Im not very knowledgable on the M1A at all so im posing this question to the all knowing members of the board.

Pre-ban Springfield Armory M1A, left the factory as a complete rifle in the early 90's.

The following mods were made to the rifle.

- Saco medium weight barrel with a 1 in 12 twist.

- Mercury Machine and Tool Op-rod.

- TRW bolt

- Winchester trigger housing with a Springfield Armory hammer.

- National Match sights.

- Aftermarket cammoflaged fiberglass stock

From what I can tell by the pics the rifle looks very clean and all the metal looks great. Then again, I don't know what im looking at or what to look at.

What is a rifle like this go for on the current market??

Would this be considered a squared away shooter or a humpty dumpty parts gun??

like I said the rifle looks pretty solid in the photos. I will prob have a chance to see it in person later this week. Anything in particular I should be looking for??

One last thing. I am a southpaw shooter, so will I get ejected brass bouncing off my noggin with the M1A??


Thanks in advance, 03 out!!  

I paid $1400 for mine 3 years ago. NIB basic model.
GG

UP!! $1400.00 seems respectable but this rifle is not NIB, it's had at least 3 to 4 hundred rounds down the tube.

M1A gurus, your sound advices are needed.

03 out!!  

The 1/12 barrel indicates it's a basic model.  Their loaded and match guns use 1/11 and 1/10 barrels respectively.

Being a preban, I'd go $1,500.

Moe

Pre-Ban or Post ban really shouldn't matter at all on an M1A.  Are you going to ever mount a Bayonet on it?  I doubt it. Are you ever going to even consider a collapsible stock?  Doubt it too.  For the price of the used non-match gun that was made 12 years ago and screwed around with by who knows who you could get a brand spanking new Loaded M1A with or without a stainless National Match Barrel for the same price or a couple hundred less and Have a LIFETIME warranty

I've often said that the best value in preban M1A's is USGI parts. The rest is mostly marketing hype as this is not an AR.

I got mine "back in the days" for around $700. I chose to leave it alone, other than a spare fiberglass stock, bayo, bi-pod...and lots of magazines. It poked one hole, out of the box, with open sights and GI '69 ammo, dead center, 100 yards. It may be worth double that now, but it will remain NFS. What concerns me is who "altered" yours. Besides a test fire session, if possible, and any documentation on who performed the work on it, that would be important to me. Why would one spend that kinda money just to sell it? Unless its cheap enough, I agree with Kuryakyn, opt for a new one. Seems the safer bet to me.

Gent's thanks for all the input so far.

The guy wants $1200.00 for the rifle and he informed me that a no-name Smith in PA "who does good work" is who wrenched on the gun. Like I mentioned earlier the gun looks clean as a whistle and the Gentleman has suggested from the beginning that im more than welcome to test fire the weapon.

Im skepticle even with the testfire because I have no prior experience firing a "known" squared away M1A for comparison.

Maybe purchasing a new gun is the way to go.

I would be happy to send you guys the photos so you can take a look and tell me what you think.

Semper-Fi, 03 out!!  

The bayonet might come in handy someday in a pre-ban.  The real advantage to a pre-ban M1A is that one can put an E2 stock on it, something you can't do to the post-ban.  The E2 stock and muzzle break attachment (which needs the bayonet lug) are very useful.  I've also seen folding/collapsible stock rigs they seem to have some utility, especially if you put a shorter barrel on the rifle to make a bush rifle.

Your best bet is to get a new M1A and send it off to Fulton Armory for a refit with GI parts.  Or just get a FAL.