I've had my Scout Squad up for sale for several months, but recently experienced a windfall and no longer need to sell it in order to finance a project I have in mind.
So today I decided to just keep it.
Range report to follow, later on today!
Gonna Keep my M1A Scout Squad
Moderators: Bullseye, Moderators
-
charlesb
- Master contributor
- Posts: 689
- Joined: Wed Feb 10, 2010 10:39 pm
- Location: Mountains of West Texas
I decided to borrow the Burris 2x scope from my Ruger MkIII pistol, mounting it scout style on the picatinny rail that Springfield has in the middle of the handguard.
When I tried it out though, it was shooting three feet high at 25 yards!
So I went back to the shop and mounted a different set of rings, and when I got back to the range and tried it again, it was doing much better!
By the time I got it sighted in though, I only had five rounds with me so I did my best at 50 yards with those five rounds and obtained a one inch group. Two of the Wolf steel-cased polyformance rounds went into a single hole.
That is encouraging, it's doing better than I expected with just twenty rounds through it.
I noted that the recoil was very soft for a .308, and the trigger wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The black synthetic stock has a soft kick-pad on it. There is some creep in the trigger, but it is fairly predictable.
I expect to have a lot of fun tinkering with the M1A... I have a walnut stock for it that will need bedding and some fit and finish work, and I'll take a look at the trigger too.
With a 4x scope, I think I would like it a lot better. I might consider a 2-7 variable.
I'm glad I decided to keep it after all. It's fun to shoot, and tinkering with it will keep me busy when it's cold outside, this winter. The stock work in particular will be good for that.
Next on the agenda: Take it completely apart and see if I can put it back together again!
When I tried it out though, it was shooting three feet high at 25 yards!
So I went back to the shop and mounted a different set of rings, and when I got back to the range and tried it again, it was doing much better!
By the time I got it sighted in though, I only had five rounds with me so I did my best at 50 yards with those five rounds and obtained a one inch group. Two of the Wolf steel-cased polyformance rounds went into a single hole.
That is encouraging, it's doing better than I expected with just twenty rounds through it.
I noted that the recoil was very soft for a .308, and the trigger wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The black synthetic stock has a soft kick-pad on it. There is some creep in the trigger, but it is fairly predictable.
I expect to have a lot of fun tinkering with the M1A... I have a walnut stock for it that will need bedding and some fit and finish work, and I'll take a look at the trigger too.
With a 4x scope, I think I would like it a lot better. I might consider a 2-7 variable.
I'm glad I decided to keep it after all. It's fun to shoot, and tinkering with it will keep me busy when it's cold outside, this winter. The stock work in particular will be good for that.
Next on the agenda: Take it completely apart and see if I can put it back together again!
-
charlesb
- Master contributor
- Posts: 689
- Joined: Wed Feb 10, 2010 10:39 pm
- Location: Mountains of West Texas
The only worrysome thing I have heard was a comment about the M1A's not staying accurized long-term, due to something about the system for fitting the action to the stock.
One fellow on YouTube complained about a piece of metal on the safety, a little pointed tip breaking off - but in another YouTube video, an armorer pointed out the possibility of breaking off that piece by forcefully attempting to engage the safety with the gun in the fired, un-cocked condition.
Right now I am not making any modifications because I am still getting familiar with the gun, and don't know much about it. I'll probably do a trigger job first because it is pretty straightforward - a matter of stoning the engagement surfaces.
Fitting the new walnut stock will be a lot more involved... It is slightly undersize, a bit tight internally and will require some fitting to get the action mated to it. Right now the action will go in part way, but not all the way and I can see where some wood will have to be chiseled and scraped to get it to slide in. Once I get it to sink in and fit, I'll have to relieve a few areas for the glass bedding.
The outside of the stock is oversize by a good deal, maybe 1/8 inch too big in all directions. I have a feeling that shaping and finishing it will occupy a number of winter days, when its too cold or wet to go out shooting.
Meanwhile it seems to do OK with the composite stock it came with, it shoots 2 MOA out of the box with no modifications, using a 2x handgun scope.
The first two photos were done on my steel welding table in the evening, so everything looks blue. Actually the composite stock is black, and the handgaurd is dark brown.
Click image to see it bigger
One fellow on YouTube complained about a piece of metal on the safety, a little pointed tip breaking off - but in another YouTube video, an armorer pointed out the possibility of breaking off that piece by forcefully attempting to engage the safety with the gun in the fired, un-cocked condition.
Right now I am not making any modifications because I am still getting familiar with the gun, and don't know much about it. I'll probably do a trigger job first because it is pretty straightforward - a matter of stoning the engagement surfaces.
Fitting the new walnut stock will be a lot more involved... It is slightly undersize, a bit tight internally and will require some fitting to get the action mated to it. Right now the action will go in part way, but not all the way and I can see where some wood will have to be chiseled and scraped to get it to slide in. Once I get it to sink in and fit, I'll have to relieve a few areas for the glass bedding.
The outside of the stock is oversize by a good deal, maybe 1/8 inch too big in all directions. I have a feeling that shaping and finishing it will occupy a number of winter days, when its too cold or wet to go out shooting.
Meanwhile it seems to do OK with the composite stock it came with, it shoots 2 MOA out of the box with no modifications, using a 2x handgun scope.
The first two photos were done on my steel welding table in the evening, so everything looks blue. Actually the composite stock is black, and the handgaurd is dark brown.
Click image to see it bigger
Last edited by charlesb on Fri Oct 17, 2014 9:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
charlesb
- Master contributor
- Posts: 689
- Joined: Wed Feb 10, 2010 10:39 pm
- Location: Mountains of West Texas
I had a lot of fun with my Scout Squad, but had other priorities come up and finally decided to let it go.
I have owned dozens and dozens of firearms over the years. Very few stay with me more than a year or so. Usually I start to lose interest in them about the time that I get them working really well.
Sometimes I get the same firearm over and over again... I'm currently on my third Mossberg 500 shotgun, for example, and I've owned several Smith and Wesson model 686 revolvers.
The one that I've had the longest is a real dog, an old Mossberg bolt-action shotgun in 20 gauge that kicks all out of proportion to the shell it fires. - I guess it's been knocking around the closet and getting occasional use for close to fifty years, now.
My son just finished refinishing the stock on it, and we are getting ready to polish and rust blue the metalwork.
I have owned dozens and dozens of firearms over the years. Very few stay with me more than a year or so. Usually I start to lose interest in them about the time that I get them working really well.
Sometimes I get the same firearm over and over again... I'm currently on my third Mossberg 500 shotgun, for example, and I've owned several Smith and Wesson model 686 revolvers.
The one that I've had the longest is a real dog, an old Mossberg bolt-action shotgun in 20 gauge that kicks all out of proportion to the shell it fires. - I guess it's been knocking around the closet and getting occasional use for close to fifty years, now.
My son just finished refinishing the stock on it, and we are getting ready to polish and rust blue the metalwork.