M-1A vs PTR-91

Yesterday I found a new (to me) range just over the Mississippi line so I went to check it out. I also got to test and sight in both new 7.62 rifles that I picked up before the Pandemic hit and closed my regular range for the duration.

This rifles: top to bottom, Springfield M-1A Scout Squad and PTR-91.

Neither has a sling yet. It was noticed during the shooting which was done at 200 yards prone from the mat. Eventually the Springfield will get an optic of some sort. The PTR will stay in it's "clean" configuration. I will cobble up some sort of sling adapter for it so I as a left-hander can carry it properly and maybe even use it as a shooting aid like on the M-1/M-1A/M-16 rifles. Both shot 7.62x51mm ammo from 20rd. box magazines.

The first glitch came when I brought out some old reloaded ammo I'd made up for a 1919A4 once upon a time. These rounds were a trifle too long for most rifle box magazines so I'd set them aside for my .308 bolt rifles. Of course they wound up back in the mix and got grabbed this morning by mistake. Dammit, I know better. The M-1A did load and fire them without a hitch. The PTR struggled to chamber a few of them because the bullet tip was right up against the forward wall of the magazine and they didn't chamber well when I'd release the bolt on the first round.

Also, that bolt/bolt handle. As a leftie...grr! When I'd slap the bolt handle down out of it's retaining slot, the bolt and handle would shoot forward and that handle would hit my right hand which was already in place of the foregrip most every time. And it moves fast and hits hard! This can be resolved with training (keep the fingers out out the way) but it wasn't happy-making. The PTR also has a stiffer, heavier trigger than the M-1A (which is almost like a competition trigger in it's lightness and smoothness) but the PTR trigger does break crisply and cleanly. Both were pleasant and enjoyable to shoot from that aspect. Both also present with very nice sight pictures and they shoulder instinctively and comfortably. Each was a joy to shoot, although the PTR's recoil was noticeably sharper with the same ammo. It wasn't unpleasant at all, it was pretty much what you'd expect from a 7.62mm cartridge. It just showed me how effective the M-1A and it's muzzle brake is at reducing felt recoil.

The sights on the M-1A are much more adjustable, and coupled with that trigger, the smoother recoil and the fact that it's charging handle wasn't busting my fingers like the PTR, I gave it the edge in shootability, although I'd be happy with either one in a pinch. Accuracy was tough to gauge because that crummy ammo was printing WAY low with both rifles, but I had no difficulty putting them all on the standard pistol silhouette in passable groups at 200 yards with both rifles.

I love them both. The M-1A was a bit better in the ergonomics and performance areas but it's also about twice the price. I'd fight with either if I needed a "go to" rifle and I endorse them both.

Some luck...But M-1A luck!

Aargh! I made this post but for some reason it never went live. So here it is again, only updated a bit.
Back in January when I walked into the local gun shop to pick up my CMP 1911, I happen to glance at the used rifle rack and noted that it contained two rifles--a Ruger Mini-14 with a fair bit of aftermarket crap on it and a Springfield Armory M1A Scout Squad.

I like the Scout Squad. I do. I have caressed and salivated over them at every NRA convention I've been to for years. I've long wanted one but not quite badly enough to justify the prices being sought for them.

This one was on consignment. The previous owner had bought it and reportedly never shot it and judging by the total absence of dirt, carbon, brass or rub marks on the metal parts and a box filled with all of the factory paperwork and accessories, I actually believe it.

I handled it. I pondered it. I worked the action and marveled at it's crisp, smooth trigger over and over. I asked the price and made a counter-offer. It was rejected and I left.

Thursday morning I went back in. I pawed it some more. I revised my lowball offer just a bit and this time they came back with another offer that I liked and I walked out with the rifle for $950, stiff new tactical carrying case included.

Seriously, it's deals like this that only people like Old NFO usually score. Only this time it was my turn. I've already got a GI wood stock for an M-14 that I'm going to refinish and put on this one, followed by a Burris 2-7x32 scout scope or similar optic.

I didn't need this "deal" right after buying the 1911. (It's a good thing I like ramen, because that's going to be lunch and dinner for a while...)
I didn't need that extra expense at the beginning of the new year.
But the way certain politicos are acting. I might be needing this rifle for real in a year or two.

It's a nice partner to my first "real" rifle, the standard M-1A that I bought back in 1988 when another group of politicos, that time supported by George Bush Sr. in the White House, passed a so-called "assault weapons" ban. That bill led my to buy the M-1A back then, and the current Dem antics in places like Virginia and threats of draconian gun bans in 2021 if they manage to steal this year's election convinced me to invest in self-defense once again.

7.62x51mm. Turning cover into concealment since the 1950's. Because when I shoot something I want it to stay shot.

Adding to the original post, I was not pleased with the black fiberglass stock. Sure it's "tacticool" I guess, but just not my thing. So I took an old M-14 stock that I had in the attic because I've been too lazy to sell it over the last couple of decades, and I stripped it down and spent a week giving it linseed oil rubs. Then I took an old slotted M-14 handguard that has also been pretty much in the way for as long as the stock, and I cut it with my dremel to fit over the scope base, giving the rifle a more unique look and a better color match with the new wood stock. The finished version now looks like this:

Now all it needs is the right sling and a decent scout optic for the base and I'm all set. Haven't had it out yet because the local range is still flooded, but it does balance and shoulder nice!

Yesterday...Busy but good.

Got up early Saturday morning and headed for the bar. (This is New Orleans, folks...it's seriously how we roll.) Just had a couple of cups of coffee--no booze--and headed out to Pear River to do some more shooting.

I took these two out to fine-tune the zeroes on them.

Top is my Springfield Armory M-1A, which I purchased new back in 1988 in response to George H.W. Bush's famous "Assault Weapon" ban. It was my "go-to" rifle for many years, and it was my competition rifle as well as my prime defensive tool before I came around to ARs. But now the circle is complete and I've once again embraced the .30 round for most social purposes.

The lower rifle reflects my philosophy modernized--it's that custom FAL that I had done by the nice folks at DS Arms. It's shorter and more utilitarian than the M-1A and much handier for work in an urban setting, IMHO. It's got it's new Blue Force Gear Vickers sling on now.

Using the 25 yard range, I zeroed both for 200 yards, and then played around on the 100-yard steel plates at the range. I think that they're actually 8" discs, and impossible to miss with the M-1A. I could hit them regularly with the FAL too, but I needed to use just a bit of hold-over and really concentrate on trigger press since the sights aren't as adjustable as the M-1A's and the trigger is definitely not as smooth. But that's the difference between the two. The FAL is a fighting rifle, period. It's made to put rounds on man-sized targets out to a reasonable range and do so even when wet, muddy, frozen, etc., It's not quite "AK-47" rugged, but it's a lot closer than the M-1A, which is more of a precision weapon with it's crisp, "break like glass" tuned trigger and superior adjustable sights.

Both rifles functioned flawlessly and put the rounds pretty much where I wanted them to go. I wish that I could have gotten another turn on the FAL front sight tool to get it down to 100 yards, but it bottomed out at 200 and a touch high at that. So it goes...

They do handle totally differently. The FAL is more ergonomic and comes onto point quicker, but the M-1A has sights and a trigger to die for.

Now I'm thinking seriously about a Springfield Scout. or a SCAR Heavy, which I also have a bug for, thanks to Old NFO letting me shoot his. I want compact and reliable and fast-handling and precision all rolled into one. The search for the perfect rifle goes on.

Then it was home for at minute to lock up the rifles and change, and off to a free self-defense seminar put on by a guy who is setting up a new MMA and self-defense school here. Hey--free and a chance to pick up a trick or two--what's not to like? (Esp. the "free" part.) Did that, came home again, took a nap on the couch, then joined my neighbors down the street for a block party that they'd kicked off because--hey, it's New Orleans...it's how we roll.

Then as I was walking home, all full of good food and beer, I looked at the front of my house and saw this:

Eff'n dogs. This is how THEY roll.

"Next time leave the blinds open so we don't have to open them ourselves."