McMillan sells a synthetic pistol grip M1A stock.
www.mcmfamily.com/mfsinc_n/tac.htmlI think they cost $300!!! Ouch!
I think these are the stocks being used for the USMC designated markman rifle:
I bought a Standard Springfield Armory, inc. M1A with a black synthetic stock a little over a year ago. I picked it up brand new for $1,011. I was a little disappointed with it. I've heard that Springfield Armory's quality has suffered a bit recently. The rough textured black finish on my stock easily chipped off and started looking abused rather quickly. The gas cylinder was loose on the barrel and the stock didn’t fit very snug to the receiver. It came with a lot of reproduction parts. The only thing that was USGI was the barrel (Winchester 1961). Now I don't know if having reproduction parts is as big a deal as some people make it out to be, but I doubt I'll ever see any of my parts wear out. If they do I can always replace them.
So far I've only shot surplus ammo and Remington ammo I picked up at the store. My best groups were probably greater than 3" at 100 yards. The Remington ammo performed a lot worse than the surplus. I have yet to get around to trying some Federal Gold Metal Match ammo. This shooting has all been done with iron sights from a shooting bench. I'm not too shabby with iron sights, but it's really hard to tell how truly accurate your rifle is without a scope.
I was really hoping to get a rifle that could shoot about 1 MOA, so I decided my M1A would become my new gunsmithing project. First, I bought an ARMS #18 scope mount. Taking off the stripper clip guide from the dovetail joint on the top of the receiver was a pain in the ass. Taking out the roll pin was hard enough, but then the guide wouldn't come out of the dovetail. I finally had to take a brass tap and a 16 ounce hammer and beat my precious rifle like it was a red headed step child. I thought for sure my rifle would break in half. I got it out--no damage done. Putting the mount on was easy enough. (Was this difficulty in removing the stripper clip guide more evidence of poor Springfield Armory, inc. quality?)
I put that mount on there about 5 or 6 months ago and I still haven’t put a scope on it. I've really been researching what scope I want. I've finally decided to go with a Leupold Vari-X III Long Range Tactical M3 with a mill dot reticle. I'm going to buy it next week.
Next I bought a National Match spring rod guide and a gas cylinder shim set. The shims tightened up my gas cylinder just great. I don’t know how much the spring rod guide is helping, but I got it on the recommendation of a guy at my gun club who seemed to know his M14s.
Finally, I put a camouflaged stock on it from Fred’s (
www.fredsm14stocks.com).
Now my groups have improved to better than half the size they were before. I can’t wait to get that scope and really seeing what my rifle can do.
Oh yah, I put a Harris swivel bi-pod on it too.
If you’re still reading this long shaggy dog story, you get a prize. Here is a picture of my rifle:
www.geocities.com/crquickstad/guns/Springfield_Armory_M1A.JPG