I have been thinking about getting an M1A as of late and I had some questions. Thinking about one of these two models-




Questions-

1. What is a realistic accuracy expectation? I have no illusions of sub-MOA accuracy, but knowing the M1A's accuracy in general will help me decide how I configure the rifle.
2. How ammo fussy are they? I plan to run quality ammo most of the time but am wondering if they will shoot the scuzzy cheaper stuff (Wolf, Tula, Perfecta)? I feed my G3's Tula
3. Are these rifles relatively easy to maintain? I am an AR guy and also have G3s. I have owned a Mini 14, similar at all?
4. I am planning on running Checkmate and maybe Springfield mags, are any other mags worth looking at/buying?

I owned a Springfield M1A standard for a while, and had maybe 500 rounds through it. Honestly I enjoyed the maintenance, I had the ratcheting chamber brush and a 30 Cal boresnake. I would let solvent do most of the work while I cleaned the rest of the gun and then pull the boresnake a few times. Cleaning the Piston was easy enough, but I didn't like having to break out a wrench to do it.

Accuracy was phenomenal. With 168 GMM I felt like I was holding a scalpel, and that I could pick the exact part of the target I wanted to hit. My best 5 shot group with that ammo was about 2" at 200 yards, and it was all in the X-ring. I shot very little steel ammo from it, and mostly used whatever surplus ball I could find. Granted, I cleaned that rifle fanatically, I never experienced a bobble or malfunction. I also only used checkmate mags on mine, and the factory 10 round mag.

I regret trading off that rifle.

1. Should be as accurate as you can shoot it. However, you'd lose to the ar platform every time. You'd spend more to accuratize it too.


2. I don't recommend using cheap things in your M1A. M1As are very violent in their extraction and as such it is unwise to use steel case as it is possible to get one stuck in the chamber requiring hammering out.


3. Yes, it is relatively easy to maintain. Being a piston, the dirtiest part of it is the gas tube. All very easy to access. I do not believe springfield recommends cleaning the gas tube until you encounter problems. Overall the easiest rifle to break down. You'll definitely want to learn how to apply grease as the components are external to the weapon so using oil may make it splash off sooner. Grease will stay put.


4. The very best mags you can buy are original USGI mags (from the 60s, 70s) but they are hard to find and easily faked. There are ways to determine if they are fake rather easily but overall unless it is a legit source, I wouldn't risk it. The best mags right now are Checkmate. I have a Springfield mag and it works well but checkmate is all I buy. The best site to buy it from is 44mag.com. I'm not sure if there are other sources but I buy from there or midwayusa