I decided to build what I hope turns out to be my ultimate personal EBR. The current barreled action is a well used 18" Springfield Armory Scout Squad M1A and I plan to have Smith Enterprise install one of their standard weight 18" barrels with a 1:10 twist as well as perform a few additional upgrades, but all of that will happen later on. My current focus has been to choose the right pistol grip and butt stock and that's what I am detailing here.

Yo! This is my current set up. I want to make upgrades but don’t know what I would like. I really want a Delta14 chassis but I like the wood too much. I’m probably going to buy another rifle just to keep this classic look.

I want to make this into a battle rifle possibly with a bipod? I want either the Springfield scope mount or a sadlack mount.

As far as an optic I am torn. I would like a trijicon acog but I think I would have to get a cheek riser. What are some other good options for LPVOs?

I currently have the ultimak mount installed.

Any recs going forward?

I'm starting to look at get my M1A Scout Squad suppressor ready, but I'm getting conflicting information from Google. Which dovetail gas lock would I need to buy in order to put my factory Scout Squad NM front sight on it? Or is that not an option and I need a USGI Front sight? I'm looking at the Fulton one and there's a "High" and a "Low" option, but doesn't say anything about which specific sights I can use. Since Smith Enterprise updated their website, they also updated their catalog and Information that was once correct to their parts is no longer relevant.

Also, for those that have used both the GLFS with standard front sight as well as the HK style GLFS, which did you prefer and why?

I got the clip guide pin out with a punch relatively easy and the guide still won’t move.

Does anyone know what a reasonable asking price for the FDE would be? It doesn't appear to be in production anymore.

Smith Enterprises mount, Vortex low pro 30mm rings with a Vortex Strike Eagle.

It’s not holding zero. Shooting it will knock my zero into outer space but I noticed that even hitting the receiver with my hand firmly will move it.

This is my first attempt at a setup like this but is my issue with the mount or the rings? Or both?

SEI: Windtalker

Just seeing if anyone knows where I can get this kydex grip. I’ve tried US tactical but they don’t have it in stock and I can’t find it anywhere.

Banned state M1A owner here. Just picked up my 22” compliance M1A over the weekend and shot 50 rounds through it. Such an awesome gun to shoot and glad I got it.

However, due to my states laws, it doesn’t have a comp or flash hider and there are no threads on the barrel

In my head my 2 options are

More expensive: have a gunsmith replace my barrel with a pin and weld flash hider

Less expensive: clamp on flash hider

Any recommendations or suggestions? Thanks

9 more days until I can pick it up and bring it home!

What’s the consensus on scope mounts? I’ve asked a few questions but I’d love to really narrow it down and get one ordered. Here’s my simplified thoughts:

Sadlak: expensive and not in stock until April, but top tier

Utg: cheap and seems to sit too low for consistent ejection

Springfield: QC seems iffy, mixed reviews all around

Basset: not in production

CASM: sits quite high but otherwise good?

Picked this up on a private sale for $1295. Google tells me it has a good USGI barrel and USGI guts. It’s a 1980 dated national match with a Saco-Lowell barrel, TRW OP rod and H&R trigger assembly. It’s in a GI stock and has the bayonet lug still attached. Google says this would be a good collector’s piece, is that correct?

I own a 22 inch EBR with a bipod and Sadlak mount (as pictured), and I've been contemplating on getting an optic for it and I've been thinking of choosing the following:

Trijicon Credo 4-16 x 30

Trijicon VCOG 1-8 x28

EOTech Vudu 1-10 x 28

Leupold 2-10 x 30

Sig Sauer Tango DMR 2-12 x 42

I'm also open to suggestions, looking for anything 2k or less if possible

A pawn shop near me has an early m1a. It is a "GI parts era" gun, with the serial number on the receiver dating to the late 50s-early 60s. It's in decent shape, good bore, has some minor rust on the trigger group and mag catch, but nothing that won't clean up enough to make me happy. They're asking 1500. I am usually pretty competent when it comes to values, but I have no experience with these rifles. I've had Garands, and I owned a bm59 briefly, but that was many years ago. Does 1500 sound reasonable for an early rifle, or should I just spend 1200 and buy a newer one used? I have no real interest in it as a collectable, it's going to be a shooter. Is there actually anything about those older models, other than having the cutout for the selector switch, that really makes them any different from the new ones? Sources are kind of all over the place.

Ergo adapter came in about 30 minutes ago, and with that the puzzle was complete. Comes in at 11.6lbs with mag in, versus 14lbs with the wood stock and bipod. I hate that all these adapters angle the buttstock down but at the same time......meh

Dropped my M1A into a blackfeather rs2 gen2 chassis. Bought in 2015 and have always had in the walnut stock. Decided to switch it up a little.

- Springfield M1A Loaded

- Sadlak 101st mount

- Vortex Viper 6.5-20x50 (probably going to switch to the 3.5-18x44)

- Magpul bipod

- Magpul DT-PR stock with 3d printed riser

Kept and painted the old handguard for nostalgia.

I got a deal on a new M1A Loaded model with the Match Medium Weight barrel—couldn’t pass it up! That being said, I want to get a top rail to be like all the other cool guys with modified M1As. I keep seeing that the popular top rail systems are for standard contour barrels—are there any manufacturers w/ a top rail in stock that I’m not finding in a google search? Thanks!

Truth be told, I MUCH prefer this baby in a full wood stock for the aesthetics but for the sake of weight and ergonomics a more modern stock can’t be beat. This is my attempt to have the best of both, I still get the wood and steel but with the center chasis, it’s so much lighter and slimmer in hand.

Gives me Star Wars/Fallout vibes, pushing old tech into the modern world. What do you guys think? Open to ideas as well for improves, additions, and so on, I plan to add a light and other attachments but this is it as of just getting the chasis today.

Truth be told, I MUCH prefer this baby in a full wood stock for the aesthetics but for the sake of weight and ergonomics a more modern stock can’t be beat. This is my attempt to have the best of both, I still get the wood and steel but with the center chasis, it’s so much lighter and slimmer in hand.

Gives me Star Wars/Fallout vibes, pushing old tech into the modern world. What do you guys think? Open to ideas as well for improves, additions, and so on, I plan to add a light and other attachments but this is it as of just getting the chasis today.

This is an old picture of my M1A with a Trijicon scope on it. I don’t know if you can tell by the picture but the rings that are holding it on the scope mount make it where the scope is too high up. These were the only rings the gun store had at the time when we were putting the scope on the rifle. I don’t like the scope so high up even though I can use the scope and then the iron sights too if I had too.

Is there anyway I can lower the height of the scope to where it’s not so high up and still be able to use the iron sights too? If so, how can I do that?

The scope mount that I have is the “Springfield Armory Steel Scope Mount,” from Springfield themselves.