I have a m1a NM that will do better than that.
Minute of Orange on the first trip out with the gun is nothing to sneer at.
There will be other trips, and the group will get tighter. Our hero will not end up with M1 thumb, however.
Best,
Ted
He wouldnt get M1 thumb shooting a M1A either. I used to shoot M1As and M-14s in matches. My most accurate match winner was a TRW M-14. Pretty much bone stock except for the NM sights. The Springfield Armory M1As are usually match ready right out of the box. Ive honestly never seen one that wasnt. Shutting off the gas really makes it a tack driver. The platform is inherently accurate.
I used to build FALs as well. I put together around 5 of them total. All of them were new parts kits that were still in cosmoline, 3 were stg58 Austrian made Steyrs The other 2 were all Imbel. I used Imbel receivers on all the builds. They too were all pretty accurate but nowhere near what a M1A was. You can also shut off the gas on the FAL and make it a bolt gun . I didnt shoot matches with the FALs. They couldnt compete. The sights on FALs suck compared to the old GI & NM sights found on Garands & M1As.
The AR platform has a lot of potential, no doubt. In my experience....its not as accurate as a M1A/M-14 platform. They are fun to shoot, accurate enough and can be had much cheaper than the other two platforms I mentioned earlier.
