Is there still a problem with new production Springfield M1As?

Quoted: Is there still a problem with new production Springfield M1As?

How many real problems were there in the first place in the numbers of Springfield M1A's that have been made over the years is the better question? .............................

I'd say a very small amount compared to the actual amount of great M1A's out there.



It's just the internet that has echoed a few's problem over and over again to creating some kind a weakened image, ...............................it's nothing but smoke and mirrors really. Take it all with a grain of salt and look and judge for yourself.

I know that if you buy an M1A you'll know how good a gun it is.

There will always be people that will have a problem with any type of firearm from any manufacturer over time, doesn't mean that every single firearm before that or after will be the same and by far in Springfield's case there are way more happier customers than not.

If you had a problem, Springfield will fix, so take heart in that and just go find yourself one you like.

I've had mine a few years now, its got alot of GI parts and I have not had one malfunction with it.  Even when I inadvertently fired about 300 rnd of Indian ammo through it in one session.

Mike

I've had two M1A's, one shot way over 1000 rounds without a problem and the current MK14 has had zero problems also.

Nathan

Most of the problems I have heard or read about were with Springfield commercial Garands. I have heard very little negative about the M1As.

The biggest problem with the SA INC's M1A's is the cast extractor... A lot of guys replace them right off the bat with a GI extractor.

This is an instance where, if you spend $1100 plus on a rifle, you EXPECT it to work properly---if it does, good. Most people generally won't run around telling everyone that it did what its SUPPOSE to-----but if it DOESN'T work right, then they tell EVERYONE they can--and rightly so!

When you spend that kind of money, you expect quality---when thats absent--people report it.

I figure for every "bad" one they put out, there's 100 "good" ones, but you just don't generally hear about  the "good" ones, just the collective number of the bad ones.

I have 2, that were purchased a few months apart in 2002, when I heard the GI barrels were running out--one has a TRW barrel, the other is HR---they both run like a fine watch, and the only GI parts are the barrels.
my 2 cents

I have a new M1A that has the extractor problem referred to above.  Let me tell you that I was quite PO'ed the first day out and I was having issues.  First thing I did when I got home from the range was to order a bolt parts kit from Fulton Armory.  I have installed it but have not had a chance to get back to the range, although I am 99% sure this will cure the problem.

 I belive that only a very small percentage of rifles that come from SA will have issues right out of the box.  However until this happened I thought it was one of those things that will "never happen to me".  Well, it did.  I would have been less PO'ed if I went into the purchase knowing what I know now after reading all the info out there.  Buy the SA.  In the long run you'll be happier.  It is an American made product and will be easier to work with in the future.

Quoted: I have heard very little negative about the M1As.

Um, what?



There has been a shitload of negative reports about SA Inc quality control regarding M1A rifles, but I will agree with the opinion that there is more good than bad coming out of SA Inc.

The M1A I own had some hiccups initially, but I'm still OK with the rifle overall. The lifetime guarantee counts for something I suppose.

Quoted: Quoted: I have heard very little negative about the M1As. Um, what? There has been a shitload of negative reports about SA Inc quality control regarding M1A rifles, but I will agree with the opinion that there is more good than bad coming out of SA Inc. The M1A I own had some hiccups initially, but I'm still OK with the rifle overall. The lifetime guarantee counts for something I suppose.

That's the problem with the internet....define "shitload"....do you have a representative sample based on the number of rifles produced?  Or just a general impression based on negative posts and your own experience?

Did people change out their extractors because of a malfunction on thier rifle, or because they read about it on the internet?....and again, what is the percentage?

Not flaming you man, just using your post as an example of how the internet can result in things getting blown out of proportion.  Someone will read your post and come away thinking that M1As have had tons of problems...yet there are no statistics to back it up, or maybe there are some but nobody has presented them yet.

Does it make sense to pay $1,500 for a rifle and then start swapping out parts because someone on a internet board said USGI is better?

I do not own a M1A, but I do own a few Garands from the CMP so I come here now and then. Since I am more interested in Garands I have not picked up much on the M1As, and as a result I have heard little bad about them compared to the Garands.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I have heard very little negative about the M1As. Um, what? There has been a shitload of negative reports about SA Inc quality control regarding M1A rifles, but I will agree with the opinion that there is more good than bad coming out of SA Inc. The M1A I own had some hiccups initially, but I'm still OK with the rifle overall. The lifetime guarantee counts for something I suppose. That's the problem with the internet....define "shitload"....

I base this on the reports I read over and over on this site as well as other sites. You don't hear this negative internet chatter about Remington 700 rifles or Bushmaster AR15 rifles just as an example, both of which are far more numerous.

I base this on my personal experience with Springfield Armory customer service, which told me that the receiver heel and the stock having a gap big enough to pass a credit card through is normal and acceptable. I'm talking about the entire heel of the receiver, all the way around. This is complete and utter bullshit and anybody who knows anything about M1A rifles will tell you so.

This is off the top of my head.

Where there's smoke, there's fire.

I didn't take it as a flame btw.

Since the late 1990s I've owned FIVE M-1As.

The first two, bought in 1999 and 2000 were excellent. I still have them and shoot them frequently.

SA QC went down hill bigtime soon after 9/11 and more remarkably during 2003-2004

The next one I bought in 2002 had a worn out GI extractor that couldn't pull the shell out of the chamber. I replaced with a GI extractor I was able to buy via CMP around 2000 or 2001. The rest of the rifle is GI except for the receiver, of course and the repro "Nat match" front sight.

I then bought a Scout rifle in the winter / early spring of 2003.

It had a commercial Geneseo barrel and could not chamber a round because they installed the barrel
missing a FEED RAMP. It went back once and came back ok afterward. I have sincel sold it.

I ordered a stainless "loaded" toward the  end of 2003 and when I opened the box in early 2004 -
it had a badly tool chattered chamber, whose chatter was so severe that I was advised by a retired M-14 Armorer NOT TO SHOOT the rifle.

It went back once, and came back with a note saying the barrel was replaced. BULLSHIT
They reinstalled the SAME barrel after hand polishing some of the chatter so it wasn't quite as severe. I called them on this because I had marked the barrel before I shipped it and caught them
red handded trying to short change me on customer service. After a conversation with the lady who
tracked the RMA # I was put in touch with a guy named Dale

Dale made things right. However, the rifle had to be subbed out to Nelson's gunsmithing from SA
to have the work done and I didn't get the rifle back until after the '04 Nat Matches at Perry.
Which was ok by me since I wanted it done right. The rifle now wears a Douglas air guaged match barrel and is bedded.

SA will make things right but it's very frustrating to spend thousands of dollars and not have it working up to par from the get go

In all fairness to SA, I have no more faith in any of the other gun makers, either because they are ALL assembling and shipping CRAP nowadays and hoping people won't notice.

I've had troubles with Bushmaster, Armalite, Colt, etc. ALL factory new; all straight from the box.
They all can make good rifles and they ALL let a few out that absolutely suck pool water

That's the problem with the internet....define "shitload"....do you have a representative sample based on the number of rifles produced?  Or just a general impression based on negative posts and your own experience? Did people change out their extractors because of a malfunction on thier rifle, or because they read about it on the internet?....and again, what is the percentage? Not flaming you man, just using your post as an example of how the internet can result in things getting blown out of proportion.  Someone will read your post and come away thinking that M1As have had tons of problems...yet there are no statistics to back it up, or maybe there are some but nobody has presented them yet. Does it make sense to pay $1,500 for a rifle and then start swapping out parts because someone on a internet board said USGI is better?

That's another problem with the internet.  People discounting others opinions just because they read it on the internet.  Not everyone out there is a mindless puppet slaved to what they read on the internet.

Does it make sense to pay $1,500 for a rifle then start swapping parts?  Yes.  You should not have to but what choice are alot of us left with?  I could send my rifle back to SA and wait forever for it to come back and maybe it will be fixed the first time around?  I guess I could always buy a Fulton Armory or a complete LRB build.  If I did that however I'd have more money into it than a SA that needs a few things tweaked, plus I'd be waiting ALOT longer.

After taking my new SA to the range and having ever 3rd or 4th spent casing fail to extract I definately replaced mine because of a problem, not because I read it on the internet.  While I had the bolt apart there was another thing that I found interesting.  The springs for the ejector and the extractor were way too long.  I believe I'd seen these spring before in a Rochester Quadrajet.  There was no way my bolt was closing all the way.  The ejector spring coil-stacked before the ejector went under the surface of the face of the bolt.  A quick inspection of the brass I shot confirms this.  Also could have led to my extractor problems, but I'm just happy there was no KABOOM!

Let it be known that SA has problems.  When buying a firearm there should be a higher standard of quality we hold these manufacturers to.  We are not buying spoons you know.  A defective spoon wont kill/maim/injure somone like a firearm will.

I had to replace the cast extractors on 2 of my M1As with USGI ones.  The claw wasn't deep enough to reliably extract.

If I had an all-new cast part M1A, I'd replace the extractor and ejector, and I'd replace the hammer, and that's it.

Just an FYI - I get out the the range today with the problematic M1A.  Replacing the extractor and the rest of the bolt parts did the trick.  This just reaffirms my belief that if you buy a SA M1A you are just buying assembled parts.  It is up to you or your smith to make it a rifle.

I don't know about the quality of current SAI M1A production, but my '01 built Scout was nothing but problems.
It was built with zero GI parts.

First SAI polished the bore and replaced the extractor to correct a FTE problem.
Then they replaced the entire bolt with one of their forged bolts to correct the same FTE problem.
Next they replaced the op rod with GI and installed the GI bolt I supplied. The op rod bowed and released itself from the receiver.
Finally they replaced the trigger group with GI. The trigger pin broke.
Aside from the GI bolt I supplied all work and new parts were supplied under the Lifetime warranty

My case is rare - I never did and never will badmouth SAI. - They did make it right after 3 trips back to the factory.
Maybe they learned a few things from my problematic Scout and improved quality control on subsequent production.

I learned GI parts were a good thing to have in any M14 type rifle...

My M1A was one of those that was bad right out of the box.    Ok, I was ticked, having spent a large amount of cash on something that should have worked.   But the company would fix it, and like others have said, every company lets a lemon slip through now and again.

The reason I will not buy another SA product, however, is not because the M1A wouldn't work when I first got it, it's that it would not work after I got it back from them the first time.    Worse, it still did not work after the second trip back to their customer service group.   It took three round trips for them to fix the issue (FTF).  

My issue with them isn't that my rifle didn't work out of the box, but rather that they were too incompetant/lazy/whatever to address the issue during warranty service.     I doubt they even test fired the rifle before sending it back the first two times.

If I ever get another M14-style rifle, it will likely be either a Fulton or an LRB.    

Bought my new SA M1A Standard this past January. Had it laid-away since Nov of '05. Was very nervous and worried about it for those several months of waiting due to all of the internet chatter about SA QC. I wasted my time and energy worrying. It's been a great rifle so far. It wasn't perfect, admittedly. And it pretty much should be flawless from the factory considering the high price I paid. But the only problem I had was that the rear sight was maxed-out and it still shot a bit high. So I emailed SA right away and the lady on the phone had a taller front sight post on the way immediately. I hadn't even sent my warranty card in or anything. The new sight fixed the problem and I've had ZERO issues in 350 rounds of reloaded match ammo now. I even found-out yesterday that the barrel is a chrome-lined TRW. The rest of the parts seem to be the regular cast SA stuff. I had been prepared by what I've read here to replace the stock extractor with the USGI immediately, but I haven't had to yet. So if you've got the money to buy a Fulton or LRB, by all means go for it. But if your budget is a little short then go SA and don't sweat it. I'm happy with my SA purchase and would buy another SA product.

I'm a Springfield Armory man all the way. I own and shoot regularly five M1A's, three standards and two Scouts. I alternate which one's I want to shoot week to week. I use good G.I. magazines and good ammo. I PM my rifles regularly and I am pleased with everyone of them. These rifles range from one having all G.I. parts to one rifle having only one G.I. part. I have not been disappointed. I also own Springfield Armory 1911's...I feel the same about them.  By the way, years ago I bought a brand new Colt Python .357 magnum. I got the revolver home, and while looking it over and cleaning and oiling it under a bright light ,I noticed that the bore had been drilled out off center....the barrel was quite noticeably thicker on one side than the other....this revolver and rightly so, was known as the Rolls Royce of revolvers. This just goes to show there are lemons wherever you go, and you should'nt  a judge a whole group of weapons by a small number of lemons. Just my two cents.