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Posted: 11/8/2004 11:51:15 AM EDT
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I have never owned a M1A1, as I have been an AR-10 fan up till now. But the NRA mag article about the SOCOM some months ago caught my eye. So I have been keeping my eye out at the gun shows for one. I found lots of good deals on them, but of course had no money and had other desires. A few weeks ago, a good friend brought out to the range a pre-ban Springfield that had an 18" barrel, pistol grip and folding stock. I was very impressed and knew then that I had to have one. Time to buy! Of course, when you have the money, you either cannot find one or the deals you were offered are no longer to be had. So I ended up paying $1500 OTD for one at the local show this weekend. This is about $100 more than two other deals I had previously been looking at. Of course! I took it out to the range and wanted to give you my initial impressions before I modify it. I was shooting Australian surplus which is always one of my favorites. As people commented, it always seems to make a big show at the range. People cam running to see what all the ruckus was about. My wife commented how the blast effect was very noticable to the side. The shooter does not seem to experience any of this. This is a useful feature to get some breathing room at the range! My impressions were excellent. The recoil was much less than I expected, on the order of my AR-10. I expected that I would have a sore shoulder - not! The sights were excellent and there was very little muzzle rise. It made it much easier to reacquire the target faster - at least compared to my AR-10. The SOCOM is much lighter than my AR-10 - but my AR-10 has a match bull barrel so the comparison is not fair at all. The rifle was easy to shoot, nicely balanced, which I attribute to the short barrel. The only complaint I had is that it would be easier (for me) if it had a pistol grip (like my friends). At first I was disappointed that it had appeared to come with only a 5 round mag. My mistake. I was pleasantly surprised that it was a 10 rounder. My fist modification will be to change the stock to a wood one with pistol grip and folding stock. It arrived today and I will slap it on once I get it finished to my liking. http://www.reesesurplus.com/images/DSC00139.JPG I was also looking at the Troy system and the Sage system. But they were soooooo much money compared to the one I choose. I have not decided if I really want to put on a C-More red dot or not. I have o try it a few more times with just the iron sights before I make up my mind. I was not able to report on accuracy, as I had to leave the range before I could put up any paper targets. But it sure did well on some plastic jugs! So although it was VERY PRICEY, I am most happy with it and would not want to give it up! |
I should have posted where I got that stock. It is available @ Reese Surplus Colleen is so nice to deal with. I put on several coats of polyurathane last night and assembled it today. I cannot wait to take her out for a try this weekend! http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c4/flamedred//nv09_001.jpg http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c4/flamedred//nv09_002.jpg |
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