[dicky0331]

alright.... I am looking into dropping a lot of bank on one of these. and would like to know from you guy who have extensive experience with them what malfunctions they seem to have. as well as what loads function the best and print the best groups, what magazines feed the best, what you think of the modstock by vltor for this rifle. As well as what is thought of the eotech 550?

 

[vegasjeepguy]

Matt G will probably chime in here soon enough, but he is always recommending the Scout as the SOCOM tends to have issues with the gas system...but I'll let him explain.

 

[M14sRock]

The Socoms are good to go now.

But, if you go with a Scout, and change out the muzzle break or flash hider with a Smith Ent Vortex or Coast Guard Muzzle Break, the overall length will not be much more (about an inch) than a Socom. But you will gain a couple of inches of bbl length.

However, the Socom is pretty cool. Mine works flawlessly. Some of the early ones were "twitchy" and did not work for various reasons. My buddy got one of the bad ones.

BUT, the SAI forever warranty is about the best in the biz and they are very fast.

 

[matt g]

The Socoms are good to go now.

But, if you go with a Scout, and change out the muzzle break or flash hider with a Smith Ent Vortex or Coast Guard Muzzle Break, the overall length will not be much more (about an inch) than a Socom. But you will gain a couple of inches of bbl length.

However, the Socom is pretty cool. Mine works flawlessly. Some of the early ones were "twitchy" and did not work for various reasons. My buddy got one of the bad ones.

BUT, the SAI forever warranty is about the best in the biz and they are very fast.

All Scout/Squads come with the Coast Guard style break.

Look into the Smith Enterprise Crazy Horse though if you can swing the extra few bucks.

 

[M14sRock]

All Scout/Squads come with the Coast Guard style break.

Look into the Smith Enterprise Crazy Horse though if you can swing the extra few bucks.

SAI uses a proprietary muzzle device. Nothing wrong with it, but it is longer than the Smith Ent USCG break. You can however get the Smith Ent muzzle devices from LRB as an upgrade.

Crazy Horse rocks.

 

[dicky0331]

alright.... I am looking into dropping a lot of bank on one of these. and would like to know from you guy who have extensive experience with them what malfunctions they seem to have. as well as what loads function the best and print the best groups, what magazines feed the best, what you think of the modstock by vltor for this rifle. As well as what is thought of the eotech 550?

thanks for the imput guys, but this is what I am getting.... I just thought I might be able to get some more in depth info on characteristics and " attitude " of the rifle.....

 

[matt g]

They're a short, quick handing M14. Due to the shortened barrel, they suffer in the long range accuracy a little, but they still sling the 7.62x51mm and are usable out to 400 or 500 yards. The shortened gas tube and op-rod have (in the past?) caused reliability issues, as they were improperly designed. Instead, they utilize/d a chopped down standard M14 gas system.

I have no experience with the SOCOMs. I report back what I've read and been told by those that own them or have owned them. Their quality seems to be hit or miss. For every report that I hear that it is one of the nicest guns that the person owns, I get 2 reports of them being poorly functioning wastes of money.

Honestly, an extra 2 or 3 inches of muzzle length isn't much. If you're drawn to the rails, Springfield can add the rails to any fiberglass stocked M14 that you send to them. There are other companies that make less complicated rail system and/or chassis that are just as stable a platform for optics, lights, grenade launchers and TOW missiles.

I've warned 3 others against buying the SOCOMS. I've had 3 people tell me that I was right after they have to sell off a poorly functioning rifle for half of what they paid for it.

 

[dicky0331]

wheb you say reliability issues what do you mean? failure to cycle, feed extract, and or eject? the rails are not the selling point, but the shortness is. i know from personal experience that those couple of inches can go a long way in a house or building. as far as optisc go it seems maybe aim point is the way to go? i thought about an acog but in CQB, it is a little bit of a hinderence.... due to magnification. any thoughts....

 

[M14sRock]

The Gas system on the Socom is the same as on other M14's. The difference is in the gas port, the hole in the bbl that allows the gas to bleed off and cycle the action. The Socom gas port is a larger diameter than the standard M14's.

This led to some misconceptions about the Socom initially. I was not a fan of the Socom when it was introduced, but the problems with the early Socoms have been ironed out. One of the big problems seemed to stem from the cast bolts that SAI was using. They have now gone back to forged bolts.

 

[dicky0331]

so what type and or brand of ammo cycles through theas things best? and which "high" capacity mags fees the best?

 

[M14sRock]

The current USGI mags are made by Check mate Indistries (CMI). Don't get suckered into any of the "W" marked mags out there now. Most have been faked and are NOT original Westinghouse mags. You can get CMI's from 44mag.com for a great price, and from great people. They have all the good AR mags, too. Magpul, CProducts, etc.

For ammo, stick with NATO spec ball and commercial ammo less than 180gr. 150's are best. But use NATO spec if possible. Avoid any Indian ammo dated after the mid 70's. Light stuff, like 110Tap, may not cycle the action until well broken in.

 

[dicky0331]

thanks man for the help. much obliged. as for the vltor modstock, any thoughts on that?

 

[matt g]

thanks man for the help. much obliged. as for the vltor modstock, any thoughts on that?

I love the versatility that they give the rifle.

 

[dicky0331]

how is the fit of the stock to the reciver on these? does it seem to affect the accuracy or the rifle? should i get it bedded in the new stock? how are the sling attachments? what type of slings go well with this stock? i'm sorry to ask so many ?'s on this darn thing, i just dont want to waste my money!

 

[LastManStanding]

I have recently purchased an M1A Socom II. Unfortunately, because of California legislation being as ridiculous as it is, I will not have it in my possession until the morning of Christmas Eve. Damn 10 day cooling off period which I often like to refer to as period of PURE AWESOMENESS. As soon as I pick it up that morning, I plan to go straight to a federal shooting range nearby and test it out. I'll let you know how it handles.

Anyone have any suggestions on sighting/optical accessories that I might want to put on my M1A? I considered an EOTECH sight, but I have a fellow gun enthusiast that suggests I get a laser sight. What do you think? Any and all suggestions/tips are welcomed.

 

[M14sRock]

I have recently purchased an M1A Socom II. Unfortunately, because of California legislation being as ridiculous as it is, I will not have it in my possession until the morning of Christmas Eve. Damn 10 day cooling off period which I often like to refer to as period of PURE AWESOMENESS. As soon as I pick it up that morning, I plan to go straight to a federal shooting range nearby and test it out. I'll let you know how it handles.

Anyone have any suggestions on sighting/optical accessories that I might want to put on my M1A? I considered an EOTECH sight, but I have a fellow gun enthusiast that suggests I get a laser sight. What do you think? Any and all suggestions/tips are welcomed.

Go with an Aimpoint Comp M or ML 3. Battery life measured in years, not hours. Analog switch is 100% reliable, unlike the digital switch of the Eo. And the Aimpoint does not turn itself off, like the Eo does.

I mount my Aimpoints in quick release rings. The Leupold QRW med ht is cheap, and good. And it mounts the Ap as low as possible.

 

[LastManStanding]

Go with an Aimpoint Comp M or ML 3. Battery life measured in years, not hours. Analog switch is 100% reliable, unlike the digital switch of the Eo. And the Aimpoint does not turn itself off, like the Eo does.

I mount my Aimpoints in quick release rings. The Leupold QRW med ht is cheap, and good. And it mounts the Ap as low as possible.

So I was researching the two products and this is what I have discovered:

Battery Life: Aimpoint wins with a whopping 50,000 hour of battery life compared to the 1,000 hours of the EOTECH.

Submersion: Aimpoint can go 135ft underwater, 100ft deeper than a comparable EOTECH device.

Ease of Use: Both are fairly simple to use, but Aimpoint has an out-of-box, simplistic design.

Reticle: EOTECH wins with a 1 MOA red dot and 65 MOA encompassing circle, while the Aimpoint is a 2 MOA.

NV: Comparable EOTECH device is night vision compatible while the Aimpoint is not.

Pricing: The EOTECH (552.A65/1 model) is slightly more expensive than the Aimpoint ML3.

M14sRock, I know you suggested the Aimpoint, but I was wondering if you have any experience with the EOTECH. Since the battery life doesn't bother me and I don't plan to submerge myself anywhere near that deep in water, so I'm leaning a little towards EOTECH. I'm really hoping that I can find someone that owns both so that I may see their use side by side.

 

[M14sRock]

So I was researching the two products and this is what I have discovered:

Battery Life: Aimpoint wins with a whopping 50,000 hour of battery life compared to the 1,000 hours of the EOTECH.

Submersion: Aimpoint can go 135ft underwater, 100ft deeper than a comparable EOTECH device.

Ease of Use: Both are fairly simple to use, but Aimpoint has an out-of-box, simplistic design.

Reticle: EOTECH wins with a 1 MOA red dot and 65 MOA encompassing circle, while the Aimpoint is a 2 MOA.

NV: Comparable EOTECH device is night vision compatible while the Aimpoint is not.

Pricing: The EOTECH (552.A65/1 model) is slightly more expensive than the Aimpoint ML3.

M14sRock, I know you suggested the Aimpoint, but I was wondering if you have any experience with the EOTECH. Since the battery life doesn't bother me and I don't plan to submerge myself anywhere near that deep in water, so I'm leaning a little towards EOTECH. I'm really hoping that I can find someone that owns both so that I may see their use side by side.

Sorry for the late response. Not a ton of experience with the Eo's. Plenty of my friends have used them, and all but one have switched to Ap's. And the M3 is NV compatible. Also battery life is more like 65,000 hours. They all found them to be fragile.

My issues with the Eo are the fragility of the unit, the digital switch, and the "auto shut off" (I really hate that feature). I like the reticle, and how low it sits. But an Ap can be mounted low, too. The 1MOA vs 2MOA isn't as big a deal to me. I have excellent vision, and hitting small (rabbits) targets at 300 yds is no problem with the 2MOA Ap. My buddy wears contacts and has used his Ap in 3 gun matches. He want more magnification for his 400yd plates, and he runs his M4 like a madman.

The Ap is almost indestructible, and it serves my needs perfectly. I have CompM/ML3's mounted on most of my rifles and carbines, including my 17" Mauser K98 brush gun. They are worth every penny.

 

[mrm14]

Springfield M-14/M1A Magazines and ammo

I've had good luck with CMI magazines and I use mostly around 150 grain ammo, however, just tried Federal "Gold Medal Match" 175 grain Sierra "Matchking" BTHP and saw a bit tighter grouping at 500 yards than with other ammo I've used in the past. If I'm just plinking, at 100 to 200 yards, with scope off, and iron sights I mostly use inexpensive spec ball ammo around 150 grain. If you reload or get into reloding be careful about your trim height on your resized brass. The tolerances for this must be near dead on for this gun. I had heard that this action is prone to "slam fire". Mostly caused by not being carefull when reloading reguarding the trim height after resizing case. I never paid close heed to this because I have bought factory loads for my M-14's/ M1A. A few years ago a gentleman at the range I go to was shooting his M1A with his reloads and the weapon "slam fired". The gun was destroyed and the guy was very lucky with only minor shrapnel injury to his face and arm. The gun still is hanging in the rangemasters hut with a note as a reminder to BE CAREFUL WHEN RELOADING AMMUNITION.