M1A vs M&P 10

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Aldoradave

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I may stand fairly accused of bias, being an Early Vietnam Vet with the M14, but now after months of comparison, with two M&P 10s, I have no idea why one would choose the M&P 10 over the M14 or now M1A. THe M&P 10 of course looks cool, like a real war weapon but cool don't make it if you have to make a shot.

It requires too much care, oil, and ammo selection to make any sense. Yes, the M14 is heavier, but if you don't have the balls to lift it, you ought to be shooting a Ruger 10/22, or better yet a Mini 14. Ayone wants to buy an M&P 10 ought to PM me

Dave Dillehay E5
USMC 2081999
 
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My guess is that the S&W authorities ought to look at this and worry. Why is your weapon so sensitive to ammo? Why so much out of the box problems? How can this ruin an otherwise good reputation?

That is a real marketing problem that they ought to publicly recognize and correct. Otherwise, Ruger looks better all the time, think I'll try a SR 762.

Dave Dillehay E5 USMC
#2081999
 
Aldoradave said:
My guess is that the S&W authorities ought to look at this and worry. Why is your weapon so sensitive to ammo? Why so much out of the box problems? How can this ruin an otherwise good reputation?

That is a real marketing problem that they ought to publicly recognize and correct. Otherwise, Ruger looks better all the time, think I'll try a SR 762.

Dave Dillehay E5 USMC
#2081999
Click to expand...


The Springfield SOCOM is a far, far better rifle than the S&W or the Ruger. I would encourage you to give it a good look before buying anything else. JMO
 
When I was lookin for a semi .308, I looked into an m1a. The weight really wasn't an issue, but a scoped m1a would certainly be a beast. but the challenges of mounting optics was a significant issue.
My eyes don't do too well with iron sights anymore and I suppose by your standards I should just crawl in a hole and die. And I may just do that if I ever hear someone admit that magnified optics might have a place in the world. or if they admitted that doing more push-ups don't really reduce the weight of a rifle.

Another one that kills me is the idea that the parts are not 100% interchangeable. Let's face it when TEOTWAWKI hits there will be plenty of rifles on the ground

As to the issues with the M&P10, these are common issues that plague the whole of the .308 AR world, just read of the issues from all the others. These rifles are by nature are over gassed, but not difficult to tune: adjustable gas block, increase bolt mass, or increase buffer weight.
I like my rifle and it will shoot to a minute if I do my part, and it wilm eat anything
 
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You are quite right, a scoped M1A is a beast, I tried it and found even with old eyes I did just about as well with the iron sights.

But if those are problems of all the .308 AR world, then why put up with it? Because they look so cool...that is why my 14 year old likes the M&P 10!

Dave Dillehay

PS I know this is the S&W forum, and most of you love yours, so I'll bow out of the conversation. But I did give them a fair try on my part.
 
While I've never used the M-1, M1A or M-14, they've always been on my wish list. Given Obama's re-importation ban, I plan to get my Garand before the supply runs out.

I think Dave's point is well taken that S&W (and others) should do a serious quality control check on the 7.62mm AR's they sell that involves sending a hundred rounds downrange without a FTF or FTE. For the money involved, folks have a right to expect the weapon to function correctly out of the box with basic pre-shooting prep. The end user shouldn't have to handle tuning the rifle, or send it back to S&W to make it work properly. Further, in this day and age of space age materials, coatings, and lubricants, isn't it time the manufacturers start using a BCG coating and lube combo that doesn't attract dust and carbon?

Food for thought.
 
Aldoradave said:
I may stand fairly accused of bias, being an Early Vietnam Vet with the M14, but now after months of comparison, with two M&P 10s, I have no idea why one would choose the M&P 10 over the M14 or now M1A. THe M&P 10 of course looks cool, like a real war weapon but cool don't make it if you have to make a shot.

It requires too much care, oil, and ammo selection to make any sense. Yes, the M14 is heavier, but if you don't have the balls to lift it, you ought to be shooting a Ruger 10/22, or better yet a Mini 14. Ayone wants to buy an M&P 10 ought to PM me

Dave Dillehay E5
USMC 2081999
Click to expand...

I have no issues with your preference of the M1A platform over the M&P 10....wish I could afford both. Its statement like the one in bold that drive me crazy, that and the ones worshipping the use of irons because all scopes break all the time.

for what its worth, once I slowed my bolt carrier down, it feeds everything, I would be willing to bet this is 98% of any problem folks are having and the adjustable gas block on the Ruger will address the same issue.

keep putting them downrange
 
I am glad that S&W came out with the M&P 10. I, for one, love to have freedom of choice. 9 pound rifles with limited capacity are great and I own a few (some even heavier with even more limited capacity). I wanted a semi-auto that could lay down a bunch of rounds that weighed less, so I opted for the M&P.

This same tired argument happens all the time between the revolver and semi crowd, between the 1911 vs everyone else crowd etc ad nauseum.

If you love your M1a, awesome! I am glad and I love mine too. I love my AK's, but hear all the time how inaccurate it is by the AR aficionado's. I love my AR's, but hear all the time how unreliable they are by the AK fans.

Why feel the need to question what anyone else may desire just because it does not fit into your particular philosophy of how you want to use your firearm?

Celebrate Diversity!
 
I should stay out of it but I can't. I trusted S&W and bought 2 M&P 10s because of the weight issue you mention But the out of box issues were ridiculous, and only partly solved by comparatively ridiculous choice of ammo, constant oiling, etc. And it was not just me, this board is littered with complains of serious problems, back to the factory etc. Plus one of my 10s can't align a Nikon 308 scope!

I kinda expected Obama Care to be a problem... but not a product of S&W.
 
Dave- You didn't specify your problems with your MP-10's, so I would be curious what they were.

I own an Armalite AR-10T, and a M1a NM. Both are accurate, and reliable with 147 to 168 grain loads that I use. The AR will do 1/2 to 3/4, as will the M1a.

Scoping the M1a is not really and issue - Finding a good mount is. I have used the A.R.M.S. mount on mine thru thousands of rounds without issue.

Like comparing apples to oranges, it would be hard for me to pick a favorite, though I guess I am partial to the M1a...

Larry
 
Aldoradave said:
I should stay out of it but I can't. I trusted S&W and bought 2 M&P 10s because of the weight issue you mention But the out of box issues were ridiculous, and only partly solved by comparatively ridiculous choice of ammo, constant oiling, etc. And it was not just me, this board is littered with complains of serious problems, back to the factory etc. Plus one of my 10s can't align a Nikon 308 scope!

I kinda expected Obama Care to be a problem... but not a product of S&W.
Click to expand...


Just sounds like you got some bad luck for sure, but I just have one and have had excellent luck with it as have many others.

But do note that we have all read about M1a's having issues, failure to detonate, failure to extract, zeroing issues etc. I have not had any of those with mine.

I think for the most part when a person gets something that SHOULD work out of the box and does not, no matter if he or she are the only ones that have ever had that issue, it still leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

It doesn't mean that there are no properly functioning examples out there, just that this particular example was flawed.

Now as far as the ACA, that was flawed from the beginning and we all know, you just can't polish a piece of ****.
 
Dear Larry,

Thanks for your reasoned comments. I guess my bottom line bitch is with S&W. I like the workmanship, ambidexous (sp) controls, its looks, and its weight. I also liked it was made in the USA by a VERY reliable company.

However, just read down the list of posts starting with problems. Some people are plating their BCGs, some are sending them back multiple times, factory mags have to be reworked etc. If I was the only one who begged for answers to problems on this forum I might think it was just me, bad luck or a hex from throwing my M16 into a swamp just before leaving Vietnam.

And if S&W would take them back, make them right for me and others I'd be a lot more inclined to forgive and forget. But have we heard anything from S&W on this subject? Not that I know of!

And I can't believe that they don't monitor this web site. That just means someone in their management just does not care. There may be a gun buying frenzy now, but that will end and their reputation with it.

If some one from S&W wanted to contact me my e mail is [email protected].

Dave Dillehay E5 USMC
#2081999
 
No, offense, but it's not S&W's job to contact you about your problem, it's their job to fix your gun after you make them aware of it and follow warranty procedures. Here's their contact info:

[email protected]

1-800-331-0852 (USA)
Mon-Fri 8:00AM-8:00PM Eastern Time

If it's a design issue, you can't make it something it's not, sell it and don't let it keep agitating you. Life's short.
 
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I love my M1a, it's one of my favorite gun's to shoot for fun ( Iron sights only ). For the low price I paid for the MP10 it makes a great Light Hog Gun. (Also Irons only). The Only S&W Gun I own. Around 2000 rounds and I just shoot the S..t out of it with no hickups yet. Maybe I will have a few after I clean it.
Neither are my Go Too SHTF weapons.
 
when I think SHTF or TEOTWAWKI I think of a katrina event, or of a Red Dawn event. in either case I am concerned with a rifle capable of small to medium sized game, like a 10/22 a, sidearm, and of course a fighting rifle.

I believe the fighting rifle is going to be the one there is ample ammo for, and in that case, it is going to come down to 5.56 and 7.62x39 and you had better be verse in both platforms.
A person may love his $4,000 super .308, but that will most likely become a moot point if you can't feed it.

I started to learn the AK platform a few years ago and am fairly confident in maintaining and repairing what can be done in the field, I do not think it holds a candle to the AR platform and that is what I work with now.
The AR is an easy platform to work on, to maintain, and to diagnose, and that is why the hiccups with the M&P10 were not really a problem for me at all...

When it comes down to it when SHTF... I will drop it in a heartbeat to pick up whatever I can find that has ammo
 
I have to agree with Ole-Cowboy. When or if it comes down to survival it will boil down to a couple of things. One will be a gun probably a rifle, that you can get ammo for and use to defend yourself and your family. It will need to be light, easy to carry all day in the field and dependable. To me that boils down to an AR-15 .223/5.56 and a decent one at that. No fancy scopes, lasers, by-pods or anything that will add weight to all ready heavy gun.
 
I admit I get a little baffled when I read posts like this about the M&P 10 problems. I've owned almost every flavor 7.62/.308 semi-auto out there including 3 M1As, Armalite, Colt LE901, SCAR 17, HK91, FAL and so on. My M&P 10 has been one of the most reliable, accurate and best behaved rifles of the bunch.

Maybe I'm just lucky but I don't think I'm in the minority.
 
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