History of the Springfield M1A Rifle
Posted: Sunday, February 15, 2009
by Jerry
http://www.m1arifles.com
The year 1974 marked the exceptional birth of the Springfield M1A rifle. Principally, the M1A is a high-quality reincarnation of the U.S. M14 rifle that saw the U.S halfway through the early years of the Vietnam War. The M1A however is civilian friendly and capitalizes on the popularity of the M14 type by using GI parts and specs. If you aspire to be the proud owner of a fully-automatic or selective fire riffle ,than perhaps this is not the riffle for you. The M1A is purely designed to be a semi-automatic rifle and cannot in any way be modified.
The term "M1A" was christened by Elmer C. Ballance who was coincidentally the founder of the privately owned Springfield Armory, Inc. of Devine, Texas. However, by November 1974, Mr Ballance sold the "Springfield Armory" to Bob Reese. The Reese family retains as the current owner to the "Springfield Armory" empire to this very day.
The year 1974 also marked another significant event for the M1A as it was given the greenlight for use in NRA High Power shooting matches. The ammendment could be found on the NRA High Power Rifle Rule Book "to include commercially manufactured rifles having the same configuration as the M14 rifle" .
The M1A receiver is made from investment cast AISI 8620 alloy steel. Mr. Balance once proudly stated that a total of 4620 receivers were manufactured before he sold the company. Early M1A rifles were built with surplus G.I. parts until Springfield Armory, Inc. began manufacturing their own. Springfield M1A rifles are generally similar to their military M14 counterparts. There are however a few notable differences between them.
A contrast to the military M14 receivers which were manufactured using the drop-forge process, indeed a more sophisticated and expensive method, the receivers for the M1A are manufactured by a method called the precision investment casting. One of the major differences between the two however is the necessary cuts made in the right rear corner of the receiver. Until at least the late 1990s, the M1A produced by Springfield Armory retained the cutout in the rear right of the stock for the selector switch found on the M14.
The M1A has a gas-operated, semiautomatic, rotating bolt, magazine-fed mechanism firing 7.62x51mm ammunition. Its standard model comes in a military style configuration: G.I. chrome-lined barrel, standard "peep" aperture and front sight blade, parkerized finish, and two-stage military trigger.
Springfield's M1A is proof of an engineering marvel. It is reliable, accurate, and powerful. While the market experiences an influx of newer designs that offers lighter weight, lower cost, and other improvements, the M1A continues to be one of the most useful and significant addition to any collection. It's superior shooting accuracy, legality in almost all states across the U.S , and budget friendly ammunition has allowed the M1A to be dubbed one of the most fascinating rifles available. What's more, It a reliable machine that withstands the test of time coupled with the potential for upgrades and add-ons makes it the ideal choice for match shooting.
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