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M1 versus M1A accuracy

riley p
Honestly, truthfully, can a competent gunsmith get an M1 to shoot as accurately as an M1A??

I've been turning in some fairly decent scores with my M1A in high power competition this year but would much prefer to shoot my M1. I recently had both re-bedded and barreled and the M1A performs great at 600 but the M1 isn't worth a darn.

Am I wasting my money trying to get the M1 to shoot on par with my M1A??
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Comments

4 comments

Date Votes
  • nmyers
    There's no reason why an M1 can't shoot as well as, or better than, an M1A.

    But, match prep on a service rifle is often beyond the experience of a "competent gunsmith". You might want to find a "service trained armorer" who knows how to get the most our of an M1 rifle.

    Neal

    "Speed costs money; how fast do you want to go?" --- sign, Coleman Bros Speed Shop
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  • XXCross
    In the long run, it's all going to come down to the ability of the shooter. I've seen some REALLY GOOD scores posted with the M-1.
    You can only "buy" so much score, the rest you have to earn.
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  • givette
    The human element is eliminated, here, as both rifles are shot by the same person in competition, and only one performs. So...

    M1A never saw service. I'm only saying that because an M1, to be competitive, always needs a complete build by the same folks that supply the line at, say, Camp Perry.

    M1/M1A have different vibration 'harmonics' when fired. You knew that already, I'm sure.

    You've got to go thru the 'back door' on this. See if you can locate one of the G/S's that supplies the lines for major competitions. There's a Camp Perry forum by itself, or on the CMP website. Go over there, and get a 'feel' for what the [winning] competitors use. Best, Joe

    EDIT
    Just read your post again. Did the M1's group 'tighten up' somewhat after the re-barrel and bedding? If so, your G/S did the 'routine' work, and missed the fine points of tuning a competition rifle. Remember: the M1 has seen service with troops, many parts and the stock are not new, and the M1A has/is not. Best again, Joe
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  • mark christian
    Back when I first began Service Rifle shooting in the early '80s most of the shooters on the line were using M1s. The M1A was still something of a rare sight on the range and the old timers sort of looked down at the M1A because it was not "truly USGI", it was a commercial rifle playing the part of US Rifle M14. By the mid 1990s things had flip flopped and the M1A was by far the most dominant rifle on the firing line with many shooters considering the M1 to be virtually an antique and used only by old farts too cheap to pony up the money for a new rifle. There is no question that the M1 can be built into a highly accurate match rifle, but it is getting a bit harder to find gun smiths (the old smiths who were military armorers who were trained on the M1 are dying off pretty quick) who can really get the most out of an M1. Now of course the AR-15 platform is the dominant rifle in service rifle matches and the M1A is looked at as a sort of dinosaur. Interestingly during the past 10 years the use of match grade M1 rifles has increased, mostly due to the massive numbers of M1s old by the CMP to civilian shooters who see a $500 M1, even after adding in several hundred dollars of upgrades, as a much cheaper alternative when compared to the price of a NM M1A right out of the box.
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