Description
The Springfield M1A Loaded 308 Walnut is what the Standard Issue becomes once Springfield fits the parts a competitor would otherwise pay a gunsmith for. A National Match medium weight barrel, a match grade rear aperture adjustable in half MOA increments, and a two stage trigger tuned to National Match specification. This is the New York compliant configuration in a walnut stock.
What Loaded Adds To The M1A
Start with the barrel. The Standard Issue uses a conventional profile; the Springfield M1A Loaded 308 Walnut gets a National Match barrel in a medium weight contour, still 22 inches of six groove carbon steel with a 1:11 twist but with tighter dimensional tolerances and more steel around the bore. That extra mass resists heat induced wander and gives the rifle its extra three quarters of a pound.
The rear sight is the change you notice most. A match grade aperture in a non hooded .0520 opening replaces the standard military unit, and crucially it adjusts in half MOA increments for windage rather than full MOA. At 300 yards that is the difference between being able to centre a group and having to hold off.
The trigger is a two stage trigger tuned to National Match standard. The two stage design was always good; the tuning cleans up the second stage break, which matters when you are shooting from a sling at distance with iron sights.
Walnut, Weight And The NY Configuration
Walnut is the traditional M1A stock and it is what most people picture when they think of the rifle. It looks considerably better than composite and it damps vibration well. The honest trade is that wood moves with humidity, and on an M14 pattern rifle that movement changes how the action sits in the stock, which changes point of impact. Anyone shooting the Springfield M1A Loaded 308 Walnut seriously should expect to have it bedded, and many owners do exactly that.
Weight on the Springfield M1A Loaded 308 Walnut is 9 pounds 3 ounces and overall length 41.25 inches. That is a substantial rifle, but the mass is doing useful work: a full power .308 out of a nine pound rifle with a good recoil pad is comfortable to shoot all day, which matters in a discipline where a course of fire runs to eighty rounds.
This is the New York compliant version, which means the barrel is supplied without threads and the configuration omits the features that state regulates. Nothing about the barrel, sights or trigger is affected, so the Springfield M1A Loaded 308 Walnut shoots identically to the standard Loaded.
Springfield M1A Loaded 308 Walnut Specifications
- Caliber: 308 Winchester (7.62x51mm NATO)
- Barrel: 22 inch National Match medium weight, six groove carbon steel, 1:11 twist
- Muzzle: Non threaded, per NY compliant configuration
- Front sight: National Match .062 inch blade
- Rear sight: Match grade non hooded .0520 aperture, half MOA windage and MOA elevation
- Trigger: Two stage, National Match tuned
- Stock: Walnut
- Operating system: Gas operated with long stroke operating rod, rotating bolt
- Overall length: 41.25 inches
- Weight: 9 pounds 3 ounces
- Magazine: One ten round magazine included
- Model number: MA9222NT
- UPC: 706397905934
One ten round magazine is supplied, which is the capacity the New York configuration is built around.
Why Buyers Choose The Springfield M1A Loaded 308 Walnut
High power service rifle competition is where this specification comes from, and it shows. Half MOA windage adjustment, a National Match front blade, a tuned two stage trigger and a match barrel are the four things a competitor needs, and buying them separately on a Standard Issue costs more than the difference between the two rifles and takes the gun out of your hands for weeks.
As a hunting rifle the Springfield M1A Loaded 308 Walnut is equally capable. Twenty two inches of .308 handles anything in North America short of the largest bears, and iron sights of this quality work in light where a scope has given up.
Walnut is also simply the M1A as most people want it. There is a reason Springfield still sells more of these than the composite stocked versions.
The caveats are worth taking seriously. Ammunition selection matters on an M14 pattern rifle. Commercial .308 loaded with slow burning powder raises gas port pressure enough to bend an operating rod over time. Stay with 150 to 175 grain loads using powders suited to the platform, or fit an adjustable gas plug. It is easy to avoid and expensive to ignore.
Beyond that: nine pounds three ounces is heavy, mounting a scope needs a dedicated side mount or scout rail and is never tidy, and walnut needs bedding to reach the rifle full accuracy potential. Ten rounds is also the New York capacity, so factor that in if you are buying from outside the state.
Who Should Buy The Springfield M1A Loaded 308 Walnut
The Springfield M1A Loaded 308 Walnut suits the high power competitor, the traditionalist who wants the M14 in wood, and the hunter who values iron sights that actually work. If you intend to mount glass as your primary sight, the Precision variants are built around that and will serve you better. If you want the same rifle for less and are happy to upgrade the sights yourself, the Standard Issue is the starting point. And if weather resistance matters more than looks, the composite stocked versions will not move on you.
Learn more about this rifle from the manufacturer, or see more firearms available at MAG5 Firearms.
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