Why we own our M1A's.......... | M1A Rifles | M1A Forum

Just curious as to why people chose their M1A's, I'll start…….

When i was 12 i was already a miltary history buff, being the son of a soon to retire Vietnam era NCO i guess it was given i would be military obsessed. That year Ken hackathorn wrote and article on a specialized M-14 him and Another man built specifically for military consideration for Rapid Deployment forces to the middle east, it was M1A in a M14E1 stock painted Chocolate chips desert camo, they put a flashhider from an HK and the front sight from an HK on it. I read the article and was instantly in love with everything M-14.

This coupled with my dads hatred for the Mouse gun and his undying love for weapons of Iron and wood convinced me i would one day own one.

Then the movie "Full Metal Jacket", that movie was like a M-14 porno for me, i salivated every time i watched it! Then Desert Storm, where i watched it come out of retirement for EOD disposal and to make up for Sniping rifle shortages as the M-21.

So i graduated high school then came college in the late 1980's, I tried to follow the family example and join the army, but was denied for my Asthma(Which is triggered by dust! Got screwed by that one in life) anyway, once in college i had other economic worries, like being able to pay tuition! Then college ended and i was free, except for the debt of college!! Five years later i payed all tha off and used the newly found extra income to finally purchase my M1A in 2000! I bought this rifle not only for enjoyment but also an "What if?" rifle

, as part of emergency preparedness supplies, Not that i am expectign anything to happen or ever want it to, but if it does…………

I have been a happy camper ever since, especially seeing the M-14 again being brought out of retirement for this round of middle east pest control…….

Alright guys post your M1A stories!! Lets hear them, i know you guys didn't just get an itch one day and bam there was an M1A!

Can't fault you there , If i was in the land Hadji, i would be trying to wrangle one. I do not feel it is too long for building clearing, you might have to modify how you carry it a bit, but still think it could be done. They say thats the reason they issued M-4 Carbines but i' have tried to practice clearign my house with both a full lnegth Ar-15 A2 clone and a M1A full length "Loaded" Model and had no problem.

My house is over a century old, and does not have wide hallways by any means. And i would definatly have tried to wrangle one for out in the desert during the original invasion.

Just out curiosity, i have read that some units bought actual M1A's since there were not enough original M-14's when they requested them and units bought their own out of deployment funds. You would not happen to know if this true or not would you? The source where i read it had a photograph that showed a soldier with a rifle with NO Selector switch present at all. But that photo could have been taken at any of the civilian shooting clinics some shootign clubs held. I do know unit armorers have ahd a time finding repair parts and Springfield has been supplying some of those. But that just parts, was wonderign if whole guns were purchased by units or not.

Post edited 8:06 pm – May 25, 2010 by TRGGRPULLR

I purchased my M1A after I returned from my last deployment. I went to the local gun stores and was amazed at the prices for weapons and ammo!  Cuz Obama was elected while I was over there duckin bullets and dodgin mortars.  As I shopped around I kept gettin the same answer, "M1A's are few and far between to come by…" So, after a month of searching and a pocket full of deployment money burning a whole in my pants, I decided I was gonna return to my favorite gun store and givin my business. I was comin home with a Firearm, dammit. lol. When I showed up, I walked over to the AR section, and there she was, an Olive Drab M1A SOCOM 16.  I immediately grabbed it and told em this was it. I got my M1A and a couple extra mags, (real SA ones, not the knock-offs) and hurried home to play with my new toy.

I fell in love with the M14/M1A when I was in High School.  I watched Full Metal Jacket for the first time at a buddy's house. I can't really explain "why" i love it, I JUST DO. lol.  Maybe its the sleek, sexy, yet agressive design or maybe I want the entire city to know when I put down an intruder in my home thru the echoing BOOM of my .308…

I do know this, I love my rifle and will never part with her. I named her Olive, (you know us soldiers, we gotta name our rifles) and she will be a part of the family from now on.  I plan on passing her on to my son, on his 18th B-day.

The Day I Bought Her…

And how she looks today…gettin reay for huntin season.

trigger,

that rifle is sweet and the name is very appropriate. my buddy has the same one only in black hence his name for her "coal", cause shes black and smooth as glass

at the local gunshows, ive seen a fair amount of od stock ones, but they were all on full size rifles not socoms, and all but one had the national match barrels on them too

I got a SOCOM 16, and love that rifle so much. It's a great feeling when you go to the range, pull it out of the case, and all the other shooters start to gather around! They all wanna see the beast fire, and when you do IT IS LOUD, LOL.  When I tell all my friends how much it cost, they all think I'm nuts!  Then I take em to the range, and they all agree it is worth every penny…

I had seen M14s before but I had never fired one…I have always thought they were beautiful works of art and so sexy.  I knew I had to have one someday.  Well, I had seen TV shows about the rifle and ran across this website and I wanted to be part of the fraternity of M1A owners.  So, I searched diligently online after I realized you just couldn't find one in a gun shop anywhere.  I did find one online and scooped that baby up after a little research.  I can't wait to get it in my hands and start adding on to the rifle to make it a personal fit to me.

I own my M1A because it can do this …

I just purchased my M1A. It was the last Battle Rifle for my collection. I used my OIF/OEF Veterans bonus for most of the purchase price. Took it for a spin today. Wow what a great shooter.

It truely warms the cockles of my heart to read the testimonials in this thread.

Especially in lieu of acquiring my own new family member yesterday….a SOCOM16.  An acquisition that I'm even more excited about after reading all of your own experiences.

Yode