Building an M1A EBR

[Ballistic Artist]

I've been thinking about a semi auto sniper rifle. The M1A platform is my favorite. My question is would it be better to aquire all the parts: barrel, reciever, bolt and all the other stuff and build it or would it be as well to buy a Springfield Armory national match and put a trick stock on it. I figure the prices would be close but am I really going to get an accuracy advantage by building one? I know the SA NM is a tack driver but I havent messed with enough of em to really know. I am a gunsmith so building one would be possible without having to pay someone to do it. Any suggestions?

 

[Chucky]

Re: Building an M1A EBR

The EBR is just an M1A thrown in a sage stock. Not accurized at all. If you want to absolutely have one just buy the springfield and throw it in a stock. Or get a plain jane M1A to play with and it you want a accurate semi 308 just build a ar-10 variant.

 

[Ianski]

Re: Building an M1A EBR

The Stock is a HUGE part of adding accuracy to your M1A. Standard M1A's or even a NM M1A's are not glass bedded. If you want to get better than 2 MOA out of your M1A it needs to be glass bedded or be in an aluminum chassis. I suggest the aluminum chassis because it will lock up tight and hold... Glass bedding is great, but eventually will break down. I have a sage EBR chassis and it's great. With the tension screw in the fore end you can tune your barrels harmonics which further helps your accuracy.
Also, another large player in your accuracy is your optics mounting system. The Sage Chassis allows you to use a Cantilever type mount. The 2 best are made by Sage themselves and Larue.

The Cantilever mounts tend to hold zero better than the traditional style 2 or 3 point side mount systems as well as getting rid of square to bore-line issues.

The M1A will be more expensive to make accurate than an average AR10, but there is something nostalgic about the M1A platform that just pulls me in..

The M1A is a tough horse to break, but it is worth it in the end!


Good luck and keep us updated with what direction you go!!

 

[NoExpert]

Re: Building an M1A EBR

I had mine built/did some assembly myself and have never looked back. Current production M1A's have spotty QC, this alone keeps me from owning one again (the one I had had issues too).

 

[jwSubMOA]

Re: Building an M1A EBR

Go for it! This is my heavy barrel EBR MOD 2 I recently finished. Started as standard SA in a standard Sage stock. Now I fitted a Barrnett full heavy barrel,lapped the lugs and did a NM trigger job. The scope mount is the CASM from M14CA that replaces the rear sight and is rock solid. I finished it with OD Duracoat and a Atlas bipod.

 

[DeSnifter]

Re: Building an M1A EBR

Ultimately you will be spending a lot of cash to accurize a system that was originally required to group at 3 MOA. I have owned 3 springfield M1A's and their QC is hit or miss. Ultimately it comes down to how much you want to spend. Building it yourself won't be any cheaper if you want to use quality parts like the LRB receiver.

I have a soft spot for the M1A/M14 and have one in a EBR chassis and one in a J allen stock, but were I ever required to take a gun for something other than plinking at the range, I wouldn't be picking either of these two.

 

[monsterchevy]

Re: Building an M1A EBR

I would build one from parts especially if you are able to do it yourself. My Socom 16 is at springfield right now for repairs. Op rod bent and firing pin is mushrooming because the metal is to soft. While my gun never had any malfunctions, I do think they have some QC issues. So far they have been very easy to work with and have had my gun for about 2 weeks. Should be home soon and then I will be able to put it in the EBR chassis I just picked up off here! With that said, I just purchased a SEI billet receiver for my next M1A build. If you do build one, be careful, they can be very addictive!t

DeSnifter- I am liking that one in the JAE stock with the SB on it!

Travis

 

[Tactical22]

Re: Building an M1A EBR

Fulton Armory parts and a custom barrel? That's what I would do if I were going to do what you want to do, but I personally wouldn't do what you want to do. I'd buy a GAP 10

 

[Mattrmvpd]

Re: Building an M1A EBR

I will mimic what others are saying... I as well went the M1A route and had a TOUGH time getting it to be consistent and that was after throwing a TON of money at it.

Do a CMMG AR 10 MK3 and then shoot the barrel out of it...then send it out to GAP and have it reworked. You will save a TON of money and agrivation. You will also have a MORE accurate rifle in the end.

 

[biscuit75camaro]

Re: Building an M1A EBR

Dude a EBR jst has that look and its way different than any AR10 but yeah the m1a is not as accurate. I have a springfield standard in an EBR chassis. Really made a huge difference in handling and accuracy. If i had to do it again i would build from scratch.

 

[W54/XM-388]

Re: Building an M1A EBR

Going with the AR-10 (such as a GAP-10) would be a quicker way to a more accurate rifle, but seeing as you are in California, an M1A would actually make sense.

Either build your own (better but possibly more expensive) or get one of the National match ones if you find one on sale & then add a replacement EBR style stock that does not have a pistol grip or collapsible stock on it (Such as the Sage M14ALCS / CVFS) , change the flash hider to a muzzle brake & get a bunch of 10 round mags.

Then you will have a pretty good fairly accurate semi-auto rifle that you can actually have / use in California.

 

[ciskokidd]

Re: Building an M1A EBR

An M1A that is a tack driver will have to be modded all the way. I first bought a NM M1A from Springfield but soon came to realize that the side mounting bracket that is required for a scope is the achilles heel for shooting sub MOA. After almost a year of research and saving money I ended up with a second rifle that has an LRB 25 receiver, Krieger 22" heavy barrel and a JAE stock, all other parts are USGI to include the trigger. It was costly but I did it because I love the M1A platform, but I don't regret it one bit and I'm shooting sub MOA

 

[Dogtown]

Re: Building an M1A EBR

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DeSnifter</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Ultimately you will be spending a lot of cash to accurize a system that was originally required to group at 3 MOA. I have owned 3 springfield M1A's and their QC is hit or miss. Ultimately it comes down to how much you want to spend. Building it yourself won't be any cheaper if you want to use quality parts like the LRB receiver.

I have a soft spot for the M1A/M14 and have one in a EBR chassis and one in a J allen stock, but were I ever required to take a gun for something other than plinking at the range, I wouldn't be picking either of these two.</div></div>

No truer words. They are great for what they are and that is not a precision rifle.

 

[Snake Plissken]

Re: Building an M1A EBR

I used to have an M1A Scout with the Mk. 14 Mod. 0 EBR chassis cause I was like you, I thought the rifle was a sexy bitch. I put a scope on it a decided it would be my DMR.

Then I tried zeroing it. Fuck that noise. I sold it and upgraded to an LWRC REPR. Leagues ahead, better ergos, tons of parts commonality with the ARs I already had and knew like the back of my hand, same/similar manual of arms, built like a tank, no tedious tuning/tweaking/changing of almost all the parts and best of all, way easier to zero/accurize.

And with the 20" barrel upper you can actually have a sniper setup with it for sure, since everything after that is good glass up top and your skill behind the trigger. One guy was able to shoot at 1100+ yards with his 16" barrel upper version, so the 18 or 20" uppers are a sure shot for long distance precision.

Case in point, if you want a semi-auto sniper rifle set up, go with an SR-25 pattern (talking magwell/magazines here) AR-308. LWRC, LMT, KAC, etc. Much more capable and user friendly than an M14 platform. Mine was a sexy looking stick, but after taking it to the range a few times, that was all it had going for it.

 

[Ballistic Artist]

Re: Building an M1A EBR

Cool thanks guys. I do like the Knights SR-25. And the living in cali thing aint a big deal. I can get around all the bullshit and get an AR-10 platform and have it without the cali button...

 

[Grump]

Re: Building an M1A EBR

Before anyone lowers their expectations too much, that 3 MOA standard was NON-bedded and with BALL ammo.

In my experience with both Garands and M14s, each of those two variables is worth almost a 1 MOA reduction in group size.

Permanent mods to the gas cylinders usually brings them down the rest of the way to 1 MOA. If that's precise enough for you, fine. The legendary 1/2 MOA guns are not that common and generally require a $400-500 barrel.

The legendary wearout of glass bedding is often over-stated. Tear the action out of the stock only for the once a year deep cleaning, and the bedding will last longer than your barrel. I can't speak to the metal-to-metal hightech pig stocks, but they reportedly work just like glass bedding.

YMMV, but mine has been good.