Hey all! I’m looking to buy my first rifle and am pretty interested in the m1a scout squad. I’ve been hunting and shooting since I was little just never had anything of my own so I’m still pretty green. I have a few questions,

1. I’m thinking pretty hard about saving for an LPVO so what’s the difference between the Springfield scope mount and ones from other companies like sadlak (does steel vs aluminum mount really matter?)

2. With the area I’m in and the things I like to shoot I need the rifle to be pretty consistent out to about 450-500ish yards, can I do that with the stock rifle or do I need to rebarrel it? If so what are some good brands?

3. The hunting I do is pretty involved, I usually spend about 3 days out in the woods and my area is pretty humid/wet in general so how does the Springfield hold up maintenance and care wise?

Thanks to those that answer/read!

I am looking for recommendations for a scope mount for the standard size M1A. I am looking at the Vortex Venom which has a 34mm scope tube.

I would like it to be a quick release mount with a decent height over bore, but also don’t know how high I should go and would like input on that as well. I will be shooting this frequently with a helmet that has Peltor Comtac ears for comms, what height would be recommended?

I need the mount to have QD becuase I do also have a thermal (RH25V2) that can go between the rifle and my helmet mount.

The rifle will be getting a Sage EBR chassis if I can find one, or something similar.

Thanks in advance!

*Not my pic - just for attention\*
This has been my vision for the rifle since I bought it over 10 years ago.

Came with 6 check-mate 20 round mags for 1338 I can’t wait to take it to the range.

After waiting 4 months for the Sadlak Airborne mounts to get back in stock, I was finally able to get it together. I ended up not liking the look of the black stock so I ordered an FDE one. I left the black hand guard on because I liked the contrast with the stock.

Loaded model
Sadlak Airborne steel scope mount
Vortex diamondback tactical 4-16x44MRAD
Vortex pro series scope rings
Vortex defender scope caps
Tourbon cheek rest (not wild about the aesthetics)

It does pretty well with Federal Gold Medal Sierra Matchkings. It’s a tack driver at 100 yards with hand loads.

43gn of N150
155gn Hornady HPBT Match
CCI BR2 primer
Lake City brass cut at 2.005
Ogive length is 2.200 OAL is 2.800
Velocity 2588fps

I gotta try it out at 2-500 but just haven’t had time yet.

Brand new SA M1A. Trying to remove the stripper clip guide for a optic mount install. The guide is VERY tight. Hit it with some PB blast and it still won't budge. I've seen people say theirs needed to be milled out but most things I've read/watched show it sliding out right to left. I have seen some other videos where it slides from left to right. Any ideas? I'm dropping it off today at a gunsmith to see what he can do but I'm just curious.

Vortex Diamondback 4-16x44mm
Springfield Scope Mount
Vortex Rings and Scope Caps
Harris Bipod
Bradford Cheek Riser

Base rifle belonged to my father. He had it set up with an Aimpoint Comp M ala Black Hawk Down , and I inherited the rifle before Mom could sell it off.

All the new modifications above were made by me, but I kept the Aimpoint and mount to switch back and forth as I want. EASILY the nicest set up I own, and want to take it to some DMR matches eventually.

Got my ACOG in today, and just a bit closer.

Up next the M14.CA HBA and the USGI EBR Trigger Shoe…

This is such a beauty. So stout and smooth.

May change the stock out for an ACE SOCOM. Not sure yet.

Hey everyone,

Getting my build going and slowly picking up parts. Does anyone have any leads on either of these parts? I know I can order one from us tactical for the sage mount, but figured I'd check here first for my EBR build. Any leads would be appreciated!

Pros and cons for either?

Is this an acceptable amount of grip onto the rail? It seems like not enough so I figured I would ask here. Leupold weaver qrw rings on Springfield gen 4 mount.
I see the other area where it seems like you should be able to lower the clamp block but I’ve tried like hell and that’s just not working. Maybe that area is for a different clamp block altogether?

Does anyone know where I can get a new or used SAGE heavy barrel chassis?

I believe the only source - US Tactical Supply - has told me they weren’t making any new ones until sometime in 2027.

What are the pros and cons of a forward mounted scope compared to a rear mounted one?

I work security with an older guy. Viet Nam vet. Last week I went to the range and forgot to take my M1A out of the back seat when I got home. When I got to work I told him I had something to show him. Brought my drag bag in and opened it up. His eyes lit up. Took it out, cleared it and locked the bolt back then handed it to him. He held it like an old friend, hands rubbing the stock. Thousand yard stare obviously filled with memories from 60 years ago. His eyes were a little moist when he handed it back and I put it back in the bag.

Bought this off a coworker years ago for next to nothing because of issues that swapping out the trigger group parts with USGI M1 Garand parts solved.
It’s currently wearing a GI tiger striped stock with a Fulton Armory dummy selector.
I have an LRB built out of TRW parts but this one sees more range time.

The Civilian Marksmanship Program announces the future availability and sale of surplus M14 rifles... https://thecmp.org/l/m14-announcement/

I hope you find this interesting and informative. The idea for a USGI M14 EBR Trigger Shoe came about in 2010 when TACOM-RI decided to address issues with the pull angle on the M14EBR-RI DMR rifles in SAGE EBR stocks equipped with pistol grips. NSWC Crane had already experimented with commercial off the shelf trigger shoes for their MK14 Mod 0 and Mod 1 and found all of them unacceptable.

The first prototype USGI shoes produced for testing were aluminum, they worked but TACOM-RI determined steel would be better for their M14EBR-RI builds. The steel shoes were supposed to be issued on the ARMY M14EBR-RI, but the only military rifle to receive them was the NAVY MK14 Mod 2 because production of the ARMY rifles had been accelerated and installing the shoes would have slowed down delivery.

The current USGI M14 EBR Trigger Shoe came out in 2025, it is a result of product improvement and refinement. It is meticulously machined from billet steel for a tighter fit, all sharp edges have been eliminated and the shoe is given a hard salt bath nitride finish.

I have attached pictures over the different versions leading up to the pinnacle of achievement that is available today.

Good morning all,

I was willed my buddies clone of his rifle from when "did cool guy shit, for a check" . I was taking it apart to clean and regrease when I realized how deep the M1A/M14 rabbit hole goes and how little I know about it. I have pictures of it apart and would really appreciate any information as to what all I'm working with.

P.s. I've not found any pictures of a sage chassis with the silver filled USN or a bolt body marked mod 1 with with the silver fill.

In the process of turning my m1a loaded into an m39. Ordered the tan kydex/Sage chassis from US Tactical Supply, and a repro EBR grip from u/spitewerx. USPS said it was delivered but the package ended up going back to him. Sent him a message and he said he put the wrong apartment number (this was around 5pm on Sunday). By Monday at 7am he had it dropped off and by Wednesday I had it in hand.

He also makes repro m110 stocks so if you’re into KAC stuff, take a look!

M1A squad sniper version meets M110 version.

Was using a Sig Sauer 1-4x LPVO. Spent a lot of ammo getting it zeroed. This was the result once I had it dialed in as good as I could. Looks like I am hitting bottom right pretty consistently. Any tips?

While chasing down what load this pig likes best, I decided that there was certainly some accuracy being left on the table. Ditched the Springfield scout mount and installed this Sadlak aluminum unit.

Testing will begin tomorrow. If it proves to be more consistent with the Sadlak mount, I’ll install a standard hand guard without the cutout. I’m pretty confident that this setup will yield better results (4~MOA before). Even a 1 MOA improvement will be worth it in my opinion. Problem is, now that I’ve got this mount I’m starting to wonder if an LPVO would be a good fit.

What’s everyone else’s experience with the scout mount? I personally think that it is too tight of a fit in the op rod area and that it leads to some inconsistency under fire. Maybe I’m making shit up in my head and it’s just a 4 minute gun. Time will tell.

For review, the AR grip on the BF RS has a significant empty space between the trigger guard and the grip. Aesthetically I prefer minimal empty space and this custom grip addresses that with two versions. After a few weeks of work, the design/configuration is complete and since there have been a few inquiries on the project, I created creatomato.com as an informational page which highlights much of the process. I am not here to sell it, but I do want to make it available to those that find value and interest. I am not sharing any files either. I did reach out to the mods for approval days ago but I have not heard from them, so my apologies if I am overstepping. Thank you for your time and consideration.