Originally Posted By kel:Found in my spring cleaning a piece I'm not sure what it is:
https://i.imgur.com/m2wvjz7.jpegThe top (short) one is labeled "SOCOM 16" and I think is one Smith Enterprises made for me many years ago. Have a hazy memory when people were sending me prototype adapters for a military project: this might be the fruit of some of that.
Question is on the bottom one. It has the same front sight base, same 5/8-24 suppressor adapter thread, etc. but it's longer.
Is this for a SOCOM-16 as well, or some other variant?
I don't have any M1A rifles anymore, so I don't need either of them, but I'd like to know the whys &whats about the different piece.
Thanks!
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Yes, both parts were made for the M1A SOCOM 16. I am not 100% sure, but I think the two combination gas cylinder lock front sight bases in the OP are prototypes made in 2010 by Smith Enterprise, Inc. Here is some history regarding non-OEM M1A SOCOM combination gas cylinder lock front sights:
April 2007 - Smith Enterprise, Inc. M1A SOCO barrel muzzle attachment kit was assembled into two parts, a combination gas cylinder lock front sight with a dovetail base with 9/16" x 24 TPI male threads and a removable flash hider with female threads made from AISI 8620 steel (part number 2001V).
June 2010 - Smith Enterprise, Inc. M1A SOCOM combination gas cylinder lock front sight was redesigned with 5/8 " x 24 TPI x 0.635 " male threads made from AISI 1144 steel.
March 2011 - Delta P Design, Inc. introduced a M1A SOCOM muzzle adapter. The M1A SOCOM muzzle adapter was manufactured from hardened stainless steel and given a black oxide finish. It consisted of three parts, a cylindrical adapter threaded to the barrel with 5/8 " x 24 male threads at the front end, a gas cylinder lock front sight which threaded on to the cylindrical adapter, and a setscrew for positive retention between the two major parts. The M1A SOCOM muzzle adapter allowed use of the Springfield Armory, Inc. M1A SOCOM or USGI gas cylinder plug. The gas cylinder lock front sight base height was sized for the factory Springfield Armory, Inc. M1A SOCOM front sight.
March 2013 - In response to passage of the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act, Smith Enterprise, Inc. designed and manufactured a M1A SOCOM combination gas cylinder lock front sight without muzzle threads (Part Number 2001-GL-NYC). The front sight deck height of this part was lowered 0.045 " as compared to the factory part so rear sight settings could remain unchanged.
2013 - Gemini Technologies (Eagle, ID) offered a M1A SOCOM compatible combination gas cylinder lock front sight attachment. It had industry standard 5/8 " x 24 external threads for mounting muzzle attachments. This part allowed use of USGI design gas cylinder plugs.
2014 - Great Lakes Tactical (Willoughby, OH) manufactured a M1A SOCOM gas cylinder plug (part number GLT-0024) and a M1A SOCOM combination gas cylinder lock front sight base with 5/8 " x 24 external threads (part number GLT0015). Both parts were CNC machined from stainless steel and heat treated.