$1900 for a 4moa gun???

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I've always been intrigued with the idea of the M1A SOCOM. When I finally got one I was quite disappointed. The XS tritium sights are awful, so I replaced the gas lock with a SEI version that allows a NM front sight at the proper height. Better but the Pic rail proved useless so I installed a M14.ca full length handguard. an improvement but I still couldn't get the gun to group. I shoot silhouette at 200 meters with a 10/22 so I'm pretty sure it's not operator error. I sent it back to Springfield where they pronounced it "good" and returned it with a target that just squeaked out a 4moa group. SAI says that's acceptable. Really?? MSRP for a SOCOM is $1987. Of course no one pays list but on GB you can't give them away for $1000. I'm told the factory barrel is sourced from differently from the rest of the M1A line. Replacing the barrel with a Criterion is a $400 plus labor hit and optimizing the op rod tacks on more. I'm tired of throwing money at it. For the foreseeable future the gun is relegated to back of the safe. I still like the *idea* of the SOCOM but SAI has grievously failed in its execution. Sorry for the rant but I expected so much more.
"Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees" - Emiliano Zapata

Re: $1900 for a 4moa gun???

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senorgrand wrote: Wed Jul 31, 2019 11:35 am Bummer. Have you tried different bulletr weights and profiles? Maybe it's finicky?
Tried various weights and rolled some of my own with OCD precision. At least it's consistent, it's equally inaccurate with anything I fed it. What really bites my ass is that I sold a 16" lightweight AR10 that grouped under 2moa, weighed 2 lbs less and cost less than 1/2 to build.
"Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees" - Emiliano Zapata

Re: $1900 for a 4moa gun???

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I tried out a SOCOM 16 over a decade ago, but I ultimately went with a standard M1A. I haven’t had any accuracy issues since I bought it at the beginning of 2010. Based on what the OP has experienced, I now see why used SOCOM variants cost less than other M1A variants.


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Re: $1900 for a 4moa gun???

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Bummer of a lesson. M1A's are really great from a historical standpoint. For pretty much anything else, I got no use for them. Accuracy is one of the main reason's the M14 was dropped as a service rifle. After just 3,500 rounds, most M14's couldn't pass minimum accuracy standards of 5.6 MOA! Yeah, that number is right! The DOD was very unhappy with the M14 and it wasn't likely the issues could be fixed without massively increasing the price of an already massively over-priced rifle. Couple that with the fact that after about 5 minutes in Vietnam, the Army realized the learned 100% the WRONG lessons from WWII, and needed a real assault rifle in a panic...

It's a great piece of history, and they are a LOT of fun to shoot. However, from a practical standpoint, pretty much any other .308 military rifle is a better choice. Bedding is a horrible issue with the M14, and the gas cylinder will ALWAYS work loose, as will the op-rod guide; degrading accuracy horribly.

If accuracy is job one for you, then AR is the way to go. If reliability & parts availability is more important, then I'd recommend a FAL.
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