M1A SOCOM ammo comparison

[RangemasterP226]

I just got my new rifle. I took it to the range with some South African 308 and some Tula 308.

The Tula ammo looked like a flamethrower compared to the South African ammo.

I will stay away from that in the future. Does anyone know if the other offerings from Tula also have a huge flash component?

[highpower790]

Try the Tula in a rifle with a longer barrel.

[dozer wright]

Socom2

Ive ran all sorts of ammo in my Socom no problems with ammo.The build quality from Springfield whole other matter.I recommend changing out the trigger assembly for Usgi parts.

[cdtx2001]

If you need good shootin' ammo for the M1A, run down to Walmart and load up on that ZQI 7.62x51. $.50/round for brass cased, heat treated cases, lacquered primers, and reloadable ammo. Ditch the Tula, it's not the best for any rifle.

[barrage]

Heh, it's like filling your brand new Ferrari up with diesel.

Try Federal or anything from Lake City, OP.

[Creeping Incrementalism]

Ive ran all sorts of ammo in my Socom no problems with ammo.The build quality from Springfield whole other matter.I recommend changing out the trigger assembly for Usgi parts.

This has been my experience as well with an M1A SOCOM. It has always jammed at the same high rate (jams per round fired) no matter what kind of ammo is used, although I never tried any Russian ammo.

Regarding the Tula vs. S. African, it could be that the Tula was intentionally loaded with slower burning powder, or that it has lower powder quality that doesn't burn as quickly as is theoretically optimum for a given bullet weight. The S. African that I shot in the past had the same muzzle flash as other military surplus 7.62 NATO stuff.--not a whole lot, even in the M1A SOCOM.

[Creeping Incrementalism]

Heh, it's like filling your brand new Ferrari up with diesel.

No, it is like filling up a kit-car Fiero.

[dozer wright]

This has been my experience as well with an M1A SOCOM. It has always jammed at the same high rate (jams per round fired) no matter what kind of ammo is used, although I never tried any Russian ammo.

Regarding the Tula vs. S. African, it could be that the Tula was intentionally loaded with slower burning powder, or that it has lower powder quality that doesn't burn as quickly as is theoretically optimum for a given bullet weight. The S. African that I shot in the past had the same muzzle flash as other military surplus 7.62 NATO stuff.--not a whole lot, even in the M1A SOCOM.

Let me rephrase that I have broken multiple parts just range shooting my Socom.
Never had any ammo fail to feed or not shoot well. Just the crap manufacturing process fail. Couple new parts and runs like a champ no mater what feed it.

[RangemasterP226]

Try the Tula in a rifle with a longer barrel.

Good suggestion, its probably the powder.

I know cheaper powder makes for a larger flash, but how much money do ammo makers save per round by cheapening it like this? Seems silly, but yes I know, save 1 cent per round and profits go up by gagillions.

[highpower790]

Russian ammo has never been the greatest.Years ago an older friend of mine bought some Russian 06 to shoot in local silohette matches.Shooting next to him always made me nervous when I saw how big the flash was,then some shots there was hardly any.
And for myself,I have used Chinese surplus powder called PSA,this powder always produced a large flash as it did not have a flash supressant .Being a little older and wiser now I avoid the cheap stuff.

[Mr. Denton]

Let me rephrase that I have broken multiple parts just range shooting my Socom.

Never had any ammo fail to feed or not shoot well. Just the crap manufacturing process fail. Couple new parts and runs like a champ no mater what feed it.

This crap manufacturing you mention, is this something new or just an inherent problem from SA? I have an older M1a squad scout (camo stock, 18" barrel and the SA scope) that has never had an issue.
I've shot just about any ammo I can get a hold of, the Russian stuff does blow a lot or fire. I just boat 500rnds of Lake City, put 50rnds through it, much better. Thought is play a little, these hits on my 66% silhouette were at 610yrds. Prone using a bipod. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1415760431.247215.jpg
The smaller hits were with my mossberg mvp 223, pure luck I even hit 1 out of 10 try's.


Oath Keeper

[stix213]

Tula ammo is about as cheap as is possible for new produced ammo for the civilian market, and you can tell when you shoot it.

[dozer wright]

SA broken

This crap manufacturing you mention, is this something new or just an inherent problem from SA? I have an older M1a squad scout (camo stock, 18" barrel and the SA scope) that has never had an issue.
I've shot just about any ammo I can get a hold of, the Russian stuff does blow a lot or fire. I just boat 500rnds of Lake City, put 50rnds through it, much better. Thought is play a little, these hits on my 66% silhouette were at 610yrds. Prone using a bipod. [ATTACH]368228[/ATTACH]
The smaller hits were with my mossberg mvp 223, pure luck I even hit 1 out of 10 try's.


Oath Keeper

It has something to do with the manufacturing process.I dont remember the actual term. Investment cast I think. The upper part is the hammer the broken part is the part of the hammer that engages the sear on the trigger. The lower trigger assembly was A new one purchased from Springfield Armory. I shot 10 rounds pulled checked it shot 20 rounds it started developing a crack. When the upper hammer broke I chambered a round and just touched not pulled the trigger. Bam cycles next round nothing.This is a known problem. If look on M14forum. Com.
Ill add that Springfield next day air me the trigger assembly I had to pay for it. $225.00 They said that they would replace it for free If I sent In Socom. But was in the process of moving. And didnt want to deal with shipping a firearm at the time. And figured spare parts are always good to have. After The second hammer cracked. I had the Socom checked out everything was in spec. And was told the Hammer dosnt have very much stress. Put to it. After that I bought a Usgi trigger assembly and Socom has 5000 plus rounds and no problems.

[Mr. Denton]

Holy cow! That's not good at all.


Oath Keeper

[barrage]

I just bought a M1A Scout Squad earlier this year. People say you should ditch the Springfield parts and go with USGI stuff...I've never had a single problem with my rifle and just don't see the need if there is nothing wrong with it.

Don't fix whats isn't broken. If an extractor happens to fail in the next 20 years or so, sure I'll upgrade..for now I will keep shooting the hell out of it and just enjoy it.

My M1A will eat Tula/Wolf just fine...never had a single misfeed/jam yet with any ammo. I do notice that it tends to be inconsistent and sometimes dings up my wood stock when ejecting for some reason. My favorite go to ammo is XM80 Lake City/Federal. If it's not a safe queen, feed it whatever you are happy with.

Check your internals. I bought a Scout about a year and a half ago and replaced the internals with USGI only several months ago. Gave me the opportunity to take a real close look at the wear on the Springfield stuff, and I was not impressed with some of what I saw, especially the very visible groove that the trigger had worn into the hammer where it makes contact with that my buddy's 20 year old rifle with USGI parts didn't even have a hint of.