Are you happy with your M1A?
- Thread starter samdunc
- Start date
Springfield Armory Inc. M1A National Match rifle built in 1989 with 90% USGI parts - as confirmed by SAI.
Am I happy with my rifle ?
Answer : yeessss !
Last edited:
ghostntheshell
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- GTA ONTARIO
Fake!
I LOOOOOOOOOVE how these faacken threads turn into Springfield and norc compare blahblahblah ... the OP asked if we're HAPPY with our M1A's ... I sure am thank you!
Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA
p.s. I'm also happy with my Norc ...
They too are making me sick...
Sorry to say that these threads will not disappear.............
If you have an older S.A. M1A that was built with USGI parts, you have a great rifle............and you paid a premium price for that rifle.
Today, the current S.A. M1As use mostly cast`parts........many are outsourced from Asia..............and you are still charged a premium price.......
The current M1A offering is highly overpriced for what you get..........But there are those who will buy according to name brand only, or who will only buy North American made products (or products thought to be North American made.....
.........)........a lot of these types of buyers get upset when their very expensive, "thought to be U.S. made" rifle gets compared to the cheaper Noricno offering, which with some tuning/tweaking can be made to shoot just as well as the more expensive Standard M1A........For the money spent on a Standard M1A, I can build a Super Match quality M41 type rifle for less money then the Standard M1A offering..........and I have done so with several of my M14 type rifles.......
I have also owned actual Springfield Armory, and TRW M14s in the past...........those were well built, accurate rifles..............and I regret no longer having them.......
.............I would have no issue paying $2500.00 or so for rifles of their quality/standard...........Having been in the M14 game for over 20 years, I will say would never pay the $2000.00 or $3000.00 for a current Standard S.A. M1A...........It is cheaper in the long run to buy a Norc, strip it for the receiver and build a M14 to what you want.........
To put this in perspective, the M14 enthusiasts in the U.S. would kill to be able to get the $400.00 Norinco M305s we are lucky to get........
Sorry to say that these threads will not disappear.............
If you have an older S.A. M1A that was built with USGI parts, you have a great rifle............and you paid a premium price for that rifle.
Today, the current S.A. M1As use mostly cast`parts........many are outsourced from Asia..............and you are still charged a premium price.......
The current M1A offering is highly overpriced for what you get..........But there are those who will buy according to name brand only, or who will only buy North American made products (or products thought to be North American made.....
For the money spent on a Standard M1A, I can build a Super Match quality M41 type rifle for less money then the Standard M1A offering..........and I have done so with several of my M14 type rifles.......
I have also owned actual Springfield Armory, and TRW M14s in the past...........those were well built, accurate rifles..............and I regret no longer having them.......
Having been in the M14 game for over 20 years, I will say would never pay the $2000.00 or $3000.00 for a current Standard S.A. M1A...........It is cheaper in the long run to buy a Norc, strip it for the receiver and build a M14 to what you want.........
To put this in perspective, the M14 enthusiasts in the U.S. would kill to be able to get the $400.00 Norinco M305s we are lucky to get........
suuuure...
suuuure...
Believe/think what you want............I have been there, done that.......
And no matter what type of M14 rifle you own, I will always help out a fellow enthusiast..........
My take is that the older M1A's from the early 90's and earlier are worth the price of admission IF the receiver is in spec and does not suffer from bolt slap and passes the tilt test. AND if the op rod tab release was machined right and the tab hasn't been rounded to account for a poorly machined receiver. Some are GREAT. Make sure the one you select is not a dud.
The new rifles are total garbage for the price. No better than a stock norinco with sub-par parts, weird rear sights that don't take GI replacements, etc.
The best buy out there is still a 12(3) M14 and a Norinco receiver
The new rifles are total garbage for the price. No better than a stock norinco with sub-par parts, weird rear sights that don't take GI replacements, etc.
The best buy out there is still a 12(3) M14 and a Norinco receiver
suuuure...
Go look at gun broker and see how many polyptychs or norincos are selling for under $400.
Let me save you the effort - there are none. Americans pay at least double for them than we do and are happy to get them at that price.
I was terribly disappointed with my M1A so I bought a Norinco and then another Norinco. I parted out the Springfield M1A and
then purchased a few Poly Tech M14s. The M1A is decent but the deal on Norinco rifles north of my border is impossible to beat.
Did someone here said that Norcs are no good at all? IMHO Norcs are good and Springfield are good either. It is only a question of choice. The point here is that this thread did only start to know if people are happy with thier M1A... period. As usual, there are some whiners, each time the same ones, who talk about thier f..... Norc just to justify themself that Norcs are sooooo goooood... What's the problem with you guys?
ha ha ha ha
H2OMan, are you stirring up the pot! ha ha ha You are 
LOLI'm still LMAO because I dearly would love to own an M1A once again, but it ain't gonna happen. I was dreaming of shooting down in Camp Perry, Ohio for kicks and giggles after building up an M1A like Skullboy mentions. It's just not gonna happen, so I gotta be at peace with my 2009 Norc M14.
They still look nice!
Too bad I cannot afford one, well not in this lifetime. I'm gonna have to give up my Christ based religion and switch to Buddhism so that I can put more money away earlier when I am reincarnated into my next life. Maybe I can get one then! Hopefully, I should have my M14 knowledge in my soul before I die! Then I can return and build up another M1A! ha ha ha
Barney
I don't need to justify anything...........I KNOW for a fact the Norcs I built were 10X better then any late model SA M1A...............
I hate seeing people wasting hard earned money on something that is living off of it's past reputation, and is not what it seems.............Most appreciate knowing there is an alternative route that can save them money, AND let them have something better.......if they are willing to put the time and effort in........
If you really want to spend the big $$$$$$$ on a Non-Norc M14, then you should go the LRB route........
This is also why I tell people up front who want by this type of rifle and turn it into a tack driver that the M14 is the wrong platform for a Precision type rifle.......it costs a LOT of $$$$$$ and time to make ANY M14 into a precision rifle......
I don't need to justify anything...........I KNOW for a fact the Norcs I built were 10X better then any late model SA M1A...............
I hate seeing people wasting hard earned money on something that is living off of it's past reputation, and is not what it seems.............Most appreciate knowing there is an alternative route that can save them money, AND let them have something better.......if they are willing to put the time and effort in........
If you really want to spend the big $$$$$$$ on a Non-Norc M14, then you should go the LRB route........
This is also why I tell people up front who want by this type of rifle and turn it into a tack driver that the M14 is the wrong platform for a Precision type rifle.......it costs a LOT of $$$$$$ and time to make ANY M14 into a precision rifle......
To have a real precision gun just buy a bolt rifle.
To have a real precision gun just buy a bolt rifle.
That's exactly what I tell people.......
Having recently disposed of my SA Supermatch M1A, I wish to add that I was quite disappointed by the rifle. Went back three times to fix a ton issues: constant jamming and random cycling issues, erratic accuracy, barrel index off, sights that shook themselves loose, a twisted oprod and a cracked bolt roller.
To their credit, SA's warranty is top notch and they did replace the barrel and a number of components to make it work and finally offered to buy the rifle back. I guess I just got a bad one as most of the reviews I had red prior to purchasing were very favourable.
Interestingly - the SA's receiver did not fit into my SAGE stock as it seemed to be slightly off square. Or maybe the SAGE just likes my Norky
Accuracy was not a whole lot different than my Norky - a little bit tighter overall. Fit, finish and smoothness of operation was a whole lot better tho, as one would expect in a rifle costing ~3k.
Just a thought - the M14 is not a very complicated firearm to manufacture and neither is it a sniper rifle.
To their credit, SA's warranty is top notch and they did replace the barrel and a number of components to make it work and finally offered to buy the rifle back. I guess I just got a bad one as most of the reviews I had red prior to purchasing were very favourable.
Interestingly - the SA's receiver did not fit into my SAGE stock as it seemed to be slightly off square. Or maybe the SAGE just likes my Norky
Accuracy was not a whole lot different than my Norky - a little bit tighter overall. Fit, finish and smoothness of operation was a whole lot better tho, as one would expect in a rifle costing ~3k.
Just a thought - the M14 is not a very complicated firearm to manufacture and neither is it a sniper rifle.
