I have a 'pre-ban' SAInc USGI model from back when they used all USGI parts. Most of mine is from Harrington & Richardson, including the bolt & barrel. It is amazingly accurate and stone-cold reliable. I mounted mine in an M14E2 stock, and aside from being a bit heavier, it's a dream to shoot and far more controllable rapid-fire.

AFAIK, SAinc has always used an investment cast receiver.

 

AFAIK, SAinc has always used an investment cast receiver.

Most of the Internet agrees with you, except this guy: Where are Springfield M1A receivers made? | [October Updated]

 

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M14 Rifles | M14 Rifle | Fulton-Armory.com

I have a Springfield scout that i'm happy with. Since an M1A wouldn't be my first or second choice as a battle rifle, I felt a lowly Springfield would suffice for my needs.

 

If money is no object LRB Arms makes the best M14 type rifle that's been commercially produced. The receiver is hammer forged to very close to the original Government SA forging shape. Multi axis CNC machined and heat treated to latest revision USGI M14 Blueprint.

Can be built with all USGI parts and you will hands down get the best available commercial M14 rifle.

SAINC is a good choice for budget oriented with lifetime warranty. Good Solid rifle

Can't comment on Bula , never worked on one but there is plenty of info on a number of forums.

Lots of options on LRB web page Lou and gang have spent a lot of money and time perfecting the receivers they are producing currently . The receiver is the heart of the M14 rifle.

Investment castings are fine if machined and heat treated to USGI specs .

But as I said before if money is of no concern buy the best. LRB has achieved this title.

 

If money is no object LRB Arms makes the best M14 type rifle that's been commercially produced. The receiver is hammer forged to very close to the original Government SA forging shape. Multi axis CNC machined and heat treated to latest revision USGI M14 Blueprint.


But as I said before if money is of no concern buy the best. LRB has achieved this title.

Unfortunately, money is of concern. I would also like to try NRL Hunter before I get too old to compete.

 

For the record SAIINC castings have mostly been very good to excellent on both machining and heat treat. I've cross sectioned and tested case and core on one couple years ago. They had a few minor issues in past one of which was firing pin cams were not done correctly and some required reworking.

 

Few pictures from LRB .

 

My M14-S has a forged receiver.

 

My M14-S has a forged receiver.

View attachment 931341

The Chinese M14s did have a forged and well hardened receiver, that's true. But the bolts are usually soft and headspace often becomes dangerous after a few hundred rounds. Op-rods were hit or miss. Some were soft and bent, some were too hard and broke.

And USGI parts don't just drop-in. The receiver's boltway and helix are usually totally out of spec so the bolt does not cam-in or out properly. The receiver/barrel thread in metric 60deg V-pattern while USGI barrels have a square thread. The receiver usually needs to be annealed to correct these problems. The springs are garbage!

And the piles of USGI M-14 parts got gobbled up. Especially bolts and op-rods.

Gun Test magazine did a 5000rd torture test several years ago. A Chinese (Polytec/Norinco?) vs a standard SAInc. The Chinese rifle barely made it over the 1000rd mark. Headspace grew and the op-rod spring went limp!
The SAInc flew thru it's 5000rds, plus the leftovers from the Chin rifle.

So that good deal gets expensive real quick!

 

I own an LRB M25 and a Springfield M1A. They get along fine, in the safe and in the firing line. I would not hesitate to buy a Fulton Armory rifle today.

From the way-back machine:

https://www.m14forum.com/threads/forged-vs-cast.10292/

 

As a “battle rifle” or precision shooter? Springfield SOCOM is a very competent shooter and mobile. Smith Enterprises has some very accurate setups. I had a select-fire SAI in a Sage stock and it was amazing.

 

I have an LRB scout rifle, a Bula standard rifle and a Springfield NM rifle. The LRB is in a league all by itself, and I prefer the Bula to the Springfield though there’s certainly nothing wrong with the Springfield. I’ve had it the longest and shot it the most with no issues. As to forged vs cast receivers I’m not sure it matters to the average shooter. As one guy explained to me once, “The forged receiver is good for 350,000 rounds and the cast receiver will only make about 300,000.” I sure wouldn’t lose any sleep worrying over a cast receiver.

 

Have a fairly early SA M1A NM (24XXX range) that I couldn't be happier with. Shoots 1" off the bench with handloads with factory NM open sights.

 

The earlier SAI rifles had USGI parts on them , great rifles . As parts became less available they had to start manufacturing them .

First they tried casting bolts and had failures.
Recalled them changed bolts to forged.

Operating rods are casted handles welded to tube section. Generally ok but have seen some come apart. In which they will replace.

Trigger groups are using casted componants most people change out hammers, triggers, guards to USGI parts.The cast housing is OK.

The machining that goes into the M14 receiver is the heart of the rifle. If it's off in the more critical areas it can be a builders nightmare.

The second most important thing is the heat treat of the receiver. USGI blueprint calls for case layer to be .012-.018 thick with hardness of D66-D71 or 56-61. HRC equivilient .

And the core hardness is 28 - 42 HRC
This provides good lubricity to the moving parts and some corrosion resistance. Hard case and tuff core.


There is anouther option on the horizon . Mark Hartman of James River Armory has a brand new Cold forged billet M14 they have just unveiled and soon to be available.
No ties to any previous manufacturers. So a new receiver .

 

I'd look for an old Springfield. That's what I have. It has an TRW bolt and several other USGI parts, I'd guess it's from the 1990s or early 2000s.

For reliability, I've been watching people shoot Springfield M1As since I was a boy. Never heard any complaints, and they used them in matches quite a bit years ago. Ask yourself how many rounds you're going to shoot a year in the matches you want to do. If it's not much, why worry? Also, in the remote chance you have something break on the Springfield, they'll replace it. I don't follow costs, but I got my Springfield about 6-8 years ago for a grand. I shot a real M-14 in the Navy, Expert, and in several matches. Carred one often on the Ship. The Springfield is fine. You're not going into combat in some remote Sandbox....just buy the Springfield.

 

One of the main reasons they stopped the tests was because the Chinese bolt gained dangerous headspace and cases were showing cracks. The bolt closed on the longest headspace gage they had. The springs sagged so much the op-rod was slamming the receiver and the mahogany stock started burning. Gun Test bought their guns NIB off the shelf and received no money from the gun makers.

 

A Chinese copy of an M-14 or 1911 is a travesty. We fought 2 wars when we were shooting at them with these guns, and they were killing us with their ratty SKS and AK-47s, now they're planning on beating us economically, and prepping for a world war starting in the Pacific. I'd not own a Chinese gun, especially a copy of one we were trying to prevent their spread of Communism. Giving money to China is like digging your grave.

 

Well, I had a hard time with Mitsubishi automobiles. Also, check your shirt label, chances are it was made in Vietnam. I am sure you might not want to own a TV, cell phone or a Harley if you want to stay away from China. Oh, by the way, we provided money and arms to Mao in WWII, foolish as it seems now. There is a movie, from the 1960’s, where three older men who are Jewish, one of whom owns a Volkswagen Beetle. The other two refuse to ride in it. So, they walk along side their friend as he drives slowly down the street.

 

At the end of the day, is a forged receiver worth $600 more than a cast receiver?

 

Very good point. People buy things marketed as, “Just as good as,” all the time that are made cheaper and sold under that logo. But, sometimes the generic cereal just sucks.

 

Here is my take. I have owned 2 SA M1a's - A NM model, and a standard model. Both accurate and reliable. I kept the standard model as it is just as accurate as my NM model was. One of my favorite rifles, it almost always goes to the range with me on days I am shooting CF rifle. Never an issue thru maybe 4 thousand rounds, which is a lot for this type of firearm unless you are doing mag dumps or are a serious competitor. Stays at a little over an inch for 5 shots at 100 yards on a good day with the right ammo.

I long ago gave up the belief that cast parts are all suspect, and anything not "Mil Spec" is somehow substandard. It is really based on the individual manufacturer and model.

I think you would enjoy a new SA M1a Loaded, and find it to be a dependable rifle with good magazines (Checkmate, GI, or factory). And good, reliable optic mounts are available if wanted. Mine has had an optic mounted most of its life with NO issues. I use an "A.R.M.S #18 SWAN" mount.

Larry

 

I think that there's a vast gulf between owning a firearm or most anything produced and used by vanquished regime and the scenario of supporting a belligerent (since 1943~ and especially the unresolved Korean conflict ) nation's arms industry.

Particularly when that nation and its industry is most certainly to be fighting our children or grandchildren one day if each side actually holds to their established principles.

 

The way I see it, every one of the current ( what, 4 manufacturers? ) of M14/M1A have their cheerleaders and their detractors.

For my money, I have always looked at each as a form of pre-assembled parts and fully expect to have to do the final fit, finish and parts selection myself.

In that perspective - if one is not up to that - customer service is king and where that is a priority along with potential re-sale, I give a highly qualified nod to S.A.

 

I like my SA, and when the wood stock was broken in shipping, I started looking for an original USGI stock. On a trip back East we were in an old type antique shop that had been there decades, with a basement. Down in it's basement was a barrel with some canes and a few gun stocks. One was a USGI M-14 stock. Got it for $20. Feels and shoots just like the ones I had in the Navy in the 1980s.

 

Really today about the only trouble you would have with M1A is trigger group parts failure especially the hammer hooks and trigger guard. Or operating rod failure at weld junction. Fairly common .

Most people change hammer, trigger, guard to NOS GI parts . Good to go .

The operating rod is less likely to fail if it fits and passes tilt test so it's not in a bind it will probably last many thousand rounds.

The Bolts are forged 8620 alloy made to USGI specs and heat treat they are good to go.

I'm a long time member of M14 over the years we occasionally see these failures.
In the last couple months saw two op rod failures and one hammer failure, one trigger guard failure.

 

Some parts castings just don't have the design strength . SAI found out the hard way on bolts they tried to cast and cost the company a lot of money recalling them .

They have also had a fair amount of hammer failures due to casting.

Many parts were cast at USGI level on the M14

Gas cylinders
Flash suppressor
Clip guide
Bolt stop
Sear release
Selector
Gas cylinder lock

To name a few

Government drawings list optional methods by investment cast and forgings on these parts above.

It should be noted that US Springfield Armory was working on precision castings perfecting and advertising during early 50's

Guess where Bill Ruger cut his teeth ?
Springfield Armory was his first firearms job out of college.

 

It should be noted SAI INC has nothing to do with US Springfield Armory

 

At one time I owned both a SA M1A and LRB M14. I still own the LRB. The M1A was all GI except the operating rod. The LRB is all GI except it has a commercial chrome lined barrel. Both were rack grade rifles.

The M1A shot like a match rifle with groups being 1 inch to 1.25 with my handloads. The LRB will stay slightly under 3 inches with surplus ammo and under 2 inches with my handloads. Although the M1A was more accurate, for some reason I always liked the LRB better. That could be I ordered a barreled action with a head spaced bolt and rear sight installed from LRB. I assembled the rest from parts I ordered from Elmer Balance. The stock iirc I ordered from Fred’s.

Some not great photos of the LRB.

 

I’ve had this Springfield Armory Loaded model since 1996:

10 rounds offhand at 100 meters


It has been an accurate, reliable and a maintenance free rifle for almost 30 years.

Couldn’t begin to estimate the number of rounds it’s fired.

I’ve had this SAI scout Squad for about 12 years. Same deal, I bought it used and couldn’t tell you how many rounds have been through it. Absolutely no issues with parts breakage.



I bought this SAI SOCOM on the eve of the Bush/Kerry election, in 20 years the only problem I’ve had was I needed to change out an ejector and ejector spring;


I can’t speak to SAI’s quality here of late but I haven’t had any complaints with any of mine and they are far from safe queens.

 

Just today posted by members on M14 Forum , these SAI hammers should be replaced immediately.

 

The loaded version is supposed to have NM parts. Can I assume it will be a better grade? Nevermind. Stupid question. NM trigger, rear sight, and barrel. Not the hammer.