Hunting with a M1A....anyone?

Does anyone here hunt with a M1a? How about a socom ? Just wondering If you like it and your setup?

Have a friend that hunts with his M14! That rifle has taken more deer than your average 30-30.

I did it once in the U P and would not recommend it. If you are stationary in a blind it might be good , but if you are moving a lot it's too heavy and cumbersome.

I have taken my Garand out the last couple of years at least a day or two. I have iron sights on the Garand and I had a shot right at dusk. There was simply not enough light for me to be comfortable using the iron sights. Luckily I was stationary and also had another scoped rifle with me, so I took the shot with that. I think either the Garand or M1A would be great for some hunting applications, but I'm not taking mine out again until it has some kind of optics on it.

First year I used it my scout was in a TROY stock
with an ACOG 4x


Next year my scout was in a Sage MOD1 stock, which it still is.
This time with an Aimpoint and a 3x magnifier.


The only ammo I use for hunting is
Winchester 168gr Ballistic Silvertip.

I have used both M1A and M1 Garand to hunt deer in Wisconsin.
Neither was too heavy, or bulky and worked successfully.

These rifles were designed for hunting the most dangerous animal on earth and work just as well in the game fields.

I have used my Garand, M1a, and FNFALs and have taken deer with all of them. I don't really have a preference, but my FNs have gone to the field far more often than my M1A or Garand. I shoot them far more often than the Garand so I guess that I am more confident with it on the stand.

I always take 2 full 20 rd mags or 5 loaded clips to the field.

I used to hunt with my M1A when I lived in WV. The deer can't tell the difference between a 30 caliber bullet from a Rem. 742 or a 30 caliber bullet from an M1A/M1 Garand.

If I still lived there I'd be deer hunting with my M1 Garand.

Heavy? Carry it till you're used to it. When I worked in law enforcement my gun belt and what I carried on it weight 13.5 lbs. I had no idea it was that heavy till my partner weighed it one night.

I carried 1 mag. in the rifle with 5 rounds in it and had a couple of 20 round magazines in my pockets.

I've never hunted deer with an M1A/M14 but I have used my Garand multiple times. I believe my M-1 has taken 4 deer over the last few years. I've always used handloads with Remington 150 gr. softpoints with GREAT results. If you can shoot worth a damn and have decent eyes, hitting a deer under a feeder 100 yards away is really not much of a challenge.

I typically take my Garand and my WWI Colt 1911 deer hunting, and use the 1911 if the situation permits. I don't have any pics of deer shot with the Garand available online, but I do have this:

Well done! I carry a COLT GM for the same reason. I just haven't had an opportunity to use it yet.

I've hunted hog with my Sage stocked Scout M1A

Yup, I took the SOCOM16 out a few times, just ran a really cheap pistol scope on the forward rails...


The poor thing needs a better optic, and really a better mount. But it worked,

Absolutely! Matter of fact, this is my prefered deer rifle. Yes, it's a heavy SOB to carry around but when it comes to the shooting, it puts rounds right where I want them. I haven't had a chance to go deer hunting since 2004 so this was my first buck after several years of living in the South rather than up here in ND where ranges get a bit longer...and the M-14 shines! This buck was taken at 423 meters using a 168 grain BTHP maatch round. I would have went for a head shot rather than a heart/lung shot but fighting a pretty stiff cross wind left me to err on the side of caution and go for the easier shot.




Now some people claim that BTHP ammo shouldn't be used for hunting because it's not designed to expand like hunting type bullets. Personally, I believe that a non-hunting style bullet in the right place is still superior to a "super-duper-mushroom-shooter" bullet put in the wrong spot and besides, while it may not be designed to expand, it still does a number on the deer anyways. This is the exit wound and I woud guess that the hole was about 1"-1.5" in diameter so designed to expand or not, it's still a pretty good sized hole!

Man, you got that right. For light, thin skinned game those Match hollow points are freakin murder. All of my FNFAL kills have been with either 168s or 175s. MURDER I tells ya.

Yet another murder round is the Remington 170 gr jacketed round nose bullet intended for 30-30 WIN loaded in 30-06 using 180 gr data. I discovered this combo by accident. I bought a bucket full of these bullets that were pulled from loaded ammo at the Remington plant and sold as scrap. I bought them for a song and loaded some in 308 cases. They would not feed through my FNs so I loaded some in 30-06 and tried them in my Garand. They fed fine and to my surprise produced excellent groups. (Less than 2 inches @ 100 yrds.)
I took a full size doe @ 75 yrds with a head on shot. I placed the bullet centered right at the bottom of her neck. The bullet fragmented like a hand grenade and shrapnel came out of both shoulders. She dropped DRT and her heart and lungs were absolutely shredded.

Very nice buck and a good sized exit wound. I like exit holes about the size of a fifty cent piece so I don't loose to much meat but still get good damage to the organs.

I took a SAI "Loaded" a couple of years for deer hunting. Once as the primary and the other secondary. One year was so hot the deer were not moving, the other I shot one with the the primary rifle, but slipped and fell to only injure myself before I could use the M1a to fill the second tag.
Wish me luck. This year the 16.5lbs M21 is the primary. And people complain about an 8lbs rifle, lol.

I've taken my M14 hunting, same with my FAL. Nothing serious, mainly filling end-season doe tags. They work okay. But as I said, mainly fun guns.

Out here on the plains, for anything serious I'm packing my 7MM Mag loaded with 120 grain TSX's. Shoots laser-like VS rainbow like

I hunt deer, hogs, and varmint of the two-legged variety(LE duty rifle) with my scout. VLTOR stock and factory iron sights so far, but I am expecting an XS sight set in the mail this week. The shorter barrelled M1a's really shine in brush country and I have yet to see a 168gr Win BTHP not do the trick.

No deer to be seen opening day, but the M21 dispatched a coyote in short order. FYI if your going to use a 168gr ballistic tip on a yote, aim for the head.. Heart lung shot while good on the entrance side, the exit is impressive. There was pieces of that yote hanging in the trees.

Nothing wrong with that unless you're going for pelts

I may have to try the old girl out on a deer.... What round you guys using?

Winchester Ballistic Silvertip 168gr.

I used to use these bullets but one of my requirements is to have the bullet exit the deer under 99% of the circumstances I hunt in, in order for the animal to have 2 holes in which to bleed out of in case it runs off. I have had these bullets fragment so much that they remain in the deer when shot through the front shoulders at ranges of 100 yards in my M1a. Also, these bullets tend to fragment violently so much more meat in ruined then with other bullets. These bullets are not the most accurate in my rifle as other bullets.

I have found that my garands and M1a loves hornady interbond bullets and they work very well on deer. I handload my ammo and have shot 1.25 inch 5-shot groups with my M1a @ 100 yards. Most of my groups are around 2 inches but I have 1000's of rds through my rifle and may need a new barrel soon.

I have taken many deer with my M1a and a few with the garands. Both my M1a and garand wear a scope. I have 6 garands and only one M1a. The M1a is a heavy rifle with the scope and a mag. I carried it for about 6-7 seasons and killed maybe 20 or so deer with it. My garand has taken maybe 10 or so deer. I now use a 6.8 spc AR rifle and it is much nicer to carry due to it being maybe 5-6 pounds lighter then the M1a. We mainly drive deer on public land so the garand and M1a gets heavy after carrying it most of the day for a week straight. The 6.8 is just as accurate as the M1a and preforms as well on deer as my M1a. The M1a is slightly easier to shoot due to its weight. It is easier for me to pull shots with the lighter rifles and the M1a seems to stay on target better.

It's a fine rifle and if the weight is the only thing keeping you from taking it in the woods, I think that a new upper body workout is needed before hunting season.

I tried last week with mine but I didn't see a single deer. Maybe I'll have some luck next week.

Barnes 168gr TSX. Works awesome for everything. I even take down UFO's with it. I have the full sized M1A and I love it.

I have never not had the winchester rounds pass all the way through, little hole in, big hole out.
As for fragmentation, have never had that problem either.
When I had a scope on my M1A these rounds held 1.25" groups for me.
Here's a pic of this year, and my 12 year olds first deer, the hole on this side is the exit wound.
To each his own

I've taken several animals with my Scout. It's a great walking brush gun because of the iron sights. No optics, just irons. I've only shot animals (using my scout) with 155grn Tap. Works VERY well.

I am using my SA m1a to hunt and have it in a 3 point sling with scope bipod and a full mag and it is fine in the south Texas brush

Your experiences are different then mine. I shot a doe at about 100-125 yards from the top of a hill side years ago. I was shooting down at an angle at the deer and struck the deer through the spine, and entered the chest cavity. This bullet was recovered in the deer against the hide where it was to exit. These were handloaded with a stout charge of varget. IIRC, these loads were too hot for the M1a but under max for 308 loads.

I had other bullets recovered from deer but I can't remember the details as I switched 5-6 years ago to the hornday interbond. None of the shots I am talking about are shots were the bullet was expected to be recovered (like a strait on shot) but shots that I was surprised to see that the bullet did not fully exit.

The 168 BST's ruin way more meat compared to the interbonds and other traditional bullets in my experience. One of my hunting group found a few 30-06 reloads that had the 168's and used them last year. He shot a small buck through both front shoulders and I remember being surprised at the amount of bloodshot meat. IIRC, we ended up throwing out the majority of the meat from both front shoulders. We shot other deer through the front shoulders that year and although meat was ruined, it wasn't as much as the 168 BST.

I'm not saying that they are bad bullets. They work well. They do not satisfy my requirements for a hunting bullet based on my experiences with them. My requirements are that the bullet exit the deer (unless it is shot in an area that would preclude a bullet from exiting, like a frontal shot), ruin as little meat as possible, be accurate enough to make 300 yard (or more) shots, and put the deer down as fast as possible. As far as the30 caliber goes, the bullet that has most fit my needs has been the hornady interbond, that I have used.

I now use my 6.8 and based on two seasons of hunting and 8 deer taken with two bullets (110 gr nosler AB and Barnes 85 gr TSX), The 110 gr AB worked very well. The barnes worked but not as well as the ABs did. The AB's put the deer down where the barnes may put them down but they were waiting for me to finish them when I went over to retrieve the game. When I used the AB's, I did not have this issue.

The BST's would be an outstanding SD bullet or a bullet used for game where ruining meat is not a concern.

Well boys, I've yet to see any deer when I've had ballistic silver tips, but I can say with certainty they do a number on yotes. Quartering shot through and through. Very small hole in and blowing up the 1/4 in the other side. Not only was there flesh and intestine in the trees, but also a huge chunk of ribcage fell out the exit hole with the rest of it's internals. It's wicked on a 45-50lbs coyote. I wouldn't imagine a deer walking away from such a bullet either.

I hunt with my SOCOM 16 with a leupold IER 2 power scope that sits QD on the top fore rail. I don't feel one bit under gunned or under ranged! I hunt in the desert mountain region of west Tx and making a several hundred yard shot is the norm.

The 168gr Ballistic Silver Tip penitrated right behind the front right shoulder in the heart area. The hole was approx at the end of that vine in the first picture between the two blood splatters on the fur. The bullet crossed through the body cavity and out in front of the left rear leg spilling out the intestine and a big chunk of ribs.

That kind of damage is what I was talking about. Although the deer didn't have it's insides blown out onto a tree, the insides were mush and much more meat was ruined then what the bonded bullets do in my experience. They work well and will put the deer down. It's just the amount of damage they do along with at times did not exit which were my main complaints.

Been awhile since I've been on here and I came across this thread. So I thought I would add that I went on my first hunt a little over a month ago with my socom 16. Took my first deer ever with this gun. I was usning the Hornady 308 Win 150 gr SST. I was in a tree stand about 40 yards away from the deer, using iron sights. Lined up the shot and dropped the deer where it stood. Best feeling in the world with my fav rifle.

Copyright © 1996 - 2013 :: AR15.Com LLC :: All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.