by Stuart Allan
The Springfield Armory M1A is a semi-automatic rifle was developed after the iconic battle rifle of World War Two, the M1 Garand, which is also available for your use during your time with the Jackson Hole Shooting Experience. Are you ready to shoot guns in Wyoming?
This close kinship makes sense when you look at the two rifles beside each other because the body of the two rifles are very similar with only a few, distinct differences. The most obvious difference between the two battle rifles is that the M1A has an external box magazine. Another difference is that our M1A has an aperture or peep sight instead of the M1’s open iron sights. The last and most notable difference is the cartridge.
The M1A fires a 7.62 x 51 cartridge very similar to the cartridge fired by the AK 47 which is also available at the Jackson Hole Shooting Experience. The smaller cartridge size combined with the external box magazine allows the M1A to carry far more ammunition that its predecessor, the M1 Garand. Our M1A has a polymer stock making it far lighter than the M1 Garand.
The M1A was used by government people to kill other people in the Korean and Vietnam wars before the U.S. Government adopted current M16 style rifles. The old battle rifle is still popular for competitive shooting and has been known to hit targets out to a hard to believe 1,000 yards and beyond. It is not perfect for hunting but can be used. If you find that hard to believe, try to comprehend this, the competition shooters like our coach Bob Gathercole do not use telescopic sights! They use Iron Sights!
The 7.62 x 51 cartridge is still used by world government NATO forces and is considered effective up to a mind-blowing 1,400 yards or more in the hands of an experienced sniper.
At the Jackson Hole Shooting Experience, we have the Springfield Armory M1A is a civilian version of the M14 which has been used by the military. Both fire the same rounds. The only real difference is the shape of the body. In fact, if you do a Google search for the M14, you get lots of results for the Springfield Armory M1A.
