Recent Winner of the M1ARifles.com Free Rifle Scope Contest

Congrats to Hollister Delong, the recent winner of the M1ARifles.com free rifle scope contest. Here is a picture of Hollister and his new FREE Nikon Buckmasters 4.5-14x40 SF Rifle Scope.

Hollister won this contest by being the top forum poster in our M1A Forum. He provided our forum members top quality advice and by having the most posts in the forum.  So once again hollister congratulations.

I also wanted to let everyone know that each month will be a new contest and new prize for my newsletter subscribers. So make sure you sign up for the M1A Rifles newsletter for exclusive deals, informaion, and monthly prizes. Sign up NOW!!

Facts About M1A Rifles

The M1A rifle, although very similar to the military’s M14, is a magnificent piece of artillery that is manufactured and sold in Illinois.

M1A rifles are one of the most precise rifles for reaching your target. The scopes have an accuracy that makes it nearly impossible to miss a target. That is why this rifle is commonly used by military and police snipers.

Specifications

The specifications of the M1A are as follows:

Magazine capacity: The capacity of this M1A rifles magazine is 5 rounds, 10 rounds, and 20 rounds.

The Finish: This rifle’s finish is made of a flat black oxide. This color is made flat so that it does not reflect in any sort of light. A fact that may be particularly handy if a soldier or policeman were trying to remain secluded from view.

Caliber: The caliber of the M1A rifles is .308.

Stock: The stock of this amazing rifle is made of an oil finished walnut.

Safety: The safety is mounted manually in front of the trigger guard.

Barrel: The barrel of the M1A rifle is around 22-23 inches long. If you were to add a flash suppressor it would increase the length to about 25 inches.

Sights: The sights of this rifle are click adjusted rear.

Weight: The weight of this rifle will be dependent on whether or not it is loaded or empty. In general, the weight is around 9 pounds.

Operation: The M1A is operated by gas.

Manufacturer: The Manufacturer is Springfield Inc. in Geneseo, IL.

The M1A is often mistaken for being the M14, but in reality it is the civilian replica. The M14 is a high powered rifle that has been used by the military for many years. The M1A is also used by the military, but it is not exclusive to the military.

Accuracy

Although the M1A rifles are highly accurate, there are many ways in which you can modify the use of the gun in order to make it more precise.

• Checking for parallel in the rod guide can actually improve your precision and accuracy.

• Putting padding on the hand guard can improve accuracy.

• Adjusting the flash suppressor will improve your precision immensely

The accuracy of the M1A rifles has been utilized both by soldiers and by police trainees. It is helpful in target practice and sniper training since it has a precision that can’t be matched.

The M1A used to have a bayonet lug attached to it, but that practice has ceased since the year 1994 when it was passed that there would be no more assault weapons. However, in the year 2004 the ban was removed making it alright to attach the lugs once more.

No matter what your reasons are for acquiring and admiring M1A rifles, there will be no doubt in your mind that it is indeed an amazing piece of machinery. It may not be exactly the same as the M14, but it is a king of weapons in its own right.

Safety while handling the M1A Rifle

The M1A rifle is the commercially available version of the United States army M14 military semi automatic machine gun. It is a very powerful weapon with a decent range of approximately 500 yards. These rifles are highly sought after and a well maintained model can be purchased for anywhere upwards of $10,000.

Considering the capacity of the weapon, it demands to be respected and you should be safe while using and maintaining it at all times. There are a couple of key points that you need to keep in mind while handling these machines.

The first instruction that you need to follow is regarding the operating rod handle. Whenever you attempt to manipulate the operating rod handle with a chamber, please keep in mind to move your hand out of the way of the rod after releasing it. Ensure that your fingers are always out of the path of the operating rod. The force of the operating rod is powerful to severe your fingers and open up your palm. That is definitely an ugly sight and something you should avoid at all costs.

Whenever you are operating on any firearm, be sure to wear safety glasses at all times, especially while disassembling it. The M1A’s operating rod is maintained under immense pressure and upon releasing of the connector locks, the rod guide might plummet out at a high velocity if your other hand is not fastened steadily enough. Make sure that other individuals in the room are wearing safety equipment as well.

If for some reason the weapon does not react when you pull the trigger, resist the temptation to pull back the operating handle. Keep the weapon pointed downwards for at least fifteen seconds to rule out the foul play due to a delayed ignition. Before pulling the operating handle back, remove the magazine, then pull the operating handle and check if the rifle is jammed. If the rifle is jammed, use a rubber tipped hammer to hit the operating rod handle downward, keeping your body as clear as possible from the weapon.

Although it may sound stupid, it is important that you verify the kind of ammunition before loading the weapon. You should ideally verify several times just to be sure. The M1A uses a 7.62x51mm NATO, so repeat those exact words when you are purchasing the ammunition. Always buy from known sources and do not risk the weapon and your life for a good deal. Make sure that you have already seen the ammunition for real and that it is the exact same one that you are replacing with. Most of the NATO bullets have known markings that are not very hard to figure out. The wrong weapon might cause the weapon to implode, severely hurting you in the process.

With all the right measures, you should have a long and enjoyable time with your M1A. Most M1A owners are very proud of their weapon and take great care in looking after it. Always read the manual thoroughly, no matter how good you think you are. The manual is written for a reason and the manufacturer wants to make sure that you stay fit and healthy for a long time and purchase more of their weapons!

Differentiating an M1A Rifle from an M14 Rifle

The first thing that you might notice about these two rifles is the striking similarity in appearance. It should be similar because they are essentially the same in almost every feature except that one rifle is used by the army and the other one can be purchased at any reputed gun store.

Like the saying goes, the differences are only skin deep. For beginners, the receivers of the M14 are manufactured using what is known as the drop-forge technique. M1A on the other hand uses an investment cast receiver and may be comprised of a mixture of genuine United States GI military specification parts along with case replica parts, or simply all United States GI parts or even mostly investment cast parts along with smaller military specification parts. The sound created by the two receivers is different and any rifle audiophile can immediately differentiate the two by simply listening to their sound upon discharge.

The selector switch of M1As manufactured post 1990 are different from the ones on the M14. The M14 uses a walnut stock similar to the M21 that is height adjustable. Additionally, the 7.62mm caliber design was also dropped after the 1990 model of the M1A. M1As work only off 7.62x50mm NATO ammunition and not on anything else.

The bayonet lug has been removed from the newer M1A models. This was following the Assaults Weapons Ban of 1994 that prohibited the use of bayonet lugs on civilian weaponry. However, there is a workaround that allows owners to attached a bayonet lug to their M1As since the flash suppressor on the M1As are all identical.

When it comes to disassembly as well, there are minor differences between the two. With the M14, you can simply remove the connector and the operating rod slides out whereas the M1A uses a technique commonly known as “twist and pray” to remove the operating rod.

The M1A is strictly a semi automatic rifle. There is no way that it can be made to operate in a full automatic mode. The M14, on the other hand, is a selective fire military weapon. This translates into it being able to operate in selective automatic fire mode. The military initially hadthe selector switch to operate the M14 in full auto but eventually had it removed to a functionless knob since most of the soldiers were habitually leaving the selector to auto under all conditions. The M14 was infamous for not being very controllable in the auto mode and hence it was decided to drop the switch after a while. Thus, this is the reason why almost 90% of the M14s out there are forcibly semi auto with no option to switch.

The other big difference between the two weapons is the inflated price tag. The M14 is at least $14,000 dearer than the M1A. The high cost is attributed to the costlier fabrication process and the use of costlier military grade materials while making it. Hence, you need to be cautious and use discretion while handling the M14, especially if it is in the auto mode.

The M1A Forum Is Now Live!

The M1A Forum is now live! This is a project that I have been wanting to start for a while now. Well, I've finally taken action and implemented a forum for the M1A rifle community. I've been wanting to do this for about 4 or 5 months now. I'm excited to see what will become of the M1A Forum in the near future.

The forum is an outlet for M1A rifle owners and future owners to browse, post video and pictures of their rifles, give advice and learn. Head over to the M1A forum and register now!

Cool High Speed Video of an M1A Rifle Shooting

I was going through youtube and saw this cool high speed clip of the M1A Rifle shooting a round. The clip shows the shot, the ejection of the shell, and the recycling of a new round into the chamber. And all of this is done in slow motion. Take a look and enjoy!

M1Acheekpad.com- Review of My M1A Cheek Pad

The site m1acheekpad.com has a good an interesting array of cheek pads designed for M1A and M14 rifle stocks . The purpose of the cheek pad is not only for comfort, but it also gives a good line of sight in the correct cheek to stock weld position which is what shooters need. Owners of M1A or M14 rifles can definitely find a cheek pad that would suit them through this site. Also, the site isn’t filled with flashy graphics and annoying applications.  Once you have found the cheek pad that you require, simply click on the ‘Order Page’ for the purchasing process.

Purchasing my 1 7/8 cheek pad from m1acheekpad.com was a thoroughly good experience, as the customer service given to me was good. The people from m1acheekpad.com gave me good response to my inquiries. Not only that, the shipping was incredible too. As soon as I placed my order and my purchases, shipping was prompt to what has been promised by the folks at m1acheekpads.com.

Customers will be happy to know that shipping costs were also reasonable. Most companies charge an incredibly expensive amount even though the locations aren’t that far. So not only will customers get prompt delivery, they are also not burdened by the shipping costs that directly increase the purchase value of the cheek pads.

Once I received my cheek pads, one thing that really made me happy was the fact the cheek pad was comfortable. This is a good feature for the cheek pads because not all material is soft. What I didn’t like about the pads were the fact that it kept on slipping positions (leaning right) and it wouldn’t stay upright as how I needed it to be. This disturbed my focus and line of sight. It would be great if the cheek pads were made with anti slip features on the bottom to better grip the stock.

Though the pads themselves were soft, the outer nylon materials were not so great. For male shooters who did not shave their facial hair off, this would be a problem as I noticed my facial hair got caught in the webbed part of the material causing discomfort. Not only that, the material also tugged at my facial hair and caused a sharp pain here and there. This was extremely painful which resulted in a not so comforting shooting experience.

All in all the cheek pad was ok. I would suggest to browse ebay first before you go and spend $40+ dollars on this M1A Cheek pad. Here are some listings.

Do you have this pad? What are your thoughts? Leave your comments below.

Why You Should Have Harris Bipods On Your M1A Rifle

Do you know the number one reason of actually getting a bipod for your rifle? Shooters use bipods if they require fast setup speed and even better stability when it comes to shooting on unlevel ground. Achieving an accuracy below 1/2 moa with bipods requires a lot of care and consistency.

There are a number of reasons to why you would need a Harris Bipods on your M1A Rifle. For one, the bipods clamp securely and quickly to the M1A sling. It clamps to the gas block effectively since there isn't a better mounting point on an M1A. Harris Bipods are also equipped with strong recoil springs to prevent damage to the stock and maintain point of impact. Another thing to note on these Harris Bipods is the fact that their legs are adjustable for height.

The bipods come manufactured with heat treated steel and hard alloys and finished with a black anodized coat. Some of the models of under the Harris Bipods series are Model BR (Bench Rest) Lowest of the Bipods which is most useful for shooting off the bench. The bipods can be adjustable to a height from 6" to 9". Then there’s the Model L (Light). This model is the world's largest selling bipod as it is compact and light. It has an adjustable height from 9" to 13" and weighs 11 oz. Model H: (High) is for prone or sitting position shooting and it's the best for varmint shooting. The height is adjustable from 13 1/2" to 23". In the Model 25C, it is the tallest of the Bipods with the three piece leg construction being adjustable from 13 1/2" to 27"

There are several styles to choose from the Harris Bipods series. Series "M" is a new version of the original Leg Notch Bipod. This version is where the legs eject by spring action and its height is can be adjusted at a rate of 1" increments. The Series "S" features a rotating bipod that rotates to either side for instant leveling on uneven ground. Hinged base has tension adjustment and buffer springs to eliminate tremor or looseness. This model is similar to the non-rotating Series and is available for ALL models except the "H" model.

Lini’s First Time Shooting the M1A Scout

I finally took my wife to the range on Saturday to shoot my M1A Scout rifle. It was a nice day at the range, clear skies with not too many people, which made it a perfect day for shooting. She's never shot a rifle before, so she didn't know what to expect from the M1a scout.

She did well. She was comfortable behind the rifle, she had good breathing technique, and a good trigger squeeze. She was aiming at the metal target which was 200 yards out, the size of a dinner plate and was barely missing it.

Not bad for her first time. The rifle scope wasn't zeroed and she had to use a little Kentucky windage. By the end of the day, she was able to load, charge and fire the M1A scout without any help. I recorded some video of us at the range. Notice how she is comfortable and holds a good firing position with the M1A rifle. Enjoy!

How to do a functions check for your M1A Rifle

Checking your M1A rifle for malfunctions and faulty parts is one of the first things you should do before finalizing your purchase. It is much better to purchase your rifle at a store rather than purchasing it online. If there are any faulty parts or malfunctions found, you can immediately ask for a change or refund. Running a function check for your rifle is as important as cleaning and storage. Now before you attempt to check the rifles always practice safety. You don’t want to end up in jail for shooting people right? Ok so the first thing you should do is to make sure the gun is not loaded. We all know a loaded gun is an accident waiting to happen-if you don’t plan on shooting it. So now, get your rifle unloaded and then stand or sit or whichever position you are comfortable in- in a location that is safe and secure- away from children, people, animals and dangerous objects.

A rifle has to be given function checks not only at the time of buying but after every disassembling process. This is to ensure the every part in the rifle works properly before you go around shooting. Doing a function check on your rifle isn’t so hard. It’s actually an easy process. Before anything else, as mentioned earlier, make sure that your rifle is unloaded and pointed to a safe direction.

Next, pull the charging handle of the rifle. This handle is located on the top of the rifle, towards the rear and release end. After doing this, you must proceed to placing the selector on SAFE mode. When the rifle is in safe mode, means that is will not fire. Safe Mode prevents the rifle from firing accidently. Make sure that you do this step to avoid anything being blown up.

Now place the selector in the SEMI position. At this point, you can squeeze the trigger by holding it to the rear. When you do this, the hammer should fall. Keep holding the trigger to the rear and not, pull the charging handle to the read. This will release the charging handle. Now, smoothly and slowly release the trigger until it is fully forward. When you do this, the hammer should not fall but only falls when you squeeze the trigger. In any case that the carbine fails to function properly, you should stop the function check.

Now we will go through the details of function checking your rifle when it is in AUTO position. Now place the selector in the AUTO position and pull the charging handle to the rear and release it. As soon as you squeeze the trigger, well, you now know that the hammer should fall. Hold the trigger again to the rear and cock the weapon. Once again, release the trigger fully and squeeze it to the read again. When you do this, the hammer should not fall. If it does, then something is wrong. Again, stop the function check if the carbine fails to function properly. Turn in the malfunctioning carbine to an experienced gunsmith for checking. And there you have it, steps on how to function check your M1A rifle.

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