My S.A. M1A blew up in my face, updated

[halftracknut]

Where was it made?

[dcartledge]

Incredible - I have a SA 80's vintage M1A NM - have not had any problems but also have not fired it too many times either.

I'll be checking ammo for sure,
d

[pecopfc]

WOW Scary stuff, Glad you are okay!

[Chuck Lutz]

So ro recap....either it was a bad round with a slug seated too DEEP in the neck.
Or over pressure ammo.
Or a squib that stuck in the barrel.
Or poor quality steel in the receiver.
Or a round went off with the mechanism out of battery.

Gary...glad you "dodged the bullet" so to speak and your injury was minor. Please post some follow ups on this and any info on the source of the ammo which is suspect. I suppose poorly sized cases could allow a DEEP seating which has been mentioned as a likely problem.

I reloaded also and found that 'the books' often listed loads that produced much better specs than the factory ammo does which were still within mfger tolerances....I suppose some less-than-thorough reloading operations could have provided a hotter load but if the slug seated too deep could result in pressures the weapon could not handle and the weakest link in the rifle gave way and the explosion occured.

Maybe the early SAs made with some GI parts had some tolerance issues as well?

My Uncle lost his right eye when he decided his Iver-Johnson top-break was just not enough firepower for him (I think it was a .32-20?) when he was about 16 years old. He reloaded and put in more powder or a different powder and it turned into a hand-grenade. His hand was OK after it healed but the hammer lodged just where his cheekbone and eye meet and he ended up with a glass eye. He was a pretty good shooter all his life and had a nice collection of weapons.

You take care and let us know what the eventual outcome of that SA explosion was. Luck was with you out there!

[raymond]

A lot of people make mistakes in using the wrong ammunition or reloading ammunition improperly for the M1, and M1A. The M1 should not use commercial 30.06 as the pressure curve can damage the gas system/operating rod. The same is true for the M1A, but the situation there is a little more complicated. 7.62 NATO is not the same as commercial .308. Aside from the chamber size differences, the allowable pressure is different. Bottom line, use quality ammunition loaded to military specs. from a known good supplier for your 7.62 NATO and M1 Garand rifles. If you reload, load to military specifications to avoid damage to the operating system.

Raymond

[Chuck Lutz]

The 9x19mm (9mm Luger) suffers from a similar issue....the load for a Luger was not deemed suffecient for the 9mm SMGs in use at the time so ammo for them was "hotter" and the use of that ammo might lead to premature wear, damage or injury when used in pistols not designed for this ammunition.

[TOM R]

last rifle i saw do that was found to have an obstruction in the barrel, glad you are ok definitly pays to wear safety glasses

[mmike]

In June of '72 I had a .303 Lee Enfield to blow up. The friend standing next to me was peppered with steel splinters and rod shaped powder. We took him to the ER and saw the extractor in the xray as plain as day. The doctor was able to dig most of the pieces out. He had his back turned to me which was a good thing. It turned out as I did research in later years that the removable bolt heads come in four sizes to adjust head space. The head space was apparently off. This was a matching number rifle made in 1942 Long Branch sn 530. The bolt was harder than usual to open on the last two shots and at 16 years old I thought nothing of it. The ammo was 1952 FN bought at the injured friend's father's Economy Auto Store. Head space is critical! With a semi auto the head space problems may not be as easy to detect except on the closing of the bolt during the first shot. I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination but I have had experience! It was memorable enough to recall minute details of that day forty years later. I didn't get the first powder burn anywhere on my self that day, my friend Mark took every bit of it.
Mike

[Bill H.]

Is there some kind of update on this rifle? I have an S/A M1A built in 1990. The bulk of the catastrophic failures I have researched have been from ammo. A couple have been like the one David Pizzoferato posted, metal fatigue. The barrel on that rifle showed a great deal of microscopic stress cracks and the rifle just went as far as it could before giving up and failing. I would like to hear what Springfield Armory has to say about this. Whether it is questionable or not, it is in Springfield Armory's best interest to oblige the customer. A simple act such as that goes a long way. Now if it is a reload issue, then I don't see S/A doing anything but sending the box of broken parts back to you at your expense

Keep us updated please.

[lazybum]

Tonight say a prayer for those that have and those that will have the same experience! I own two an LRB and a Springfield Scout. Never had a minutes trouble with either, dont know if the LRB counts though.

[halftracknut]

I restate my question..Where was the rifle made? I understand there were at least 3 diff. makers ...one in texas and one in Ill. and another I can't recall ...I have one made in Ill. would this be a weak one?

[Gary Turman]

conclusion on original post

[Gary Turman]

I restate my question..Where was the rifle made? I understand there were at least 3 diff. makers ...one in texas and one in Ill. and another I can't recall ...I have one made in Ill. would this be a weak one?

It's a Springfiled Armory INC. nothing to do with the original S.A. that wa owned by the government if thats what your reffering to.

[oldiron]

This explosion was definately caused by what is called a slamfire-- Springfield Armory published an article which I believe was also carried in the American Rifleman magazine. Look it up and read up on it !! This is a result by an engineering problem in the M-1 and M-14 and M1A series of rifles. Problem is that the firing pin can either stick forward or can move forward if the bolt is slowed down during the closing action-- Read up on it!!!

For inquiring minds that need to know about this Danger!

http://yarchive.net/gun/rifle/garand_slamfire.html



The very Best article ever written on this subject IMHO Is the following that I cannot find right now was published in 1984 in THE AMERICAN RIFLEMAN; Here it is; "The Mysterious Slam Fire" By Wayne Faatz

[Gary Turman]

Thanks for the input Wayne but it was not a slam fire. A slam fire occurrs while the bolt is closing or upon closing with a new round. I shot a round, looked at my target and cleared the malfunction and chambered the round. I re aimed and fired thats when it happened. It was the malfunction while feeding that I think the bullet got pushed down in the case.

This explosion was definately caused by what is called a slamfire-- Springfield Armory published an article which I believe was also carried in the American Rifleman magazine. Look it up and read up on it !! This is a result by an engineering problem in the M-1 and M-14 and M1A series of rifles. Problem is that the firing pin can either stick forward or can move forward if the bolt is slowed down during the closing action-- Read up on it!!!

For inquiring minds that need to know about this Danger!

http://yarchive.net/gun/rifle/garand_slamfire.html



The very Best article ever written on this subject IMHO Is the following that I cannot find right now was published in 1984 in THE AMERICAN RIFLEMAN; Here it is; "The Mysterious Slam Fire" By Wayne Faatz