February 24th, 2020
4minute read
Its hard to follow a legend, but some can do it.
The M14 service rifle went through this by superseding the M1 Garand after World War II.
The M14 took everything learned with the .30-06 M1 Garand and applied it to a newly refined design.
When initially introduced in 1974, the M1A was an immediate hit for Geneseo, Illinois Springfield Armory.
The result of this was the SOCOM 16 family of M1A rifles.
The combination of svelte handling characteristics and potent 7.62mm power is likely key to its appeal.
round doesnt suffer from the same reputation.
The SOCOM 16 weighs approximately 8.8 lbs.
and measures 37.25 in overall length.
I mounted a Trijicon MRO red dot for the evaluation.
I headed out to the range with a selection of ammo, including Speer 150-gr.
GDSP, IMI 150-gr.
FMJ, American Eagle 150-gr.
FMJ, and Black Hills 168-gr.
I found that the 16.25 barrel sacrificed roughly 150 fps against a 22 barrel of a standard M1A.
The handiness gained from the short barrel outweighs the velocity lost, in my opinion.
