The trigger set up is basically identical to the Garand.Īnd, you don’t need a semi auto for elk hunting in Wyoming. Also, the trigger group holds the action in the stock instead of action screws: the pressure tends to change over time and affect accuracy. It can be a very crisp, two stage trigger, but it can’t be lightened. Fooling with it beyond a certain point turns it into a machine gun. The other problem is the trigger about M1A elk hunting in Wyoming: it’s good, but, because of its design, with a primary and secondary sear engagement, it is very difficult to get it to break at less than 5 lbs. You have to bed them and tweak the gas system to get them there. I would be surprised if a stock M1A would do better than 3 MOA with factory hunting ammo. Having shot in competition with an M1A, I have to say that they are pretty much 2MOA rifles, and that’s with some work and hand-loads. I have killed maybe six animals from prone: all antelope and one elk.īarrel twist rate for the M1A should be fine for hunting bullets in the 150-168gr. A lot of the after market sniper type stocks work best for prone shooting, and wouldn’t be great for offhand or field positions. You will see plenty of pictures of old M14’s in Iraq with scopes: they all have some sort of foam cheek piece taped to the stock. Something like the Scout Squad model with the 18 inch barrel would work, but you would either have to find another stock with some sort of adjustable cheek piece or add a cheek riser on the standard stock for a scope. I would NOT consider a 16 inch barrel- the muzzle blast is ferocious. You need some sort of adjustable cheek piece on the stock. Problem with the M1A is cheek weld with a scope.

Our instructor Bob Gathercole gave a response that might be helpful to others. One of our clients really liked the feel of our Springfield Armory M1A and asked about using it as a hunting rifle for elk & deer in Wyoming.

Nomad hunting