The Annual Springfield M1A Match will be held Sunday July 30, 2023 at the Viale Range at Camp Perry.
In the April 2018 issue of Shooting Sports USA, you’ll find a good article on the civilian version of the M14, now sold commercially as the Springfield M1A. An evolution of the battle-proven M1 Garand, the M14 was designed to shoot the 7.62×51 (.308 Win) round instead of the larger .30-06 Springfield cartridge used in WWI, WWII and Korea. While the vast majority of today’s M1As are chambered for .308 Win/7.62×51, Springfield Armory also produces a 6.5 Creedmoor version.
“Descended from the M1 Garand, the M14 utilized multiple improvements that made it a far superior firearm for combat and a much better rifle for competition.” — Dick Jones, Shooting Sports USA.
Dick Jones reports that accurized M14/M1As could post remarkable scores: “The accuracy potential of the M14/M1A is unquestionable. During their reign as service rifles, they produced multiple perfect 200 scores at 600 and 1000 yards in the hands of top shooters. This is a difficult feat with a modern, scoped, magnum-caliber rifle and remarkable with an iron-sighted battle rifle. Good competition rifles can group 10 shots under one MOA, and the meticulously-massaged rifles used by the top shooters during my career would consistently put up 10 shots under an inch at 200 yards off a test cradle.”
Springfield M1A at Camp Perry National Matches
The CMP hosts a major M1A Match every year at Camp Perry, sponsored by Springfield Armory. The Annual Springfield M1A Match will be held Sunday July 30, 2023 at the Viale Range at Camp Perry. Significant prizes will be awarded. In past years M1A Match competitors took home over $25,000 worth of cash and merchandise.
For many years, the semi-auto version of the M14 was “top dog” in iron sights Service Rifle competition. Now that discipline is dominated by .223 Rem (5.56×45) AR-type rifles, but the bigger .308-caliber rifle, now sold as the M1A, remains popular. This year’s Springfield M1A match will be held at Camp Perry on August 8, 2021.
In this video, YouTube Reviewer Hickok 45 compares the M1 Garand and the M14/M1A:
See how the modern M1A is built in this Springfield Armory Video:
As racing improves automobiles, competition improves firearms, and the current crop of Springfield M1As, from the Basic to the top-of-the-line Super Match and Loaded models, reflects the years of development. The M14 and its variants are still in service today and it’s still considered by many to be the best battle rifle in the history of the U.S. Military. — Dick Jones, Shooting Sports USA
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“Descended from the M1 Garand, the M14 utilized multiple improvements that made it a far superior firearm for combat and a much better rifle for competition.” — Dick Jones, Shooting Sports USA.
In the April 2018 issue of Shooting Sports USA, you’ll find a good article on the civilian version of the M14, now sold commercially as the Springfield M1A. An evolution of the battle-proven M1 Garand, the M14 was designed to shoot the 7.62×51 (.308 Win) round instead of the larger .30-06 Springfield cartridge used in WWI, WWII and Korea. While the vast majority of today’s M1As are chambered for .308 Win/7.62×51, Springfield Armory also produces a 6.5 Creedmoor version.
Dick Jones reports that accurized M14/M1As could post remarkable scores: “The accuracy potential of the M14/M1A is unquestionable. During their reign as service rifles, they produced multiple perfect 200 scores at 600 and 1000 yards in the hands of top shooters. This is a difficult feat with a modern, scoped, magnum-caliber rifle and remarkable with an iron-sighted battle rifle. Good competition rifles can group 10 shots under one MOA, and the meticulously-massaged rifles used by the top shooters during my career would consistently put up 10 shots under an inch at 200 yards off a test cradle.”
Springfield M1A at Camp Perry National Matches
For many years, the semi-auto version of the M14 was “top dog” in iron sights Service Rifle competition. Now that discipline is dominated by .223 Rem (5.56×45) AR-type rifles, but the bigger .308-caliber rifle, now sold as the M1A, remains popular. The CMP hosts a major M1A Match every year at Camp Perry, sponsored by Springfield Armory. Significant prizes are awarded. In past years M1A Match competitors took home over $25,000 worth of cash and merchandise in 2016. This year’s Springfield M1A match will be held at Camp Perry on August 8, 2021.
In this video, YouTube Reviewer Hickok 45 compares the M1 Garand and the M14/M1A:
See how the modern M1A is built in this Springfield Armory Video:
As racing improves automobiles, competition improves firearms, and the current crop of Springfield M1As, from the Basic to the top-of-the-line Super Match and Loaded models, reflects the years of development. The M14 and its variants are still in service today and it’s still considered by many to be the best battle rifle in the history of the U.S. Military. — Dick Jones, Shooting Sports USA
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Do you own a Springfield M1A (or wish you did)? Then you should watch this 5-minute video from the American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI). This video shows the basics of the operation of the popular M1A rifle, the civilian version of the military M14. In this video, gunsmith John Bush field-strips the M1A and shows how the bolt, op rod, and trigger group fits together and operates. This video contains excerpts from the M1A Rifle Armorer’s Course, AGI Course #1584. The full Armorer’s Course is available on DVD from www.AmericanGunsmith.com.
Watch Highlights of AGI M1A Rifle Armorer’s Course:
2019 CMP Springfield M1A Match at Camp Perry
The 13th annual Springfield Armory M1A Match will take place during the 2019 CMP National Rifle Matches. The CMP will host the event on Sunday, August 4, 2019, the day after the John C. Garand Match. Competitors of all experience levels are encouraged to bring their M1A rifles to Camp Perry and compete. Online Registration is still possible. The match is open to all individuals ages 12 and above. For more information contact the CMP at competitions@thecmp.org or call 419-635-2141 ext. 724 or 714.
The Springfield Armory M1A match began with one man’s idea and passion. Springfield Armory’s Mike Doy witnessed the waning of classic M1 Garand and M1A rifles from the competitive High Power firing lines. “I really wanted to get those M1A rifles out of safes and closets and back out onto the field. So 11 years ago, I promoted the idea of running an M1A-specific match at Camp Perry. That first year we had over 600 competitors and spectators.” Now the match offers some of the biggest pay-outs at Camp Perry. In recent years, Springfield Armory has donated over $25,000 worth of cash and prizes, including a $2,000 cash award to the overall winner.
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The 2018 National Matches at Camp Perry Ohio kicked off with the NRA Pistol Championship, July 8-13.
The National Matches moved to Camp Perry, Ohio, in 1907 and continue to take place every summer on the shores of Lake Erie, though the NRA High Power Rifle Championships have moved to Camp Atterbury, Indiana. Drawing well over 6,000 annual participants, the National Matches have become a huge, national shooting sports festival. There’s nothing quite like it. Competitors range from beginners to many of the world’s best marksmen. Conducted throughout the month of July through the first week of August, the Camp Perry National months offer a spectacle of shooting with a wide variety of rimfire and centerfire disciplines, with both modern and vintage arms. If you’ve never been to Camp Perry, it is a “bucket list” experience for any serious shooter.
The National Matches at Camp Perry
The National Matches include Small Arms Firing Schools and a series of CMP National Trophy Rifle and Pistol Matches and CMP Games Events as well as NRA Championships that are held in connection with the National Matches. The National Matches at Camp Perry begin with the NRA National Pistol Championships. For 2018, the CMP has added CMP Smallbore and Long Range Matches to the month-long schedule. The CMP fulfills its responsibility to conduct the National Matches through a working partnership with the Ohio National Guard.
The First Shot Ceremony officially opens the National Matches. This year Maj. Gen. Clark W. LeMasters Jr. addressed assembled competitors, match officials, VIPs, volunteers, and spectators. After Gen. LeMaster’s concluded his speech, he had the honor of firing the ceremonial “first shot” of the National Matches, officially signaling the opening of the National Matches. (Read First Shot Ceremony News Report.)
The John C. Garand match is a Camp Perry classic. Note the signature Garand clip in the air.
The National Trophy Junior Team Match attracts squads of young shooters from around the country.
The Springfield M1A Match is popular every year. Here an amputee shooter competes in 2017.
The 2018 Vintage Sniper Rifle Match will be held August 3, 2018 on the Viale Range. This two-man team competition using scoped rifles of WWI and WWII Vintage has become of of the most popular rifle matches held at Perry. Over 250 teams have competed in recent years. Many competitors use the M1903 Springfield, but you’ll also see scoped M1 Garands, K31s, Mausers, and even a Lee-Enfield or two. (Semi-Auto shooters are scored separately).
Serious smallbore rifle competition returns to Camp Perry this year. Smallbore competitions have been slotted into the Camp Perry National Match schedule July 16-22, 2018, though the NRA National Smallbore Championships will still be held at Camp Wa-Ke-De in Indiana. The CMP will host a new series of smallbore events in July at Camp Perry, the Mecca of competitive shooting in the USA. This way elite smallbore competitors, with their premium match rifles, can enjoy the famed Camp Perry ranges. Of course, the CMP also will continue to offer the hugely popular Rimfire Sporter Match, which attracts hundreds of competitors each year.
The smallbore matches will be fired on Rodriguez Range at Camp Perry under a covered firing line. Shooters Technology will provide a scoring App that allows instant scoring for quick results. Finals will be conducted on the CMP’s Electronic Targets installed on the Camp Perry Petrarca Range.
“Descended from the M1 Garand, the M14 utilized multiple improvements that made it a far superior firearm for combat and a much better rifle for competition.” — Dick Jones, Shooting Sports USA.
In the April 2018 issue of Shooting Sports USA, you’ll find a good article on the civilian version of the M14, now sold commercially as the Springfield M1A. An evolution of the battle-proven M1 Garand, the M14 was designed to shoot the 7.62×51 (.308 Win) round instead of the larger .30-06 Springfield cartridge used in WWI, WWII and Korea. While the vast majority of today’s M1As are chambered for .308 Win/7.62×51, Springfield Armory also produces a 6.5 Creedmoor version.
Dick Jones reports that accurized M14/M1As could post remarkable scores: “The accuracy potential of the M14/M1A is unquestionable. During their reign as service rifles, they produced multiple perfect 200 scores at 600 and 1000 yards in the hands of top shooters. This is a difficult feat with a modern, scoped, magnum-caliber rifle and remarkable with an iron-sighted battle rifle. Good competition rifles can group 10 shots under one MOA, and the meticulously-massaged rifles used by the top shooters during my career would consistently put up 10 shots under an inch at 200 yards off a test cradle.”
For many years, the semi-auto version of the M14 was “top dog” in iron sights Service Rifle competition. Now that discipline is dominated by .223 Rem (5.56×45) AR-type rifles, but the bigger .308-caliber rifle, now sold as the M1A, remains popular. The CMP hosts a major M1A Match every year at Camp Perry, sponsored by Springfield Armory. Significant prizes are awarded. M1A Match competitors took home over $25,000 worth of cash and merchandise in 2016.
In this video, YouTube Reviewer Hickok 45 compares the M1 Garand and the M14/M1A:
See how the modern M1A is built in this Springfield Armory Video:
As racing improves automobiles, competition improves firearms, and the current crop of Springfield M1As, from the Basic to the top-of-the-line Super Match and Loaded models, reflects the years of development. The M14 and its variants are still in service today and it’s still considered by many to be the best battle rifle in the history of the U.S. Military. — Dick Jones, Shooting Sports USA
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