A minor issue with the quick-detach front sling swivel. It's so quick, the button just touched my shoulder as I slung the rifle, and it fell onto a concrete driveway. The rifle and sight came through like a trooper, although I wailed and gnashed my teeth at the cosmetic scratches on the Aimpoint.
Scrape away the embedded concrete, a bit of file touch-up, and some aluminum blackener. The sight and rifle still functioned properly (but not quite flawlessly), after that. BTW, I'm going to eliminate every push-button swivel I own. Anybody interested in risking their weapons for free?
Other than that, I had a few failures-to-feed, with the bolt riding over the round in the magazine. I need to check how freely the follower is moving, and mark this mag for further study.
Firing it, with ear protection, is pure joy. Horrendous muzzle blast, moderate recoil, and almost no muzzle rise. It was like firing a 12ga shotgun with field loads. Of course, this is a bit heavier than your average shotgun. Very pleasant shooting, aside from muzzle blast.
Besides an auspicious day for firing the M1A for the first time, this was the first time my nephew fired anything bigger than 9mm or 5.7x28. The rifle treated him quite well. He can now say he's fired something in a manly man's caliber.
There was no attempt to sight anything in, just an earlier check with a collimator to make sure things were pointing in the right direction. We had no trouble hitting an aluminum transmission case at 50 yards, offhand. You could see the metal spark when the round hit. Do not try to take cover behind an aluminum casting if someone is shooting 7.62mm NATO at you.