[BagemTagem]

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=249958547

boy the internet is a crazy place sometimes. I never thought that i would ever see an M1A/M14 in any variant other than the stock/barrel/mfg. combos.

Oh! but wait...whats this A .243 M1A?! Seems the barrel is the only different part on the rifle.

what all is different? can the extractor pull a .243 the same as the .308? can the magazine hold all the ammunition the same?.....



....So i beg the question....Why is there a s/n 044xxx variant of the M1A in a differnt caliber?

 

[82nd ABN]

These were made from the factory and from what I understand not many were made. I would imagine the bolt face is different as well. I am not 100% sure if there is a difference in the base of the cartridge. I would like to know so if anyone can answer this question it I would appreciate it.
I would imagine the gas port needs to be opened up as well in order to get the volume to operate the action. I was just talking to ECM14 about these rifles a couple of hours ago.

 

[LbSigMan]

The parent case is .308, so I doubt anything would need to be done to the bolt face.

 

[lefty o]

the .243 is nothing other than a necked down .308 win, therefore other than the barrel, everything else would work 100%.

 

[DukeRustfield]

The M14 gas system is designed for a .308. I don't know the bullet mechanics of that .243 but you can't just stick anything in there, regardless of if it fits, and have it cycle the same exact parts. Even hot and light loads in base .308s can cause issues. They would have had to make modifications I would think to the gas system. Not that it's really hard.

 

[82nd ABN]

Excellent!!! Thanks very much for the info. My friend ecm14's neurosurgeon told him he runs the risk of seriously aggravating the plates he installed on his spine and all the surgery he did could get screwed up if he shoots a 30 cal rifle. He did said the AR-15 is ok. How much of a difference in recoil is there from 243 and 308????? I think he may just be a lucky SOB that this thread came up today just after we spoke about his situation. I would imagine it would not be that hard to have a custom barrel made and I would imagine SAI would let him know what size the gas port needs to be to get more volume.

I wish it wasn't so late or I would be calling him.

 

[jmoore]

I think I've got a loose SAI .243 Win barrel. If you need port size dimensions, etc. I might be able to dig it out. Saving it for a future build. Haven't fired one in that caliber yet, though.

 

[BagemTagem]

well that certainly clears things up...thanks everyone

 

[82nd ABN]

That would be a huge help and thanks. I plan on giving Krieger a call tomorrow and see if I can get them to make me another one off barrel. They just built me an AR-10 barrel for and AR-10A2 project I am working on. As a matter of fact that barrel is shipping this week. I lucked out, I had to pay for it in full up front and there was no promise date. I told the production manager it will be worth the wait, it will have the krieger stamp on it. Turns out it was done in a month, some special ops team ordered 5 of the same barrels three weeks after I confirmed my order and they expressed the need to have them done in five days. They were actually waiting on me to send in my compensator to be indexed and my bolt to headspace.
I am so glad this post showed up tonight. I have a new project to work on now. Dam my reloading bench is going to have to wait for the spring to be finished.
The wheels are turning.

How and where did you find a winy SAI barrel in 243? I take it winchester made the barrel new and that its not an original WInchester GI barrel unless they got them un chambered. I have not been this excited since I first joined the forum. I have been thinking about doing an M14 in a wildcat round for a couple of months, ever since Hawk brought it up in a conversation.

 

[82nd ABN]

well that certainly clears things up...thanks everyone

Thanks so much for brining this up tonight!!!!!!

 

[plsmyk]

They've made them in other .308 parent case calibers as well. I have a SAI Super Match in 7mm-08.

Did they ever make a .358 Win.? I think a match conditioned .260 Rem. would be a neat rifle.

 

[82nd ABN]

No idea, I wonder how 7.62mm is making out with his 30-06 receivers and rifles. Have not heard much about them other than there unveiling at Camp Perry. I think he was making another caliber as well maybe it was 7 or 8mm

 

[M1A96819]

Hmmmm??........

Just when dust settles.................then BANG!!!!...........this is all new to me. A .243 Winchester barreled M14/M1A rifle.GI3RNGR3USN3

Dang..........That's what I love about this forum, you learn something and especially discover new things etc......GI2

I probably speak for those inquiring minds on the question:

Who.......Why........When.......What is the history behind this unique one of a kind M1A rifle from Springfield Armory?

 

[plsmyk]

I don't think they were one-of-a-kind (although this one may have been). Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but at one time (maybe more often than that?) they made a run of them that were a cataloged item.

Also, every now and then you'll see one (.243, or 7mm-08) that are set up as match rifles, i.e. they have a bolt action match style globe front sight instead of the stock military style sight. The theory being, you get the lighter recoil of the smaller caliber and the semi-auto action that should both be an advantage in the rapids vs a bolt action .308 (once the standard match rifle caliber), but are using the more refined front sight of a bolt gun. This setup could not be fired in the service rifle categery because of the non-military front sight and had to fired in the match rifle category.

Once the AR, particularly firing the newer 6mm cartridges, became popular, there was no longer any reason to shoot a M1A configured this way.

 

[jmoore]

That would be a huge help and thanks...

...How and where did you find a winy SAI barrel in 243? I take it winchester made the barrel new and that its not an original WInchester GI barrel unless they got them un chambered. I have not been this excited since I first joined the forum. I have been thinking about doing an M14 in a wildcat round for a couple of months, ever since Hawk brought it up in a conversation.

I'm pretty sure it's just a Springfield Inc. (SAI) barrel in the caliber of ".243 Winchester". It has been loitering around a friend's shop for umpty-eleven years, until it came my way. Due to the nature of the gas system, not much if any port size changes were required, but it'll get checked as soon as it gets found. (May take a day or three!) Have been tempted to incorporate it into the lightweight rifle build, but the barrel would have to be turned down to end up at the same weight, and that just seemed "wrong", somehow.

 

[mgraffam]

.243 Win M1A's got discussed around here in the past year or so.. thats the first I'd heard of them.

I can't find the thread at the moment, but in was stated previously that SAI still has some .243 barrels laying around and that you can get one through them.

I guess for someone with injuries that can't shoot .308 any more, a .243 might make some sense, or folks in places that have laws against "military caliber" guns

But if I was in that boat, rather than build up a .243 M1A, I think I'd rather get into reloading and make light loaded .308.

 

[M1A's r BEST]

I'm pretty sure back when I bought mine in the late 70's the SA sales brochures mentioned they could also be had in .243 Winchester and .358 Winchester.

Both are made off the .308 Winchester case. I couldn't see much purpose in either one at the time but now I figure if I could have afforded to buy one of each the .243 and .358 would both be worth some good money today. Hey, I paid about $500 for my brand new SA M1A at the time. Look what its worth today (and it still looks new).

 

[Contra]

.243

For those interested in some history on the cartridge itself, FYI

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.243_Winchester

Nice option!

 

[tonyben]

IIRC, the other calibers were also made to sell in Europe, which didn't allow for certain rifles to be chambered in military calibers (ie, 7.62mm NATO) so SAI ran some batches with different calibers to market overseas. They also changed things like the sights and I think they even sold some without flash suppressors; but my memory is a little fuzzy on that one. I am sure Different has more info on other calibers and configs.

I know I've seen some M1A's running Monte Carlo stocks too once in a while.

 

[Different]

From M14 Rifle History and Development Fifth Edition:

"Springfield Armory, Inc. offered M1A rifles chambered in .243 Winchester from at least 1978 until 1994 and in .358 Winchester from 1978 to 1980. Barrel blanks in .22, 6 mm, .25, .270, 7 mm, .30 and .35 caliber were offered from 1978 through 1980. Springfield Armory, Inc. would install one of their barrels into a M1A rifle during this period for a nominal charge, $10.00 to $14.00. From 1990 and later, the M1A was available in 7mm-08. These M1A rifles were sold in the United States and in countries where civilians were prohibited from owning military compatible ammunition, e.g., France. For example, Super Match M1A serial number 088619 was custom built in 1995 by Springfield Armory, Inc. It had a Hart 7mm-08 heavyweight barrel and the receiver was rear lugged. M1A rifles exported to Spain are chambered for .307 Winchester."