M1A Scout (top), chopped at both ends to have about the same handiness as an M-1 Carbine (bottom), while retaining a longer barrel than an M1A SOCOM (for more velocity and more reliable cycling with the original gas system). Now that’s a near-perfect SHTF rifle, right there. Of course the M1A fires the powerful .308 Win cartridge, vs. the relatively anemic .30 Carbine.
Yep, I gotta get me one of those M1As. California-legal, too!
I just bought an M1A in a National Match Grade configuration and I love it. It feels solid. I love the feel of the wood. Alas, mine is NOT California-legal owing to the 10 round clip, I presume (that alone is almost worth the price of admission); the case came with a large red sticker proclaiming “Not Legal in California”.
I am still looking for a good source of quality mil-spec ammunition. The available surplus seems to be Indian in origin and tends to eave a very dirty barrel.
Odd. 10-rounders are perfectly legal in Kali. I’d guess your NM might have a flash hider. Flash hiders on semi-autos are verboten. Muzzle brakes, on the other hand, are quite legal.
Yatalli,
I agree with David. It is because you have a flash hider installed on the end, which also has a bayonet lug. These are deadly attachments in CA, resulting in the loss of million of lives hourly in just the bay area alone. . . But seriously, you can change it and it will be fine for CA. Just do not use a thumb hole stock, for they are the reason that 9/11 happened.
As for Milspec, It depends on which Indian ammo it is. If it from before 1980 it will be better than after (reason is that the Brits were still helping in their manufacturing.) Some of the Australian is not too bad, but your best bet is to go to gun shows to get some LC or other nationality’s. That is where I got the pre 1980 and some LC match (not too bad of a deal either).
Yes, yes you do. These guns are more than fun.
That said, bear in mind the barrel length difference between a SOCOM and the Scout is all of 1.75 inches, if I remember my nubmers properly. Also, I recall seeing some chronometer numbers (that, of course, I cannot dig up at the moment) indicating that the SOCOM only experienced about a 50-100 FPS drop from the Scout model. That said, the shorter barrel does tend to make its arguments a bit more… loudly. Surprised people at the range.
Personally, I find the 10-round clip annoying… 20 would be so much nicer, but that is just me. As for ammo, I have been having decent success with Prvi Partizan surplus rounds. The stuff leads red particulate crap all over the inside of the chamber (and just everywhere else, really), and the spent casings have marred up the operating rod for some reason (is this normal?), but I have no other sizeable complaints. Well, besides having to spend way too much for them, that is.
Christopher, while the flash suppressor is illegal in Kalifornistan, a bayonet lug is not. Kalifornistan Penal Code 12276.1 specificaly mentions any rifle that can accept detachabale magazines and has a pistol grip, a thumbhole stock, a folding or telescopic stock, a grenade or flare launcher, a flash suppressor, and/or a pistol grip. That said, kits exist to remove the flash suppressors and replace them with pointless (at least on the longer models) muzzle brakes, if you are so inclined. Also, here in Kalifornistan, the long-model M1As are sold with the muzzle brakes pre-installed, of course. On the SOCOM variants, however, the brake is an integral part in how the gas chamber cycles, and is supposed to alleviate, if not completely remove, the problems associated with the shorter barrel. In short, do not replace it with a flash suppressor if you live in the free US. Also, the muzzle brake (on the SOCOM) makes recoil and kick effectively irrelevant – the former is just enough to let you know you shot something (the expanding gasses hitting the chamber in the brake offset the rearward impulse slightly), but the latter is barely evident (the brake exhausts up).
Ahah!
SOCOM: http://springfield-armory.primediaoutdoors.com/SPstory24.php
Full Length: http://springfield-armory.primediaoutdoors.com/SPstory17.php
Now, they do not use the same ammunition in both, so comparisons are difficult. That said, the average 168-gr round fps out of the full length was about 2639. An 168-gr round out of the SOCOM yielded 2482 fps, so a 150 fps drop. Still bleeding fast (though also slightly less accurate).
Ok, enough from me.
Erp. That second “pistol grip” should have read “forward pistol grip”.
What glass do you have on them and what mounts did you use? Inquiring minds, with aging eyes, want to know….
I wish these were mine. They’re not.
That being said, I pulled this pic from an old thread I have stored on the computer at home. I’m at the office now, but I’ll try to remember to check it out this evening. The owner might have mentioned what optics he used.
I do remember that’s a Karsten cheekpiece on the M1A.
Offhand, I am reasonably certain both of those are Aimpoint sights.
The flash suppressor is the “problem”? Fancy that! Thanks. As I am not likely to move to The Workers Paradise of Kaliforina, I’ll leave it attached and live with the burden of knowing that somewhere, somehow someone might be injured as a result of this piece of steel.
I just bought a few boxes of Serbian manufacture. If it pans out I’ll sell some more blood and hawk a couple of my mothers rings come November 19th.