Springfield M1A Precision FDE – Superb 308 Win Adjustable Rifle

Description

The traditional M1A stock was designed in the 1950s for a soldier in web gear shooting iron sights, and it fits almost nobody perfectly today. The Springfield M1A Precision FDE solves that by dropping the match specification action and barrel into a fully adjustable chassis stock in Desert FDE, giving a shooter control over length of pull, comb height and cheek weld that the original architecture never offered.

An Adjustable Stock On A Match Rifle

The Precision Adjustable stock is a polymer chassis with thumbwheel adjustment for both length of pull and comb height, so the rifle can be set up for a shooter in a t shirt at the range and reset for the same shooter in a heavy jacket in winter. More importantly for accuracy, comb height can be raised enough to give proper cheek weld behind a scope, which is something the traditional stock cannot do without a strap on cheek riser.

Overall length runs between 45 and 46.25 inches depending on how the stock is set, and the rifle carries a midline ambidextrous safety. Left handed shooters have historically had a difficult time with the M1A safety, which sits inside the trigger guard, and the ambidextrous arrangement here addresses a genuine ergonomic problem rather than a marketing one.

Underneath, this is a Loaded specification rifle. The National Match medium weight barrel is twenty two inches of six groove carbon steel with a 1:11 twist, which resists heat induced point of impact shift and damps the whip that opens groups on a lighter profile barrel.

Sights, Trigger And The Weight Question

Sights are the Loaded set. A match grade rear aperture measuring 0.052 inches adjusts in half minute clicks for windage and full minutes for elevation, paired with a National Match front blade of 0.062 inches. Half minute windage matters at distance, where a competitor is chasing a switching condition rather than making one adjustment and hoping. The tighter rear aperture also sharpens the sight picture noticeably against the standard military unit.

The trigger is a two stage unit tuned to National Match specification and breaking at roughly four and a half pounds. The first stage takes up slack while the shooter settles, and the second breaks cleanly at a defined wall. On a rifle this heavy, held in a supported position, that trigger is what separates a good group from an excellent one.

Now the honest part. This rifle weighs eleven pounds four ounces bare, before a magazine, a sling or an optic. That is a genuinely heavy rifle, heavier than most dedicated precision bolt guns, and nobody should buy one imagining they will carry it far. What the weight buys is stability: it hangs dead still in position and reduces full power .308 recoil to a slow push that never disturbs the sight picture.

Springfield M1A Precision FDE Specifications

• Caliber: 308 Winchester and 7.62x51mm NATO
• Model number: MP9220
• UPC: 706397900793
• Barrel: 22 inch National Match medium weight, six groove carbon steel, 1:11 twist
• Muzzle: flash suppressor
• Front sight: National Match 0.062 inch blade
• Rear sight: match grade non hooded 0.052 aperture, half MOA windage
• Trigger: two stage, National Match tuned, approximately 4.5 pounds
• Stock: Precision Adjustable polymer chassis with thumbwheel adjustment
• Safety: midline ambidextrous
• Overall length: 45 to 46.25 inches depending on stock setting
• Weight: 11 pounds 4 ounces
• Magazine: one 10 round detachable box magazine
• Finish: Desert FDE stock with parkerized metalwork

Two points worth planning for. Mounting glass still requires a side mount clamped to the receiver, and a cheap mount will not hold zero on this action no matter how good the stock is, so budget accordingly. Second, the gas system prefers 147 to 175 grain bullets with medium burn rate powders; heavy, slow loads batter the operating rod, so stay in that window or fit an adjustable gas plug.

Why Buyers Choose The Springfield M1A Precision FDE

The first reason is fit. Almost every shooting error a rifle can induce traces back to a stock that does not fit the shooter, and the traditional M1A stock fits very few people well. Being able to set length of pull and comb height precisely, and to change them when clothing or optics change, removes a variable that most M1A owners simply learn to live with.

The second reason is that the match hardware is already here. National Match barrel, match sights and a tuned trigger would cost well over the price difference to add later, and factory fitted work carries a warranty that aftermarket gunsmithing does not. Buying the configuration you want from the outset is nearly always cheaper on this platform.

The third reason is the ambidextrous safety. Left handed shooters have historically had to reach across or modify the rifle to run an M1A safely and quickly. A midline ambidextrous unit is a small change that makes the rifle genuinely usable for a group of shooters the original design ignored.

Who Should Buy The Springfield M1A Precision FDE

This suits the competitor or serious range shooter who wants match hardware and a stock that actually fits, and the left handed shooter who has been shut out of the platform. It is a superb bench and prone rifle. It is emphatically not a hunting or patrol rifle at eleven pounds bare, and anyone wanting a traditional looking M1A should choose the walnut or standard composite version instead.

Learn more about this precision battle rifle from the manufacturer, or see more firearms available at MAG5 Firearms.