Springfield Armory M1A

[JRuby]

For any rifle only ever spec'd by the Military with wood, I couldn't even imagine ever having it any other way! etrain16's M1A is a very fine example of the pride and craftsmanship that goes into these rifles. Unless you are looking for one of the more modern renditions of these very fine platforms, then it's just gotta be wood!

I never handled a wood stocked m14 in the service but I handled quite a few fiber glassed ones. On submarines.it was one of the firearms I qualified with. Ugly brown fiber glass stocks

 

[Sgt Nambu]

^^^^Ditto! My first issue M-14, in the Army, had one of those butt ugly fiberglass stocks. I have rather small hands and the fiberglass stocks are slimmer. Much better fit with the baby hands!

 

[H2O MAN]

Wood can be pretty and it sure feels good, but of GI stocks, the fiberglass stock is the best for general purpose use. I have one of my personal M14s in a birch E2 stock, but I prefer aluminum chassis stock over all other stocks for the M1A/M14. The chassis stock improves accuracy, and it's impervious to moisture.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Do you have to worry about it cracking the wood stock at all? I'm not intending it to be a safe queen but I just have a couple dehumidifiers in safe. I guess I need to buy a hygrometer gauge.

If you maintain the stock , a wood stock will last for a long time.
A little linseed oil wiped on it time to time is all that we have done to this stock.
Our original Springfield 1808 dated musket ... Original wood stock and all.

While not a M1A , my 03A3 has a nice stock and its been kicking around since 1943.

Wood stocks do tend to pick up dents and dings... They can be removed.
I wouldn't worry too much about the stock , unless you are in the habit of not taking care of the items you own.
Folks have been stocking guns with wood for hundreds of years and they still work.
As nice as some plastic stocks can be .... I do not think that we should give up on wood stocks yet.

No need for fancy gauges ... just take care in the handling of your rifle.
A little stock oil from time to time ... care not spill solvent on the stock.
No big deal.
Andy

 

[H2O MAN]

 

[HuckleberryFun]

I treated my wood stock M1A with 5 coats of pure tung oil and then sealed with gunny paste. Since I'm not strolling through the jungle for days with it I figure that's good enough to prevent warping on the way to the range.

 

[Spray-n-pray]

One of the cool things about owning a M-14 variant is that you can drop it in several different stocks. Some require removal of the sight or to replace the operating rod guide. If you want to keep it simple, get the wood stock and a fiberglass stock. A couple of great things about fiberglass stocks is that they can be stiffened up with epoxy and even fiberglass arrow shafts, and can also be painted. Here's a link to a thread for a few ideas..

Show off your "Painted M14 type rifles!! - M14 Forum

 

[citizen a]

I drool over these but for the $ to buy and the $ to shoot it would end up a safe queen. I do have the venerable Mini-14 which is the poor mans M1A but basically the same action so a little more classic feeling than an AR.

 

[Iceberg]

I have three M14 type rifles, a Armscorp M14 NM built w/ SA M14 parts in GI walnut, M1A Super Match in a Marine Camo McMillan Glass stock & a M1A in a commercial walnut stock. Springfield Armory is putting some beautiful wood on their standards right now. Walnut stocks have been the standard for military & civilian rifles and shotguns for hundreds of years.

 

[Tony617]

View attachment 371767

I have two M1As, one w/ walnut & a Super Match w/ a McMillan Glass stock. Springfield Armory is putting some beautiful wood on their standards right now. I also have a Armscorp M14 NM (pre-ban) w/ GI parts in GI walnut. Walnut stocks have been the standard for military & civilian rifles and shotguns for hundreds of years.

I definitely want the loaded M1A with a wood stock. When I buy it will be my first wood stock rifle. I have a dehumidifier and my safe monitor reports anywhere between 43% - 48% relative humidity. The temperature goes up and so does the humidity a bit. I am just looking at the relative humidity the liberty safe monitor reports. Maybe I will get a humidity gauge as well and put in my gun safe as well. I have not looked at gauges at all since all my stocks are non-wood material.

 

[H2O MAN]

CQB-16 on the left, NM M21A5 on the right... both weigh the same.

 

[H2O MAN]

One of the cool things about owning a M-14 variant is that you can drop it in several different stocks. Some require removal of the sight or to replace the operating rod guide. If you want to keep it simple, get the wood stock and a fiberglass stock. A couple of great things about fiberglass stocks is that they can be stiffened up with epoxy and even fiberglass arrow shafts, and can also be painted.

True.

I have tried out just about every stock ever made for the M14 type rifle, my favorites are the light weight Blackfeather RS and the USGI E2 stocks. This is an old picture of some of the stocks I have tried out.

 

[KKG]

The Problem with the Springfield Armory guns is they simply aren't ALL there.

 

[ron]

I vote for the woodstock Tony617. The M1A is an awesome US Service Rifle.
If you do proper maintenance it will shoot good for many years to come. And a
great family heirloom. Since you are not familiar with wood stock rifles here is
my $.02.
Take the action out of the stock as little as possible. Like every couple of years or
after several thousand rounds. You degrade the wood to receiver fit. Since you have to clean
the rifle from the muzzle you must be very careful to not damage the crown
of the barrel. I use a coated Dewey Rod and a bore guide specifically for a M1A.
Do not use those GI steel sectional cleaning rods.Complete M1A Cleaning Kit
Special gas cylinder wrench to support the gas system when removing the gas plug.
And the drill bits for scraping carbon from the gas piston and plug.
Sadlak Industries M1A 4pc Service Tools | eBay
Grease her up. These rifles run on grease. I use Mobil 1 Synthetic. Superior
to Lubriplate. Get the bolt roller greaser for injecting grease into the roller on
the bolt. Use boiled linseed oil (BLO) on the wood stock.

 

[H2O MAN]

I clean mine from the breech, and there is no degradation from removing the action from the chassis stock as often as you like.

 

[KKG]

Many Moons ago I used some of the Brownells Acraglas gel to seal the inside surface of several M-14(NOT M-1As) Stocks. It worked extremely well. Even considering I was in the Tropics where the Humidity is Incredible!!!

 

[H2O MAN]

Back in 2000, the military recognized the inherent benefits of tension bedding in an aluminum chassis stock. It works on M14s in all weather conditions.

 

[KKG]

The work I did was a bit before then. I didn't care for the fiberglass Stocks and adding the Acraglas gel worked.

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

Any time "Woodstock" is mentioned, SGT Nambu recalls where he was...Aug 69

 

[KKG]

My "Woodstock" was on my M-14 with the Selector Switch. They worked well together.