Comments on: The Best Ammunition to Buy For Your M1A Rifle

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:31:50 +0000

Hello everyone. I have a standard M1A. And I am kind of at a cross roads between two types of ammo. Both beeing made from Federal. They are both Sierra Match King BTHP ammo. One being 168gr and the other being 175gr. I am looking at making shots from 1000 yds on in to 200 yds. The conditions for my hunting trips vary.

I have shot the 168gr at 100 yds and I got .5 MOA. This was off a lead sled too. All in all I am looking for a good, all around ammo to stick with. I was happy with the results that 168gr gave me. But wondered if the 175 gr would work better. Also. Would the 175 gr over time be too harsh on the M1A gas system?

I appreciate any help.

Andrew

By: GHOST 0309

GHOST 0309 — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:53:19 +0000

Hello Dave, I am an 11B specialist in the U.S. Army and have owned my M1a for several years now. I have put several different types of ammo through my M1a including M118 LR 175 Gr BTHP. And needless to say I do not fire anything else out of my rifle. My rifle straight from the factory was shooting 1.36 moa with 168 Gr, but when i put the 175Gr through it, it dropped my moa down to .75 moa at 100 meters(zero). So I hope this will help you.
Let me know how you do at the comp.

By: Anybody use these in the M1A ? - M14 Forum

Anybody use these in the M1A ? - M14 Forum — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 03:10:53 +0000

[...] think that they would be fine. I don't think springfield armory recommends soft points though. http://www.m1arifles.com/m1a-rifles/…our-m1a-rifle/ also shooting reloaded or remanufactured ammo will void all [...]

By: Texan12

Texan12 — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 22:25:34 +0000

I just bought a brand new M1A. The rifle came with a flyer that discussed “slam-fire” which is when a round is discharged due to the closing of the bolt as a round is fed into the firing chamber. Additionally, the user’s manual discussed this issue as well.

I have a friend who said his M1A slam-fired serveral times when he first bought it (he was shooting .308), but since he started using standard factory military 7.62 NATO, he has never had this issue.

According to the manual and the flyer, your chances of a slam-fire increase when you use civilain ammunition because they have a more sensitive primer. It also mentioned that it is normal for an M1A to put a slight indentation on the primer when the bolt closes.

When buying civilian .308 ammunition, how do I know if I’m geting a harder primer that can withstand the slight indentation? I’m shooting Remington UMC 150gr and haven’t had a problem yet. But when I go to buy rounds for shooting deer this Fall, I want to make sure I don’t buy rounds with a sensitive primer.

By: bud

bud — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 01:41:35 +0000

I bought a M1A loaded with a NM .308 SS barrel. All the books say use GI spec quality 7.62. What’s the real story, .308 or 7.62?

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 04:04:29 +0000

I have fired thousands of rounds through my M1A using Moly/danzac/etc with no issues as descibed above. I loaded all rounds fired without any double taps or accuracy problems, If I switched to uncoated ammo for any reason I cleaned the entire system starting with kroil and ending with aquafied ammonia then lightly recoat the rifling with kroil and 1 dry patch before firing.
Using LC match ammo[uncoated] after 3 shots the barrel was properly fouled and was ready to compete. With my testing I came to the conclusion it was a waste of time for me to coat my bullets for the M1A as the barrel cleaned easily and accuracy was excellent.
With the 50bmg it was extremely hard cleaning the barrel using monolithic solids, I tested every lubricant on the brass bullets under the sun, Some worked ok and made the barrel cleaning easier and some did nothing, I ended up cooking the brass bullets for thebest results.
SEMPER FI

By: theburren

theburren — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:25:18 +0000

I called SA today to confirm that the Matchking moly coated 168gr bullets I ordered last year were usable. The tech confirmed what was stated above, reiterating that since the moly will coat the barrel, once used if you return to non-moly you will lose some accuracy–

Would have been nice to read in the comments/ reviews on Midway prior to buying:)

By: Jack

Jack — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:23:19 +0000

You’re gonna find that there are a lot of people that say that is impossible, but I do it all the time with my M1A Standard.

By: Henry

Henry — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 19:10:05 +0000

I have a Springer Loaded version w/carbon steel barrel and it like American Eagle A76251M1A ammo. Sub MOA with iron sights.

By: Glenn

Glenn — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 23:22:41 +0000

I have a Socom II and would like to know what grain bullet to use? I am thinking 150 gr FMJ. I am trying several different types of ammo but thought that someone might know. Thanks for the advice.