testtest

Proper M1A ammo, for all the new rifle owners out there

KillerFord1977

KillerFord1977

SAINT
Founding Member
To all the new M1A owners out there:
Congrats on your new rifle!

FYI ….

Did you happen to read page 6 of your manual?
Probably not is my guess.😏😏🧐🧐

It pertains to ammo and what NOT to use . Soft tip or magnum is a no no.

Lots of folks didnt know about soft lead tip. Like the “powerpoint” soft tip ammo.
Results in chamber build up of the soft components

Beware of “slam fire” as well.

Pgs 5,6,7 cover the ammo to use
D6F0FC8F-FC03-4A7C-8C58-C0872E409551.jpeg
 
Excellent advice especially on the soft point ammo. These are not gentle running commerical rifles. They were built for a full metal jacket NATO round and that is what they should be fed. Easy enough to find and generally cheaper than commerical ammo. Genuine NATO surplus will have the cross in a circle on the headstamp. I've had lots of Winchester white box with the NATO stamp and I see battle packs available at every gun show I go to.

As a young pup back in the 80's I foolishly ran a box of soft points through my M1A. Took about a year before I was able to clear all the lead jammed into every crevice of the feed ramp and pre-throat area. It was marked up like it had been drawn on with a silver pen. Needless to say they shot like crap because the bullet tips were all deformed and they lost their aerodynamics.
 
Y2K-WS.6 said:
Excellent advice especially on the soft point ammo. These are not gentle running commerical rifles. They were built for a full metal jacket NATO round and that is what they should be fed. Easy enough to find and generally cheaper than commerical ammo. Genuine NATO surplus will have the cross in a circle on the headstamp. I've had lots of Winchester white box with the NATO stamp and I see battle packs available at every gun show I go to.

As a young pup back in the 80's I foolishly ran a box of soft points through my M1A. Took about a year before I was able to clear all the lead jammed into every crevice of the feed ramp and pre-throat area. It was marked up like it had been drawn on with a silver pen. Needless to say they shot like crap because the bullet tips were all deformed and they lost their aerodynamics.
Click to expand...
Ironically, my M1A doesnt like military surplus 175 gr .308. Light primer strikes every time.
Mine does really well with quality commercial fmj ammo.
 
KillerFord1977 said:
To all the new M1A owners out there:
Congrats on your new rifle!

FYI ….

Did you happen to read page 6 of your manual?
Probably not is my guess.😏😏🧐🧐

It pertains to ammo and what NOT to use . Soft tip or magnum is a no no.

Lots of folks didnt know about soft lead tip. Like the “powerpoint” soft tip ammo.
Results in chamber build up of the soft components

Beware of “slam fire” as well.

Pgs 5,6,7 cover the ammo to useView attachment 30427
Click to expand...
I Always read the owners manual, most times with a new gun 2-3 times and a refresher read once a year.

Ammunition not a problem, I will say the slam fire thing has me on edge sometimes but that’s also Ammo related.
 
There's a youtuber named Hickok45 that has addressed and demonstrated slam-firing in a number of firearms. There's an old pump Winchester(?) 12-ga that maybe was designed to do this and was well-liked in trench warfare in WW1, or maybe it was a feature that was unintentional, but useful under the right circumstances. Hickok's cat is named Slam-Fire, btw.

The M1A has a floating firing pin that naturally slaps the primer of a freshly chambered round (it's normal and part of the design). Old ammo always had very thick primers that could handle this without issue. Some newer primers have thinner metals, and some fire when the floating pin slaps the round, so I've heard.

I have yet to experience this phenomenon..my M1A has been pretty solid with both M-80 mil spec rounds (with thicker primers), as well as standard .308 rounds common in stores. I still never chamber a round unless I'm on the range, muzzle pointed properly.
 
Jfal said:
There's a youtuber named Hickok45 that has addressed and demonstrated slam-firing in a number of firearms. There's an old pump Winchester(?) 12-ga that maybe was designed to do this and was well-liked in trench warfare in WW1, or maybe it was a feature that was unintentional, but useful under the right circumstances. Hickok's cat is named Slam-Fire, btw.

The M1A has a floating firing pin that naturally slaps the primer of a freshly chambered round (it's normal and part of the design). Old ammo always had very thick primers that could handle this without issue. Some newer primers have thinner metals, and some fire when the floating pin slaps the round, so I've heard.

I have yet to experience this phenomenon..my M1A has been pretty solid with both M-80 mil spec rounds (with thicker primers), as well as standard .308 rounds common in stores. I still never chamber a round unless I'm on the range, muzzle pointed properly.
Click to expand...
I enjoy hickock 45’s videos. I jave to search for the one you’re referring to.
 
Jfal said:
There's a youtuber named Hickok45 that has addressed and demonstrated slam-firing in a number of firearms. There's an old pump Winchester(?) 12-ga that maybe was designed to do this and was well-liked in trench warfare in WW1, or maybe it was a feature that was unintentional, but useful under the right circumstances. Hickok's cat is named Slam-Fire, btw.

The M1A has a floating firing pin that naturally slaps the primer of a freshly chambered round (it's normal and part of the design). Old ammo always had very thick primers that could handle this without issue. Some newer primers have thinner metals, and some fire when the floating pin slaps the round, so I've heard.

I have yet to experience this phenomenon..my M1A has been pretty solid with both M-80 mil spec rounds (with thicker primers), as well as standard .308 rounds common in stores. I still never chamber a round unless I'm on the range, muzzle pointed properly.
Click to expand...
The old model 37 Ithaca's, the 'Feather Lights', I want to think the ones prior to the mid-late 60's, will also 'slam fire'. I'm always a little unnerved in the field when I see one my quail shooting buddies using one of them and is not aware of it when asked. I was not aware of the issue with the Winchesters though.

I use one (Ithaca #37) myself that I've owned since around 1970, but I was aware of the issue before I bought this one. I'm very cognizant of the issue when in the field or on the range and have never had a problem with a negligent discharge.
 
mikep said:
I enjoy hickock 45’s videos. I jave to search for the one you’re refer
Jfal said:
There's a youtuber named Hickok45 that has addressed and demonstrated slam-firing in a number of firearms. There's an old pump Winchester(?) 12-ga that maybe was designed to do this and was well-liked in trench warfare in WW1, or maybe it was a feature that was unintentional, but useful under the right circumstances. Hickok's cat is named Slam-Fire, btw.

The M1A has a floating firing pin that naturally slaps the primer of a freshly chambered round (it's normal and part of the design). Old ammo always had very thick primers that could handle this without issue. Some newer primers have thinner metals, and some fire when the floating pin slaps the round, so I've heard.

I have yet to experience this phenomenon..my M1A has been pretty solid with both M-80 mil spec rounds (with thicker primers), as well as standard .308 rounds common in stores. I still never chamber a round unless I'm on the range, muzzle pointed properly.
Click to expand...
just watched the hickok45 video where he demonstrated slam fire using an ithaca pump 12 ga compared to regular fire using a 590. looks very awkward. i'd rather just pull the trigger. loved that 590 he was shooting.
Click to expand...
 
There’s a big difference between the older shotguns slam firing and the M1A; the shotguns only slam fire when you hold the trigger back and chamber a round; if you aren’t holding the trigger back, they don’t fire…it’s not due to a floating firing pin/soft primer…it’s basically inducing hammer follow.

Whereas the M1A slam fires due to, basically, a malfunction.
 
HansGruber said:
There’s a big difference between the older shotguns slam firing and the M1A; the shotguns only slam fire when you hold the trigger back and chamber a round; if you aren’t holding the trigger back, they don’t fire…it’s not due to a floating firing pin/soft primer…it’s basically inducing hammer follow.

Whereas the M1A slam fires due to, basically, a malfunction.
Click to expand...
either way, i don't think i'd like it.
 
For this very reason CCI has devolped their #34 primers for reloaders. Designed specifically for 7.62x51 it has a heavier cup that simulates military primers to prevent slam fires. As one might expect they are priced accordingly and like all other primers are "currently unavailable".

Screenshot_20220906-082742_Chrome.jpg
 
HansGruber said:
There’s a big difference between the older shotguns slam firing and the M1A; the shotguns only slam fire when you hold the trigger back and chamber a round; if you aren’t holding the trigger back, they don’t fire…it’s not due to a floating firing pin/soft primer…it’s basically inducing hammer follow.

Whereas the M1A slam fires due to, basically, a malfunction.
Click to expand...
Exactly. And cycling the action with your finger on the trigger is not a malfunction. Ithaca model 37 springs to mind. I have a couple. One of them will do it and one wont. I would prefer neither of them did, but...
 
Talyn said:
When you close the bolt on a fresh round, or when you're firing, the rifle will go off without pulling the trigger.

Due to a soft primer cup or a longer than normal firing pin.
Click to expand...
In many cases a longer pin will actually punch a hole in a soft primer. Many countries used hard primers in its military ammo so the ammo could be put in storage for years and the primers wouldn't go bad because they had a longer shelf life. Most Eastern bloc surplus ammo that used to be on the market was made this way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top