Here it is, the Springfield Armory M1A SOCOM-16, along with a special guest appearance of the crate of 7.62 ammo that "went dark" underneath my work bench for about 10 years.
So far I haven't done a thing with it but tear it down and clean it up. The parts are a mix of SA, H&R, and TRW, plus the new investment-cast receiver. The barrel and gas cylinder are also new production, being shorter than GI.
Immediate plans include an Urban-ERT sling, and a national match round operating rod spring guide. The round guide is intended just to improve operating smoothness, not for any accuracy improvements.
The next big item is optics. It looks like I'll be using an Aimpoint, because there is no magnifying optics that has the eye relief to work from the mid-barrel mounting position. I could get a 3x magnifier, but it would have to go over the receiver, just like a regular scope.
If I need a scope mount, I'll go over to Smith Enterprise, Inc. It looks like the place for M14 pron:
And, I discovered that a Maxpedition "slim line" gun case, bought on closeout due to color change, works perfectly with the rifle. With ACU being the "in" pattern, OD and Woodland are patterns on the way out, and are greatly discounted.
It's a snug fit, but it was designed for shorter weapons. I guess the M1A SOCOM qualifies:
