The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Tactical Rifle & Carbine => Topic started by: JSC3ATLCSO on April 20, 2009, 11:44:27 PM
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Anyone have a good reason I shouldn't buy one?
I have saved for 3 years to get one of these rifle's and hopefully I can get one in a relatively short waiting period
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Hurry up and get one they kick ass, but the only con is .308 i a bit hard to come by here on socal. If ammo is in good supply M1a is hands down good for hunting,protection, and comp shooting. DPMS heavy metal shoot ;D
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Anyone have a good reason I shouldn't buy one?
I have saved for 3 years to get one of these rifle's and hopefully I can get one in a relatively short waiting period
If it's what you always wanted and you get something else, you'll still be wanting it.
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other then the fact you can get a standard M1 from CMP for less then half, and 30.06 surplus is cheap and easy to find, I can't think of a reason not to get a m1a
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So far Thanks! I'm not a big fan of AR styled guns and if I were to get one it would be in the less popular .308 I have a .30-06 bolt gun and a couple of lines on getting a garand. I'm planning on reloading so that is another reason to stay with the .30 cal. Not in the near future but I would guess that .308 will be as plentyful as .30-06 in the post war era. When ever that will be. I'm not holding my breath there but someday maybe.
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I have one, love it, got a small Government scope (6x), very cool gun. The rifle also comes in different flavors, the Scout and the SOCOM II which I would trade the M1A I have for.
Go for it.
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I have one, love it, got a small Government scope (6x), very cool gun. The rifle also comes in different flavors, the Scout and the SOCOM II which I would trade the M1A I have for.
Go for it.
The SOCOM II is my current 'slobber gun'.......every time I see a picture, I slobber all over it....I really want one.
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**** Ordered Tuesday 4-28-09 ****
Photo's to follow.
Said that it could take up to 6 months but the "Loaded Standards" have been coming in sooner than that they say.
J
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congratulations. I got a national match in january and I love it. As far as ammo goes, look on samcoglobal.com, it pretty much has the best ammo for the money.
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Thanks nupe!
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Just wanted to add that if anyone goes that route make sure to get the ammo from Portugal, the stuff from Czech is corosive.
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I agree about drooling over the SOCOM. One bad ass rifle. Went to buy a M1A on Saturday. It was already sold. The price tag was over $1,400. I was rather bummed but there are gun shows coming up that may provide an opportunity.
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Springfield Armory PORN!!! :o
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Springfield Armory PORN!!! :o
Totally envious!
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IMHO, I would pass on the SOCOM II, or the SOCOM I for that matter.
All that glitters is not gold.
Stick with the Scout or the standard size. Both are outstanding setups.
USSA-1
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IMHO, I would pass on the SOCOM II, or the SOCOM I for that matter.
All that glitters is not gold.
Stick with the Scout or the standards size. Both are outstanding setups.
USSA-1
USSA-1 I trust your opionion. Why do you not recommend the SOCOMs. Reliability? Controlability?
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Why do you not recommend the SOCOMs. Reliability? Controlability?
If you want one fun the sheer fun of it then have at it; they are fun to shoot.
If you are looking for a serious social rifle, then I would look elsewhere.
I want to preface my comments by saying that what follows is not an indictment of Springfield Armory or the quality of their products. The SOCOM line is a very fine product, but I think SA is doing quite a disservice when they target the LE/ Home defense market with this particular product. I think somebody at SA is attempting to capitalize on the M1A's reputation and they didn't quite think through the needs of the end user for their target market.
Allow me a quick digression on the SOCOM design. The significance of this point will be illuminated later. In order for SA to shorten the M1A's barrel from 18" to 16" required a slight redesign of the gas system. A critical feature of any gas operated design is gas dwell time. In order for a gas system to operate reliably, there has to be a "minimum barrel length" after the gas port in the barrel for the venting gas to enter the gas system with enough pressure to cycle the action. There are several factors at work here, barrel length, gas port size, powder burn rate, etc. Generally, 4"-6" of additional barrel length past the gas port is a good standard. When you start reducing the barrel length, you start reducing the gas dwell time, or the amount of time the gas system will be pressurized before the bullet exits the barrel and your gas pressure drops off significantly and quite rapidly. There are two primary ways to offset this problem. The easiest way is to increase the size of the gas port, which allows a larger volume of gas to enter the system quicker to run the system. The problem with this is that you can only go so big. If you still need some gas dwell time to pressurize the system before it will operate, then the second way you can solve this problem is with a device called a gas booster. This device provides an area for expanding gases to collect with only a small opening to vent, creating an increase in back pressure. This back pressure increase provides additional gas and dwell time for short barrel setups, allowing them to operate more reliably. Examples of this are the Russian AK-74 "Krinkov's" with their booster/flash suppressor setups and the Noveske flaming pig brakes for the short barreled AR's.
Understanding this, SA needed to redesign their gas system on the SOCOM's to work with a 16" barrel. If you notice where the gas block is on the SOCOM, you'll notice about 1"-2" of barrel after the gas block (if that!) SA needed a way to increase the gas/back pressure to make the SOCOM work with such a short barrel. So they used a compensator/booster design. This compensator provided an area for gas to collect, increasing backpressure, to work the system. Additionally, they vented the gas in a vertical manner to drive the muzzle down, assisting with the controlablity of the rifle. And it works great! It seemed to be a win/win all around. There was just one problem. SA choose to market this rifle to primarily LE/MIL units. Of course they are also for the civilian market, but every advertisement I've seen shows some high speed SWAT team using it on a raid or some MIL guy dragging it through the mud.
Here's my issue with it. Have you ever fired a 308 round from a short 16" barrel? If you haven't then your missing out on some pretty impressive fireworks, not to mention quite a muzzle blast. Now try it with a compensator that increases muzzle blast and flash upwards in your face. You get an even bigger show. Now try all this at night or in a low-light environment. I am not exaggerating when I say, "Nuke mushroom cloud!" Considering that over 85% of all LE shootings are in a dark/low-light environment, you've got one shot before you see the "Nuke cloud" and your vision is completely destroyed. I don't mean the occasional white dots in the eye, I mean you are done! Your ride is over, get in the back of the line you want another turn.
On one occasion, I attempted to follow a student through a shoot house during the low-light portion of our rifle course. After the first shot, I couldn't see him. I was completely blind. I had to shine my flashlight at his feet to follow him around the house. I didn't see anything he did and I the only piece of advice I could give him was to consider another rifle. At the end of the run he only hit 3 of 8 targets and completely missed 2 of them because he couldn't see them. It was most unimpressive to say the least.
I really don't know what SA was thinking when they targeted the LE market for this setup. Until they can redesign the system to operate using a good flash suppressor, this particular rifle is completely unsuitable for LE or self defensive use if there is any chance it will get used in a low-light or reduced light environment. In its current form, I cannot recommend the SOCOM line for any serious social work, but it is fun to shoot in the daytime.
USSA-1
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Thank you. Very well thought out answer. :)
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The muzzle blast and fireball that Erik mentions is the reason the army never issued any short barreled tanker model M1s or M14s.
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I guess I didn't clarify which one I ordered.. But thank you for re-affirming why I am not a fan of short barreled guns. I ordered the "Loaded" Standard model with the Synthetic stock and Stainless barrel. They have a Standard model that has a cluster rail on it also but I opt'ed not to spend the additional $300. I though that 1575 was enough to spend
Thanks for all of the great feedback and keep it coming.
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I have not played with the socom, either version, the night blindness from the compensator is an eye opener, Thanks USSA1, I do own the scout and standard model and love them both.
(http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff150/m25operator/100_1331.jpg)
The scout no longer wears the Troy industries stock, cool as it was, it changed the weight bias so drastically that hard as I tried, did not work for me. It is now in it's original fiberglass stock, and works well, especially with the aimpoint comp M2, 2x sight, with 2 minute dot, one shot drills at 100 yards are very good. A good friend gave me a vortex flash hider that was issued to him in Iraq, and that is what sits now on the scout, I have not fired it at night though. I definitely need to. I am a fan of the M1A, my standard grade that came with a Winchester barrel is a definite shooter, shot in US service rifle competition, it has showed it's worth many times, shot to 600 yards in competition, with match ammo, provided a 94% score, not bad at all. Got the medal to prove it, from the Army through CMP. I do believe if I can see it I can hit it. Of course I don't see as well as I did when I shot that match.
Learn and enjoy your purchase.
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I have not played with the socom, either version, the night blindness from the compensator is an eye opener, Thanks USSA1, I do own the scout and standard model and love them both.
The scout no longer wears the Troy industries stock, cool as it was, it changed the weight bias so drastically that hard as I tried, did not work for me. It is now in it's original fiberglass stock, and works well, especially with the aimpoint comp M2, 2x sight, with 2 minute dot, one shot drills at 100 yards are very good. A good friend gave me a vortex flash hider that was issued to him in Iraq, and that is what sits now on the scout, I have not fired it at night though. I definitely need to. I am a fan of the M1A, my standard grade that came with a Winchester barrel is a definite shooter, shot in US service rifle competition, it has showed it's worth many times, shot to 600 yards in competition, with match ammo, provided a 94% score, not bad at all. Got the medal to prove it, from the Army through CMP. I do believe if I can see it I can hit it. Of course I don't see as well as I did when I shot that match.
Learn and enjoy your purchase.
Very cool toys Operator. Can you tell us a bit more about the scout? How does it do at longer range?
FQ13
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(http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3247/011lcu.jpg)
(http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9703/017ban.jpg)
(http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4480/019h.jpg)
(http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/1245/016d.jpg)
(http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9863/021s.jpg)
(http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/1946/022c.jpg)
(http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/1292/013tbx.jpg)
(http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/8431/012t.jpg)
I've been after a nice Springfield M-1A for a while, and this past week the shop near me had gotten this one in so I grabbed it. They only produced 500 total. They also had a matching serial numbered Stainless 1911, and while I have a Colt Gold Cup, I'm not too much into 1911's. I'll have to pick up a couple of 20 round mags for it. Really a unique rifle. Bill T.
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VERY NICE!
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Thats what I call M1 porn.
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Bill ... Range report coming soon?
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Just make sure it doesn't do this....
(look at pics in second row)
http://www.tomeaker.com/Pages/Range.htm
(Guy I knew on another forum)
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What kind of ammunition was he using? Bill T.
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As I remember it was store bought but I don't remember brand.
Actually I posted this to show thatt pretty much ALL mfgs have 'lemons'. Some times in a whole line (LCR) or some times just individual guns (This M1). They do their best but WE always need to be mindful that humans make them and humans make mistakes.
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Bill ... Range report coming soon?
Hopefully in a few weeks. I'm up to my eyeballs in home projects at the moment. Bill T.
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That is NICE :o BillT.
To FQ13, with the aimpoint I have only shot to 200, and it was 4", I have not shot it for group since I put the Vortec on it, I have heard it often improves accuracy, but need some range time to wring it out. I just wished I'd kept the Dale Rader trigger from my M25.
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Hey all.. Thanks for all of the input and jealousy..
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http://www.smithenterprise.com/products06.html
Smith Enterprises now offers a replacement flash hider for the Socom 16/II system that replaces the dragons breath OE part. I have never witnessed a SE vortex flash hider privide less than spectacular performance.
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That could make all the difference in the world.
Where's a guinea pig when you need him.
USSA-1
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Sorry about my super short repsonse but I was on my way out the door...
The Springfield M1A, or the civilian version of the M14 is a semi automatic, air cooled piston operated Goddess of the battle field. Utillizing a gas under, short stroke piston system makes the rifle a reliable, ammo miscable combat rifle. However the rifle is built on a very old design and has certain quirks, likes and dislikes that most oftenly do not agree with the modern shooter.
Pros:
Very reliable, not quite on par with a good AK but it isn't the kind of rifle you need to clean after every trip to the range. Accuracy is far better than what is needed and with the proper understanding of the rifle, fine tuning the accuracy will put it on par with a bolt gun.
Cons:
Complexity, this is not an easy rifle to maintain. You need a handful of tools grease and oil for the appropriate areas and knowledge of the system.
Weight adds up when you have 20 rounds of 7.62x51 in steel magazines riding along.
Quirks:
Magazines must be rocked in and out some what like an AK. To someone familiar with system it is not a con but for those used to the drop free mags in rifles like the AR, HK, and Sig systems it takes getting used to.
Expense is up there, personally if I were selecting a rifle to be used in defense of my life I would want the best of the best and price would be a non issue. However not everyone has an expendable budget and you shouldn't have to sell yourself short when dealing with this system.
Conclusion:
I don't think comparing the M14 to the AR is fair or right. They both are excellent rifles, they both run when the operator learned their inherent traits and both can be transformed into a good defense rifle. I do feel that in a civilian setting the M4 varients have some advantages over the 14 but I don't feel those points rule out using, owning or relying on the 14 system. I personally have a SA M1A and if I had to get rid of or leave behind all of my firearms but one I can most confidently say that the M1A would come with me.
JD out.
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I guess when I say I'm not a fan of AR's it is due to not being a fan of 5.56.. I like to have big lead going downrange and when comparing the price of an AR-10 to and M1A nearly a wash (especially if you get a ZM or LWRC short stroker) I have heard that there more reliability issues with the .308 AR's than regular 5.56 AR's (more powder = More cleaning) and the relatively low maintenance of the M1A's 2ndly since I already own a Weatherby .30-06 bolt rifle the .308 is going to have the same bullet's and primers for reloading. JD.. thanks for the info very good pros and cons.. making me feel better and better about my decision to purchase. Just wish it would hurry up and get here
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You are of course very welcome.
I love the 14 system! When I was a young pup my father went out to a local CMP match to catch up with some brothers from Vietnam and I just happened to tag along. One of his friends was shooting a SA M1A that I am almost sure was worked on by the Old Corp Weaponry. Anywho long story short I got to shoot a string and that was it. I kept all 10 shots in 6 inches at 300 and I was hooked, I doubt I would be where I am today had I not shot that rifle.
Stories aside, I think the 5.56 is an optimum round for civilians to use as a defense round, with all the "trick" ammo out there for it you can get even the 55gr's to look like a much bigger bullet. Caliber wars I think will wage on long after we are laid to rest but in this day and age with the techno tacticoolness we have, I find it to be a none issue when selecting a rifle for defense.
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I had my M-1A out last week for a trial run. It shot flawlessly with Winchester White Box, Federal "Power Shock", and some handloads I had prepared, but not for this gun. It was pretty windy, but the gun required very little adjustment of the sights to consistently ring 12" gongs at 200 yards from the sitting position after printing a few targets from a rest at 100 yards. The gun shoots far better than my 56 year old eyes can. I've found myself needing glasses now whenever I shoot iron sights. It's the only way I can maintain a sharp picture of the sights. The gun is quite easy to maintain as well. The piston comes out easily allowing the gas system to be cleaned and maintained. I oiled the piston and gas tube lightly because I most likely won't be shooting it again until fall when the temperature breaks. The problem out here in the Summer months is once you get the weapon hot, it takes forever for it to cool off. I'm going to be loading a bunch of .308 over the Summer, both for this gun and my 2 Savages. Come next fall I plan to put a lot downrange. I just came from Cabela's and bought another box of Lapua Brass in .308. They're starting to get some powder in, and have a 2 pound limit per customer per day. I also saw a new Sig 556 and a synthetic stocked Springfield Armory M-1A on the rack. I think things are starting to return to normal. At least a little bit. Bill T.
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I had my M-1A out last week for a trial run. It shot flawlessly with Winchester White Box, Federal "Power Shock", and some handloads I had prepared, but not for this gun. It was pretty windy, but the gun required very little adjustment of the sights to consistently ring 12" gongs at 200 yards from the sitting position after printing a few targets from a rest at 100 yards. The gun shoots far better than my 56 year old eyes can. I've found myself needing glasses now whenever I shoot iron sights. It's the only way I can maintain a sharp picture of the sights. The gun is quite easy to maintain as well. The piston comes out easily allowing the gas system to be cleaned and maintained. I oiled the piston and gas tube lightly because I most likely won't be shooting it again until fall when the temperature breaks. The problem out here in the Summer months is once you get the weapon hot, it takes forever for it to cool off. I'm going to be loading a bunch of .308 over the Summer, both for this gun and my 2 Savages. Come next fall I plan to put a lot downrange. I just came from Cabela's and bought another box of Lapua Brass in .308. They're starting to get some powder in, and have a 2 pound limit per customer per day. I also saw a new Sig 556 and a synthetic stocked Springfield Armory M-1A on the rack. I think things are starting to return to normal. At least a little bit. Bill T.
The bold is mine and although I think you are well aware of the dangers of oiling the piston I want it to be pointed out to those who are not. Oiling the piston on any piston driven gun unless otherwise specified is not recomended. The amount of pressure that builds up can cause a failure in the system and may result in destruction of property or injury to the shooter. In ideal conditions it will be a pain in the tooter to clean off because it will turn to carbon and most likely will result in a FTF.
Just so ya know.
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I don't know where your really coming from on this one JDe, the pressure from the cartridge is what it is, oil and hydraulics will not increase it, it will make a better temporary seal, the gas bleed on the M1A is small and late in the pressure curve, My original standard grade ( that I love and will not trade ) has the the piston nut so tight, that a 6 point socket and an air impact wrench would not remove, it shot so well, that I quit trying. So after shooting, I put solvent in the bleed hole and raise and lower the barrel and let gravity work the piston, back and forth, flush it with some brake cleaner, and then put a few drops of fp10, again raising and lowering the muzzle to make sure the piston moves freely with no help. I have had this rifle since 1991, and shot U.S. Service rifle with it, also have 8 points toward my distinguished badge with it. Never had a FTF, or bending of the OP Rod, from overpressure.
I just don't see what your describing unless you put enough lube that it got in the barrel and caused an obstruction, and that would be a lot of lube.
Turning to carbon, yes it can, but carbon buildup happens without pistons, from the unburnt gasses passing, look at a normal Direct impingement AR, Carbon happens anyway.
I look forward to more detailed explanation.
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I could be wrong, but it sounds like he is warning about otherwise dry carbon mixing with the lube to form goo that COULD lock things up.
I never touched gas tube on my AK's or SKS's, I just cleaned the piston and left the tube alone so I don't know from experience.
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I've oiled the piston on my wife's Beretta A-390 Trap Gun since it was new. I found it cleans up a lot easier, especially after a 400 target tournament with a couple of practice rounds thrown in. I realize a shotgun operates at a much lower pressure than a .308, but it's never been an issue. Without oiling it really was a pain to get clean. I think it's like sex, drugs, or alcohol. Just because a little is good, it doesn't mean more is better, and too much is just enough. ;D Bill T.
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From the manuel, page 23
Tilting
the rifle muzzle down, remove the gas piston (27), clean with
bore solvent and wipe dry. Clean the inside of the gas cylinder
and wipe dry. Use a #15 aircraft length drill bit and a letter “P”
standard drill bit to remove carbon from inside the piston and
plug. Use 3M Scotch Brite (green scuff pad) to remove buildup
on the outside of the piston. Insert the piston into the gas
cylinder with the flat side up toward barrel. Make sure the
piston is completely below the threads in the gas cylinder
before replacing plug. Re-assemble dry - apply a SMALL dab
of grease to the threads on the plug.
CAUTION: The gas piston was designed to operate dry.
I think you are endangering yourself by oiling the piston. I would remove the gas piston, rub it dry with a lint free cloth and reassemble it so that you do not damage that beautiful rifle.
You can find the manuel here if you do not have one.
http://www.springfield-armory.com/armory.php?clicktype=rifles
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http://www.snipercountry.com/HotTips/RifleM1A_Cleaning.htm
"Old time shooters warned me of never putting any cleaning solvent or oil in the gas cylinder. Something about gumming everything up. Hmmm. This I just had to see. So I proceeded to clean the cylinder with solvent and lightly lube it and the piston with gun oil. Never found any gum and the rifle always functioned normally."
http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-77623.html
"Don't remember much, 'sept for lithium grease on the bolt guides, and thin oil on the gas piston."
http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/archive/index.php/t-136485.html
"Gas system needs to be kept dry (you can run a single drop of light oil/solvent, but if you're having troubles, keep it dry)."
I think this is one of those things that is up to the shooter. It would appear there are as many people who say not to do it, as there are people who do. Nowhere did I see, (including the Springfield Armory Manual), that you were putting yourself or the rifle in danger by doing it. Personally I think if you clean your weapon often it will help, if you are the type who goes for long amounts of time and ammunition between cleanings, it might not be beneficial. I don't think it's anything to worry about either way from a safety standpoint. Bill T.
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Sorry for the late reply, I honestly forgot about this thread. :o
As was pointed out per the SAI manual, it was meant to be a dry system, period.
So much of the magic that the rifle has to offer comes specifically from the piston.
You cannot attain consistancy when lubing your piston, at the very least you are effect repeatable accuracy. At the very worst you can clog the bleed off holes from carbon and lube build up, when you finally do this the extra gas is going to find one way or another to escape. I would think a ceased nut would be a good indicator of this.
If you are looking for a way to make piston cleaning easier try a dry lube such as Eezox or other. Make sure it is completely dry and only use a very small amount. This will aid in cleaning and will not gum it up or effect accuracy.
This is what has been said and tried about pistons, the results speak for themselves.
http://m14tfl.com/upload/showthread.php?t=70869
http://m14tfl.com/upload/showthread.php?t=65394&highlight=Gas+Piston+testing
If your piston nut is on so tight that you have given up on trying to remove it there is very much a problem and I would cease fire and have the rifle checked by a gun smith pronto! Your piston should be cleaned every 300 rounds with a "O" and "P" sized drill bit, some also use a crocus cloth to help polish the piston. Not doing this is also going to cause excess pressure to build. If anything I would dare say your rifle is a testiment as is to how well the system is built and how much abuse it can take, but now I think she deserves some RR.
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The SOCOM II is my current 'slobber gun'.......every time I see a picture, I slobber all over it....I really want one.
SLOBBER ,SLOBBER me 3
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I had my Springfield SOCOM 16 out at the range yesterday afternoon, just to run a few rounds through it and check functioning, sights, etc. I didn't run any handloads through it, just factory Winchester White Box and some Mag-Tech .308 ball I bought the other day. The gun ran flawlessly. Not one single FTF or FTE in the 10 round magazine the gun came with, or both my 20 round factory Springfield mags. I even tried the 10 round mag my Camp Perry Edition M-1A came with. Zero issues. As far as accuracy with the stock sights the only thing I didn't care for was the rear aperture on the SOCOM 16. It is a bit too large for me. I realize this is primarily a CQB rifle, but with such a large rear aperture you have to really take time to center everything properly if you're shooting at 100 yards or more. With that said I could maintain around a 4" group at that distance off a rest. Shooting conditions were ideal except for the heat which was around 103 yesterday late in the day.
Recoil was not an issue as the factory brake works very well. Muzzle blast was high naturally with such a short barrel. I wasn't deterred by any noticeable flash, but that was no doubt because of the bright sunlight. Shooting at night would of course be a whole different story. The gun will require optics to do any real accuracy testing, and that is something I haven't decided on yet, and most likely won't until Fall when things cool down a bit. Here in Phoenix Summertime shooting is difficult with the ultra high temperatures we have. Once you heat up a barrel, it simply takes forever for it to cool down. I used up a full can of that "canned air" trying to keep the barrel of the SOCOM cool enough to touch.
For Pluses I would rate the gun as follows. Extremely well balanced and easy to shoulder and get fast sight acquisition. It was very easy to perform fast, accurate double taps with this rife with just a bit of practice at the closer ranges. For a gas operated semi automatic the gun is easy to operate and magazine changes can be accomplished quite effortlessly once you have worked with the gun for a while. The sights are good and easy to adjust and very fast to align because of the large rear aperture. I found it to be quite easy to ring 12" steel gongs offhand at my clubs 200 yard range. Recoil is not bad and the stock configuration works well to absorb it. Even my wife found the gun not at all uncomfortable to shoot.
For the minus column there really aren't too many marks I can place against this rifle. Cost is of course quite high and it's price tag keeps it out of the hands of many shooters, but at the same time it reflects the quality the Springfield M-1A weapons have become associated with. Also I agree with the assessment of this gun not being good for social work at all. Shooting this weapon in the confines of a modern track built house would result with a serious over penetration issue, not to mention substantial hearing loss! With FMJ Mil-Spec ammunition this rifle could easily penetrate a home from one end to the other. The legal ramifications of that could be devastating. There are simply far better choices for home protection.
When all is said and done this is a very high quality "fun gun". It is a gun I will be bringing to the range often. With good optics and the right loads I have zero doubt the accuracy will be good if I want to explore that relm. Most likely I'll keep this weapon box stock. It is a fantastic rifle for putting a lot of lead down range in a really fun way. I think in it's factory stock configuration the gun would make an excellent woods, brush hunting rifle for deer, elk, or other similar size game. For Javelina I can't think of a better weapon. Of course if you were to employ the gun for that purpose it would require the use of a 5 round magazine to comply with local hunting regulations. All in all I'm very satisfied with the overall performance of this gun, and I'm glad I made the purchase. About all I need to do now is handload in a large volume so I'll be ready for shooting it when the weather cools down in the Fall. Bill T.
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Outstanding info, Bill, thanks for the excellent report.
Glad you are enjoying your rifle.
Now that makes me want one even more since I like seriously fun guns. ;)
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Now that makes me want one even more since I like seriously fun guns. ;)
You know what, you make a very good point about the "fun gun" part of this whole sport. As I get older I keep over complicating my reasoning for purchasing a given firearm. In the last few months I've more or less cut loose from that philosophy and selected some firearms that I just "wanted". The Springfield SOCOM being among them. I must honestly admit I'm the happier man because of it. I can't take all the credit. Melanie has told me, "If you want it, just GET IT!" It has worked out for the best. She loves shooting the SOCOM! Something about ringing 12" steel offhand at 200 yards that to me has become just as satisfying as a one hole group off a bench rest. Sometimes more so. I'm going to reconsider buying some of the guns in the past that I've rejected because of some reason or another of, "just not needing it". One I have on the list right now that really looks like fun is this new Colt M-4 .22 LR. For $500.00 and change it looks like a good way for the wife and I to kill a Saturday afternoon along with a few bricks of rimfire! Bill T.
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One I have on the list right now that really looks like fun is this new Colt M-4 .22 LR. For $500.00 and change it looks like a good way for the wife and I to kill a Saturday afternoon along with a few bricks of rimfire! Bill T.
New gun,the wife and a few bricks of rimfire ;D Sounds like a blast to me.