guns. There is a great reason for making this happen, which is simplicity. Using a scope is a lot less complex than lining up your iron sights. Here is what you need to know about choosing the best rifle scope.

Having the right tool for the job is vitally important. Cartridges and scopes are getting more powerful every single year, and this makes choosing the right scope even more vitally important than ever before.

On one end of your rifle scope you have the objective bell and the objective lens. The elevation adjustment and the windage adjustment are in the center of the scope. Then you have the power ring, the eye piece, the ocular lens and the exit pupil which are on the side that you look through with your scope. Knowing these terms is important when it comes to choosing the best rifle scope, because there are unique characteristics among each of them. If you don't know your rifle scope anatomy, then you are going to have trouble determining which features are the most important for you to seek out.

The main tube for most scopes in America is only a single inch in diameter, which means that they make use out of one inch rings. Some main tubes are only 30 mm, meaning that they use 30 mm rings. There are a number of different base types that can be used to connect the rings directly to your rifle. You are going to need to know what type of base you need in order to find out the height and the type for the rings that you are going to use for the scope that you want, whether they are 1" rings or 30 mm rings.

Scopes do not gather light though most people think that they do, but rather they transmit available light to your eye through the lenses, even losing some light in the process. The best scope is one that offers a theoretical 98% light transmission. Anything that is above 95% in light transmission is considered to be great, though most scopes only offer around 90%.

Another consideration is magnification range. A rifle scope with a 3 to 9 magnification range for a gun intended for whitetail deer is pretty much standard. For mule deer or for antelope, choosing a 4 to 12 or a 4.5 to 14 is not going to be too bad. High power scopes are definitely nice, but in certain situations such as on hot days, they will be rendered nearly unusable because of heat waves and mirage. For smaller animals or for longer range targets, choose a variable range with 6 to 20X or 8 to 25X for the best results. Some other people prefer fixed scopes because they have fewer moving parts and are simpler, so consider this option as well.

M1A Scout Squad rifle vs. the M1A Match rifle

As with any firearm, it is important to find the one that fits the requirements you have for your own needs. When comparing quality made rifles, it is important to know what makes one rifle different from another, such as the M1A Scout Squad rifle vs. the M1A Match rifle.

Both are products of Springfield Armory, Inc. and are semi automatic rifles. The basis of their design was the M14 rifle used by the military. The M1A Match rifle and the M1A Scout Squad are good for both target practice and hunting but can also be used for security. It is not recommended that these firearms should be modified to be fully automatic as it would make the rifle unstable and potentially unsafe to operate.

There are actually two versions of the M1A Match rifle – the National Match M1A and the Super Match M1A. These rifles are more geared towards the commercial market, especially for shooting competitions. The National Match M1A is the more basic of the two while the Super Match M1A has the ability to be customized. As with many rifles available in the market today, various accessories can be added to a M1A Match rifle. It is important to research and most importantly test out the accessories and/or customizations before making your purchase.

The M1A Scout Squad rifle is the version that is mostly marketed to law enforcement for their use. This is an ergonomically designed firearm that is compact and powerful with a reportedly high accuracy rate. While it can be a fairly heavy firearm, the M1A Scout Squad rifle has a clean operating system that is easy to use. Make sure that you have good ear protection with this model as while it has a proprietary muzzle stabilizer, it can discharge quite loudly.

When comparing the M1A Scout Squad rifle vs. the M1A Match rifle, both are known for their sturdy design, dependability and excellent accuracy. It is essential to experience the performance of these firearms personally as you will be able to choose the best one for you. You can also compare their performance over other similar firearms on the market today.

Both the M1A Match rifle and the M1A Scout Squad rifle is on the average more expensive than their semi automatic counterparts also offered on the market. While in today’s economy cost is a major factor with any purchase, it is important to consider value for the money. If you pay more up front for a quality made firearm and have many good years of use, it may cost you less to pay more. A less expensive, lower quality firearm may not be as dependable and may need replaced sooner, therefore costing you more money in the long run.

Keep in mind that avid gun collectors are very particular as to the brands and makes of guns that they collect, as they add value to their collection. When comparing the M1A Scout Squad rifle vs. the M1A Match rifle, you will find that whichever you choose, you will have a quality rifle.

Where to Buy the M1A Rifle Online

The Springfield Armory M1A rifle is a rifle made in the image of the M14 service rifle, which was the primary weapon used by the United States military in the late 50’s and early 60’s. The M1A should be instantly familiar to gun aficionados and war buffs, because it looks almost exactly like the M14, which was the main rife used by the United States Armed forces in the Vietnam War. The M1A was designed to capture the look and feel of the M14 for gun enthusiasts who want a high performance rifle that also has some history behind it.

It can be difficult to find an M1A rifle at a local shop, so those looking to buy one of these guns may have better luck searching online. There are a number of online gun dealers who sell M1A rifles. Be warned that because they are somewhat scarce and fairly high quality, they often carry a high price tag. This is especially true of the match variants of the M1A, which are highly accurate models designed for shooting in competitions.

Below are a few of the online dealers who sell M1A rifles:

Gun Broker: If you haven’t visited Gun Broker before, it’s basically like an eBay for guns. Guns can be bought, sold, auctioned off, or traded through this service. Needless to say, it’s not exactly like eBay because you can’t just have a gun shipped directly to your home. In order to get an M1A rifle through Gun Broker, you must find someone who is selling one, and also find a local gun shop or someone with a federal firearms license that the gun can be shipped to.

Impact Guns: Impact Guns is a store located in Utah that also has a nice and easy to use online store. They have several M1A rifles and M1A variants, including some of the match rifles. Prices range from just over $1,000 to over $3,000 for the higher end models. Impact Guns also sells a number of accessories and ammunition, so it can be a nice one-stop shop for your M1A needs.

Able’s Gun Shop: Able’s Gun Shop also features a number of different M1A rifles and variants. All of the M1As are frequently going out of stock, which is a testament to the popularity and power of this rifle. You may not be able to find an M1A on your first visit, but you can set up an e-mail notification that will let you know when they have the gun in stock.

The Gun Source: The Gun Source offers a huge selection of M1A rifles and accessories. With all the different models available, you may have better luck finding one that isn’t on backorder. For one’s that out of stock, the site will helpfully tell you how many people are waiting in line in front of you to get the gun you want.

Gun Dealer Online: This site doesn’t feature quite as large of a selection as the previous three, but there are several options available, including the $3,100 Super Match model. Unfortunately, there is no way to back order an out of stock gun.

Have you used these sites before? What other would you recommend? Leave your comment below.

The Top 3 Rifle Slings for the M1A

When hunting with an M1A, it is important to choose a rifle sling that has rubberized backing that grips your shoulder comfortably while keeping the sling in place and the rifle where you need it to be. Here is a look at three top rated rifle slings that you can use with your M1A rifle.

#1 - Butler Creek Neoprene Rifle Sling - Retails for between $11.99 and $21.99

These neoprene rifle slings are equipped using comfort stretch backing, designed to reduce the weight of the rifle and to control the bounces that are typically associated with using a neoprene sling for your rifle. The comfort stretch sling is designed to combine the waterproof ability of closed-sell neoprene with comfort-stretch style backing, which reduces the weight of the M1A rifle by 50% while controlling the bounce that you may typically experience. Butler Creek also offers an Alaskan Magnum sling that is made of black neoprene and also features comfort stretch style backing, allowing the sling to give and reduce fatigue of the muscles. The design has non slip features that hold it in place nicely. There is also an Easy Rider sling by this brand that has a shark skin pad backing that is tough and rubberized and that will not slip away from your shoulder.

#2 - Quake Claw Rifle and Shotgun Sling - Retails for between $17.99 and $29.99

When it comes to using a Quake Claw sling for your M1A rifle, you will not have to worry about hearing any sliding or squeaking. The Hush Stalker II Swivel and new design concept makes these some truly super quiet slings with non slip plastic rubber claw pads that offer a unique action for gripping so that they will stay securely on your back or shoulder. Quake Claw offers a Claw Rifle Sling, a Claw Contour Rifle Sling and also a Claw Shotgun Sling, each utilizing excellent gripping action, unique design, crack resistance and fade resistance as well, making these an excellent option for your M1A rifle sling needs.

#3 - Triple K Rifle Sling - Retails for between $17.99 and $24.99

There are two Triple K rifle slings that you can use with your M1A rifle. They are made using to quality leather materials to offer long lasting durability and strength. The first is the Basketweave Triple K Rifle Sling, which has a lining made out of suede which prevents your rifle from slipping away from your shoulder, and it is tapered from 1" near the swivel to 2" in thickness. The second is the Military-Style Triple K Rifle Sling, which is adjustable in an infinite number of ways. This Triple K Rifle Sling is constructed out of walnut-oil leather which offers excellent durability as well as utility.

There are many different types of rifle slings out there that are compatible with the M1A rifle, but these are certainly 3 of the best for you to consider.

Have you tried any of these? Leave your review below!

Rusty’s Rags Gun Cloth Review

Anyone who has owned a gun knows that one of most important factors in keeping a weapon shooting well is proper cleaning and maintenance. It’s just like almost any other piece of complex machinery – if it gets too dirty and doesn’t get cleaned, performance as a whole suffers. This is perhaps even more true for guns, as powder residue and sometimes bullet filings can clog up the works and can lead to problems.

Rusty’s Rags is a company that produces specialized gun cleaning cloths used for firearms. Developed by an avid gun collector who has worked with antique guns for over 40 years, Rusty’s Rags do have the benefit of that experience. The product was designed in order to deal with the problem that many gun standard gun cleaning cloths had. Silicone-impregnated cotton cloth couldn’t get into all of the small crevices and nooks in many guns, while sheepskin wipes left behind a lot of residue. The company claims that because they focus entirely on a single product, they can fix these issues and make the best product on the market. We’ll see just how true that proves to be in this review.

Let’s begin by talking about the advantages of Rusty’s Rags. Basically, this gun cleaning cloth tries to combine the best of both worlds between silicone-impregnated cotton

and sheepskin wipes. Combining the two methods by infusing silicone into the sheepskin is only one part of the equation; a special proprietary method is used to create optimal results. Rusty’s rags not only can get into all the smallest crevices and niches of any weapon, but it also leaves a shiny luster that will last for a long time. It’ great both for showing guns at a show or just for routine cleaning of a regularly used firearm. Convenience is also a key benefit of using Rusty’s Rags. When using this product, cleaning a gun is easier than ever before. You don’t have to crane around at awkward angles to clean those hard to reach spots on a weapon.

Unfortunately, Rusty’s Rags aren’t without their downsides. While they do make cleaning the tricky spots in and around a gun much easier, the rags themselves are a bit awkward to hold on to. Whether or not this drawback will cancel out the benefits of easier cleaning probably depends on the specific rifle that you’re cleaning and how hard it was to clean in the first place. The other problem is that it does share the same issue as the standard sheepskin wipe – it can leave behind too much residue on the rifle. This can mostly be avoided by just being careful and not over cleaning the weapon.

Overall, while some improvements can be made, it does offer an excellent alternative to the other standard options. Since they are very cheap to purchase (about $10.25 USD) and can be found at many gun suppliers, there’s no reason not to at least give them a try. You may find yourself among the many people (like myself) who’ve decided that they never want to use another gun cleaning cloth ever again.

Nikon Prostaff 3-9×40 rifle scope review

Ease of Setup: 4.8 Stars / 5 Stars

The Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 Rifle Scope is generally quite easy to set up.

Usability: 4.4 Stars / 5 Stars
The The Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 Rifle Scope is a serious piece of machinery, but it is user friendly and intuitive for most of its users.

Features: 4.3 Stars / 5 Stars
The Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 Rifle Scope offers more features than any other rifle scope in this price range, making it an excellent buy.

Meets Expectations: 4.6 Stars / 5 Stars
The Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 Rifle Scope definitely meets expectations as well as exceeding them in certain cases by offering excellent value for the money, plenty of features and an overall great scope with plenty of zooming power.

Specifications:
Manufacturer: Nikon
Magnification: 3x - 9x
Tube Diameter: 1 "
Objective Diameter: 40 mm
Exit Pupil: 4.4 mm
Eye Relief: 3.6 in
Length: 12.3 in.
Weight: 13.7 oz

Pros:

The Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 rifle scope features a 100 % waterproof and fog proof scope with a lifetime full warranty. It offers multi colored optics which allows for 90 % light transmission to be achieved. It also features Nikon's patented anti-reflective multi coating and a precise and repeatable ¼ MOA adjustment. This scope is nitrogen filled as well as O ring sealed. It also offers a BDC or bullet drop compensating reticle that allows for easy hold over for as long as 600 yards as well.

The Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 rifle scope comes in numerous colors and finishes including camouflage, silver and matte black. It is a nice length and weight for what it is, at 12.3 inches long and 13.1 ounces in weight. The Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 rifle scope can alternate between 3x and 9x zoom. Finding a similar scope offering the same level of features in this price range is going to be difficult.

The Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 rifle scope is easy to set up and is generally quite user friendly. It offers a number of unique and sought after features, and gives great value for the investment. All in all, the Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 rifle scope is considered to meet the expectations of its users, allowing it to be a good value and well worth buying for compatible rifles.

Cons:

Nikon Prostaff Rifle Scopes are serious instruments and are not as user friendly as some people would like. The The Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 Rifle Scope is feature rich, but some people have found that it costs more than they would like to pay for a rifle scope. The adjustments definitely leave something to be desired, and yardage needs to be marked inside of the scope for an increase in usability but in general the scope works as well as could be expected.

BE SURE TO SIGN UP FOR THE M1A RIFLES NEWSLETTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN THIS RIFLE SCOPE!!! ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO ENTER THE CONTEST IS SIGN UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER. THE WINNER WILL BE DRAWN AT RANDOM AND CONTACTED VIA EMAIL. THE DRAWING WILL BE HELD AUGUST 31st 2009, HURRY AND SIGN UP NOW!!

Leave your own review below!

Why you WANT the JAE-100 G2 Rifle Stock for your M1A

Material

The first thing that should make you want the JAE-100 is the material that it is made of.  When you take a look at the materials that went into making this particular rifle stock, what you will see is complete metal.  All kinds of the most durable metallic alloys around were used in the manufacture of this rifle stock.  That not only makes it a better complimentary fit to your M1A if it was constructed standard, but it also means that you don’t have to worry about the stock succumbing to wear and tear anytime soon.  Those are both huge advantages to choosing this particular rifle stock product.

Good Fit

Unfortunately, one of the major drawbacks to a lot of these rifle stock manufacturers is that they are not too picky about ensuring a perfect fit for their rifle stock.  You should be especially suspicious of any that claim that they have the ability to fit multiple rifles from different manufacturers.

This is not true of the JAE-100 G2 however, as it claims to be made specifically for the M1A rifle.  Some of the more ambitious sellers might claim that M14 style rifles are all good, but at its heart this rifle stock is definitely for the M1A.  That should increase overall functionality as well as make it easy to troubleshoot any problems that might arise.  Overall, a good fit is just better for these and other obvious reasons.

Adjustability

At the same time that the M1A is the perfect rifle for this rifle stock, you will realize pretty soon after purchasing it that the JAE-100 is fully adjustable.  Adjusting the rifle stock is a simple matter of manipulating the interface so that you can get it to fit on your M1A rifle exactly how you would like it to be.  The adjustability is also probably what allows some to claim that it can fit all M14 style rifles.  We cannot comment on that particular attribute, but we can confirm that this rifle stock fits the M1A like a comfortable glove.

Cost

The overall cost of this rifle stock will be in the $900 to $1000 range.  This is not cheap in the general sense, but it is definitely cheap for rifle stocks created from Aluminum and Titanium that also have the list of features and advantages listed above.  In fact, many rifle accessory sales will allow you to get the JAE-100 for $900 nowadays and at that price this stock is most definitely an absolute steal.

Performance

One last reason why you want the JAE-100 has to be its ability to continually deliver the same level of high performance again and again.  Any rifle stock can be attached and immediately proxy for a bolt in terms of its performance, but over time many of them tend to decay.  This is not good.  However, the JAE-100 is different.  You will be able to rely on it for years, making it easily one of the best investments you could make for your rifle.

Why the Leupold Mark 4 LR/T is a Good Choice for the M1A

Durable

Perhaps the biggest reason that you would want to choose this particular scope is the fact that it is extremely durable.  Not only will you be able to drop it a whole bunch of times without any ill effects, the Leupold Mark 4 is actually completely waterproof.  If for some reason you were to accidentally submerge this scope in water for an extended period of time, it would come out clean as a whistle with no ill effects.  This also makes keeping the scope clean quite an easy thing to do.  The waterproof aspect of this scope combined with its ability to sustain incredible levels of punishment is perhaps the biggest reason that it is a great choice for the M1A rifle.

Choice

Another thing this scope offers you in large part is choice.  When you have the Leupold Mark 4, what you have is a scope that has a 30 mm main tube diameter.  This means that you can actually adjust it wider and even change the elevation on it to get your target exactly where you want it.  It will almost immediately improve your hunting skills by allowing you to spot anything anywhere within a reasonable distance from your current position.

Convenience

It would literally take pages of text in order to list all of the ways in which this rifle scope increases your level of convenience.  However, when you take a look at the basic functions of the scope, you will see that a lot of them increase convenience.  For starters, this scope can be zeroed.  That means that you can adjust until you get your target in the crosshairs and then zero that new setting so that you don’t have to make the same adjustment again.

The way in which the different scope lenses are placed in relation to each other maximizes the amount of light that you get through it, allowing you to really see your target about as clear as you could ever hope to get.  The cover lens comes with flip functionality so that it is easier to deal with when not in use.  And finally, there is an illuminated targeting reticle in the scope just to give you that little bit of extra confidence in your shot when you pull the trigger.  Put all of that together and you most definitely have one very convenient rifle scope.

Cost

At first, the cost of this rifle scope would not seem to be something that would make it a good choice.  It sells for around $1,300 to $1,500 these days, both of which are amounts that people might struggle to pay in recessionary times.  However, if you take its features and compare to scopes immediately above and below in price range, you will find that the Leupold Mark 4 rifle scope will give you the best return on your investment.  With lots of features and low-cost manufacturing, you can get the most of your money if you use it to purchase the Leupold Mark 4 LR/T rifle scope for your M1A rifle.

Next Page »