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Springfield Armory M1A

Type Sporting and Target Rifle
Place of origin Flag of the United States United States
Production history
Manufacturer Springfield Armory, Inc. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Variants Standard, Loaded, National Match, Super Match, M21, M25
Specifications
Weight 9. 2 - 11. 2 pounds (Empty magazine)
Length 44. 33 inches (1126 mm)
Barrel length 22 inches (558. For the fictional characters see Gunbarrel (Transformers. A gun barrel is the tube usually Metal, through which a controlled Explosion 8 mm)

Cartridge 7.62x51mm NATO
Action Gas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire Semi-automatic
Feed system 5-round, 10-round or 20-round double column, detachable box magazine
Sights National Match front blade, Match-Grade Hooded Aperture with One-Half Minute adj. A cartridge (also known as a "round" packages the Bullet, Gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the The 762x51mm NATO is a Rifle cartridge developed in the 1950s as a standard firearm cartridge among NATO countries In Firearms terminology an action is the system of operation used to load rounds and/or seal the Breech. Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate Autoloading firearms Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific Weapon can fire or launch its projectiles A semi-automatic, or self-loading Firearm is a gun that requires only a trigger pull for each round that is fired unlike a single-action A magazine is an Ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating Firearm. for Windage and Elevation.

The M1A is a civilian version of the United States military M14 rifle designed by Springfield Armory, Inc. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United States Armed Forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States in 1974. It is designed for semi-automatic fire only and cannot be modified to fully-automatic or selective fire. A semi-automatic, or self-loading Firearm is a gun that requires only a trigger pull for each round that is fired unlike a single-action An automatic firearm is a Firearm that automatically extracts and ejects the fired cartridge case and loads a new case usually through the energy of the fired A selective fire Firearm can be fired in both semi-automatic and any number of automatic modes by means of a selector The M1A resembles the M21 Sniper Weapon System in design and appearance. The M21 Sniper Weapon System (SWS is the semi-automatic Sniper rifle adaptation of the popular M14 rifle.

Contents

Springfield Armory, Inc.

The M1A rifle is manufactured by Springfield Armory of Geneseo, Illinois. Springfield Armory Inc is a Firearms manufacturer based in Geneseo Illinois founded in 1974 This is not the same U. S. Government owned Springfield Armory of Massachusetts which was closed down on April 30, 1968 by the U. S. Department of Defense. The term "M1A" is a proprietary title given by Elmer C. Ballance who started the privately owned Springfield Armory, Inc. of Devine, Texas, to his M14 pattern rifle. The receiver is made from investment cast AISI 8620 alloy steel. Early M1A rifles were built with surplus G. I. parts until Springfield Armory, Inc. began manufacturing their own. Elmer sold the "Springfield Armory' to Bob Reese in the fall of 1974. The Reese family remains as the current owner.

Today, Springfield Armory, Inc. offers the widest variety and some of the most accurate and reliable M14 pattern rifles on the market. Their National Match models and above (Super Match, M21 and M25) are guaranteed to shoot sub-MOA with Match grade ammunition right out of the box. This improved accuracy over the military M14's is because National Match models and above have glass-bedded receivers and heavy Match grade barrels.

Differences between the M1A and M14

Springfield Armory M1A rifles are for the most part identical to their military M14 counterparts. There are however a few differences:

Selector switch cutout in M1A stock manufactured in 1997
Selector switch cutout in M1A stock manufactured in 1997

As previously mentioned, the receivers are manufactured by the precision investment casting method. The military M14 receivers were manufactured using the drop-forge process, which is more complicated and more expensive. Until at least the late 1990s the M1A produced by Springfield Armory retained the cutout in the rear right of the stock for the selector switch found on the M14. The walnut stock of the M21 has a height-adjustable cheek rest, which is unique to that model. The M25 White Feather, built to commemorate Carlos Hathcock is also unique in that it comes with a black McMillan Fiberglass Stock and a built in picatinny optics mount. Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Norman Hathcock II ( May 20, 1942 &ndash February 23, 1999) was a United States Marine Corps This because there is no provision for iron sights on the M25. Springfield Armory has also omitted the "7. 62-MM" caliber designator on the M1A receiver since 1991.

Once the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 was passed, banning (among other features) bayonet lugs, the M1A no longer shipped with a bayonet lug. The Federal Assault Weapons Ban ( AWB) was a subtitle of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, a Federal law of the United States Although the 1994 law expired in September 2004, making bayonet lugs legal again (in most states), Springfield Armory has not restored that feature.

The California Assault Weapons Ban, which went into effect January 1, 2000, prohibited flash suppressors on all Semi-automatic rifles capable of accepting a detachable magazine. As a result, Springfield Armory designed a muzzle brake, which they installed in place of the standard flash suppressor on all models that were sold to California. The irony is that the muzzle brake reduces the recoil of the rifle and thus makes it more accurate. Apparently (source unverified), the military has ordered the California Legal muzzle brakes from Springfield Armory for their surplus M14's because of the improvement in accuracy.

M1A/M14 select fire rifles

Select Fire M1A Receiver. Notice the selector switch and the cutouts in the stock for the full-auto parts.
Select Fire M1A Receiver. Notice the selector switch and the cutouts in the stock for the full-auto parts.

Most of the M1A rifles manufactured since 1971 were made for the commercial market and thus were only capable of semi-automatic fire. However, it is estimated that well under 1,000 select fire M14 type rifles were manufactured and registered for civilian ownership prior to the passage of the Firearm Owners Protection Act on May 19th, 1986. The Firearm Owners' Protection Act (FOPA, Pub L No 99-308 100 Stat Springfield Armory, Inc. and Smith Enterprise were the two companies that produced select fire M14 type rifles for civilian ownership. Up until May of 1986, Springfield Armory, Inc. had a Full Auto Department at their factory in Illinois. A few M1A rifles were converted to full-auto fire and registered with the ATF by Class II manufacturers like Neal Smith and Rock Island Armory. The receivers of these select fire rifles have the selector lug and operating rod rail cuts for the connector assembly.

Due to their scarcity and the fact that no new select fire M1A/M14 rifles can be produced for the civilian market because of the Hughes Amendment in the McClure-Volkmer Act, their market value is now well above $10,000. William John "Bill" Hughes (born October 17, 1932) is an American Democratic Party Politician from New Jersey The Firearm Owners' Protection Act (FOPA, Pub L No 99-308 100 Stat

SOCOM 16

A Springfield Armory SOCOM 16
A Springfield Armory SOCOM 16

Springfield Armory also makes a shortened version of the M1A rifle, with the barrel length of 16 in. , the shortest barrel length for a rifle permissible without taxing and registration under the National Firearms Act in the United States of America. The National Firearms Act (" NFA " 73rd Congress, Sess The gas system was reworked to ensure proper operation despite the shortened barrel, and a completely new compensator was added to help soften recoil.

Other manufacturers

Fulton Armory also builds civilian versions of the M-14 from their own receivers, which do not have the lug necessary for the installation of a selective fire switch and USGI (U. A selective fire Firearm can be fired in both semi-automatic and any number of automatic modes by means of a selector S. Government Issue) components and markets them as the FAR M-14, as does Armscorp USA, Inc. , which markets their M14R & M14RNS (regular), M14NMR (National Match) and M21 (Sniper) rifles.

A pre-ban Springfield M1A with bipod and M6 bayonet
A pre-ban Springfield M1A with bipod and M6 bayonet

The 1994 Assault Weapons Ban sunsetted on September 14th, 2004. A bipod is a support device that is similar to a Tripod or Monopod, but with two legs The M6 Bayonet is a Bayonet used by the US military for the M14 rifle. The Federal Assault Weapons Ban ( AWB) was a subtitle of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, a Federal law of the United States In Public policy, a sunset provision or sunset clause is a provision in a Statute or Regulation that terminates or repeals all or portions of Flash suppressors with bayonet lugs can be found at gun shows or on the internet. They are legal to install on post-ban commercial M14 type rifles in most states.

Chinese-manufactured versions were sold under the Norinco and Poly Technologies brand names in the United States and Canada prior to the March 1989 importation ban on semi-automatic rifles issued by President George H.W. Bush. The China North Industries Corporation ( official English name Norinco, manufactures vehicles (trucks cars and motorcycles machinery optical-electronic products oil field The Poly Technologies ( a subsidiary of China Poly Group Corporation is a defense manufacturing company with headquarters in Beijing, China George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12 1924 served as the forty-first President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 All the Chinese M14 rifles that were imported after March 1989 up until the May 1994 import ban [1] had specific features removed in order to be sold in the U. S. The Chinese made receivers were made from AISI 8620-equivalent steel.

See also

References

Picture credits

External links


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