Springfield M1A Tanker vs. Aero M5 AR-10: DMR Showdown 

I like how Hop was walking 5 paces behind James as they went downrange so that they looked closer in height. Got some Peter Jackson wizardry going on.

2:24 “.308 doesn’t port well into the AR platform” My brother in Christ the platform BEGAN as a .308 rifle.

Clint is such a national treasure "well that's why God made trees" 😂

Speaking on pure aesthetics, the M1 tanker looks super clean!

M110 crying in the corner like it hasn't been the gwot final boss for the last almost 20 years

Built my M5 out with a 16" criterion barrel with their M118 match chamber and rifle length gas. Suppresses beautifully, 3/4 MOA with 175 GMM and has only ever choked on steel case Tula crap I used as a test only.

"You're in a different tax bracket" is such an underhanded slap in the face 😂

2:44 , That's called confirmation bias Mr. Reeves. Your 993 video was sick by the way.

I just built my own ar10 in 308 and it's an entire aero precision build. it wasn't cheap but I haven't had a single issue with it yet.

Sadlak is the only way to go with optic mount for M1A pattern

SADLAK mount, they know how to do M-14's

James enjoying his humble pie today

"Ten Hundred" lol

"That's why God made trees." Hahahahaha!!!

The combination of a solid head-to-head type video, the Thunder Ranch team, James Reeves and Hop is an unbelievable pairing. This is honestly one of my new favorite videos! Great content as always TFB-Fam.

13:30 Sweet, sweet come uppance for the budget AR10 hommies. love both James and Hop, great content, always enjoy seeing you together.

Those bumps on the receiver, what are those things again? Yeah, the MATCH GRADE iron sights! The fact you were shooting 100 yards would have given JR the bragging rights to smoke an AR with irons, but no dice... Such a missed opportunity. Pun intended. Great content, keep it coming.

The M1A is a great choice for those of us living in States that do not currently recognize the US Constitution. My Scout is set up with a red dot and factory irons. It’s a 2-2.5” rifle. Most reliable semi-auto firearm I’ve ever owned. It just works.

That Chris Kyle American Sniper ammo is dog shit.

I'll mention I used my M1A Scout (18") for a ThunderRanch "Urban Rifle" course in the early 2000s (I don't remember exactly what year it was). I used no optic. The M1A functioned 100%. Back then, everybody had to shoot using frangible ammo. I don't know if ThunderRanch still requires that for its classes. The M1A was heavy and my arms were hurting from its weight at the end of each day. Everyone else was using 5.56mm ARs in that class.

honestly that aero m5 looks like a sweet set up

I tried sighting in an ar10 on box ammo after laser sighting it in. I couldn’t do it. Called on a friend. He couldn’t do it. We threw out a huge piece of cardboard at 100yds and it was shooting an over 1 foot pattern. Did all sorts of stuff as I thought the optic was the issue. Tried other box ammo and it helped. Ended up trying surplus ball ammo as we had shot all my box ammo and it ended up shooting an under 2” five shot group. Long story short. Always pattern your weapons and see what they like to eat.

4:01 - That cat is adorable

Hi James and Hopp: I have a M1A Super Match. Yes I know it is a "Super Match".. two things if I may.. 1) I had trouble with the Gen II mount from Springfield in 2012. They repared the Rifle very quickly. they also told me that I needed the newer mount; they suggested the Gen III mont ( which you have ).. but the person at springfield told me infadically to use ONLY their STEEE mount, not aluminum. The other thing is that I have only shot Match Ammo. From Federal " Gold Medal Match ", Black Hills Match, and my own Clones of M118 LR. the bullet weights are 175gr and 168gr, Gucci Gun. Gucci Ammo. just saying dude..:much love love your show. Have a good one .

I bought like 400 rounds of that Chris Kyle ammo thinking if it has his name on it, it should be decent. That’s the worst ammo I had ever shot. Was very unreliable and the primers kept blowing out and getting stuck inside my gun. One primer blew out and froze my bolt up. Guess it wasn’t just me that had issues

Shoulda done the groupings with the iron sights vs the ar10 with optic 🤔 I’d like to see that comparison

If you want Forged receiver like actual M14, unlike the cast steel M1A, get one from Bula Defense made out of forged steel

I've got an M1A Scout Squad rifle. My optic is a Leatherwood/Hi-Lux 2x-7x LER scope. Not fancy by any measure, but using an LER scope eliminates the concern about the single point of failure being the thumbscrew on the side mount.

Technically loss is loss in a gun fight. 🤣 James' M1A is sick though, I'd have one just for the looks.

You must be running real POS AR-10s. Holy shit. Just as reliable as any AR-15.

More videos with Uncle Clint! The man is a freaking stud!

The 16in M1a has notoriously mistimed gasblocks as well. Replacing mine made all the difference (I also use a Sadlak mount).

With this loss means you have to do a mail room lol. MAIL ROOM MAIL ROOM

Loved the M14 when I was in the Navy 87-95. Have contemplated purchasing an M1A for quite a while.

I went through the same issue with a few of my M1As. The problem is the mount. The Sadlak airborne works but will loosen up over one heavy shooting session. You can’t over tighten the thumb screw as it will strip the receiver since the receiver is cast. The fix is to replace the stock with a chassis like the sage ebr, troy or Springfield socom II full rail. This will fix the accuracy issues but it will cost you. I get about 1.5-2 moa in a sage ebr chassis running the same exact optic. I use the sage mounting platform which is actually pretty solid but if you need to take it off to clean your gun you have to re-zero… also it’s now heavy AF.

WOW! My lowly AERO M5 6.5 Creedmoor wasn't a bad move after all? Or the other M4 builds as well? Thanks, guys! But good money on optics and no malfunctioning even with Russian ammo either besides 1moa groups opening up to 3moa.

I’m a self professed simp for the M1A/M14 platform, but I admit the rifle has several shortcomings.I own a standard, and it’s a 2-3 MOA gun, it typically shoots 2.5 MOA with M80 ball and shoots 1.5-2 MOA with Hornady Black or FGMM. I’ve added some NM parts as well as shimming the gas system, it truly is a tinkerers gun. I highly recommend you atleast shim the gas system and go for one of the big 4 M1A/M14 mounts. The Sadlak, the Smith Enterprise, the Arms 18, and my personal favorite, the Bassett Machine and tool. The Bassett mount is so easily installed, James could even do it. Also if you insist on using the Tanker/Socom style, the muzzle device that Springfield uses isn’t great, send it off to Smith Enterprise and have the muzzle recrowned and the brake trued to the barrel, should tighten up that gun quite a bit, they’re known to be about 4 MOA guns. Of course the best thing to do would just to buy a reliable AR10, of which the DDM5V3/4and Sig 716I are probably the best rifles for the price.

Is Hop a milk man baby? I don’t see any James in that man…

My SOCOM shot like shit out of the box. 3-4 MOA at 50 meters. Then i heard everyone talking about shimming the gas block to fix the issue...if I pay 1700-1800 bucks for a rifle I shouldn't have to gunsmith it to get it to make a halfway decent group. I got rid of it and gave Springfield another try and went with a Scout Squad with the 18" barrel. Nothing to write home about at 1.5-2 MOA at 50 meters but far better than the 16" variant.

Best video posted on RU-vid today James 😎 Thanks for sharing with us 🙏 God Bless 🦅

Omg THIS this is why I reload!!!! Yes it takes a little bit to learn actually it wasn’t all that hard to learn when guys like Shannon at Johnnys Reloading Bench or Elvis Ammo or all the other guys were aloud to reload on RU-vid. Knowing how to reload is so important if you want to actually learn to shoot. All I can say is I’m so thankful that I was able to learn how to reload before RU-vid destroyed the reloading community. As for the AR10 vs m1a I already did this oh about 6 years ago. I built out a Aero m5e1 using krieger barrel and JP action parts. And my good buddy got a Springfield M1A loaded or whatever they call there top M1A. The end result was the M1a losing terribly. I also think people like Lucas at T. rex arms doing half a$$ed torture “tests” of say the Aero guns doesn’t help. The guy literally ran his m5e1 without any kind of lube then tried to shoot it suppressed without an adjustable gas block. And when it broke he tried to say that Aero makes junk. Meanwhile he has yet to get a AR10 to beat the Aeros round count.

Try a Bassett Mount they are my favorite. I also have sadlak they are fine as well. SA mounts I never had any luck out of them.

The hop vs James vids r the best

Digging the Just for Men, Touch of Grey look

I'm jelly of your being able to rock just the moustache, Officer Reeves. I look like a cross between Ron Jeremy and a sasquatch when I try

An M14 or M1A that has been assembled by Smith Enterprise and installed in a Blackfeather RS chassis stock is what you really, really want.

Use Sadlak mount. The Socom 16 barrel is not really accurate compared to the the scout and standard m1a models

I used GI grade and NM grade M14 for decades in competitions and will always have a place in my heart for them, however the AR 10 have really impressed me with the milder recoil and the ease of mounting accessories. I've had no problems with mine and if I want consistent 1moa, I'll use a bolt gun

Hate to say it, but you should probably simply ditch the scope idea, and just a forward dot/light on that shortie if it's something you want to run.

Good job with guns you two were working with. If you do this in the future a better comparison would be an LMT or Knights 308 vs the budget option. Both are a lot more expensive but reliable and have seen military adoption

The SA gun LOOKS good. The Aero Precision rifles always seem underestimated. I have a Aero Precision M4E1 as well as what started out as a SA Saint Victor. Out of the box, IMO the AP factory guns (uppers + lowers) are far better than SA factory guns.

I can not believe you did not see this one coming.

Oh boy. You're going to upset a lot of M14 apologists on the M14forum! 😂

I love the tanker. Its not a precision long distance rifle. Its a close quarters battle rifle and does fine for what its designed to do. Certainly capable enough to protect your home or ranch. Springfield quality is always hit or miss. Some products feel and manipulate fine while others operate like they were built by Fisher Price. Seems to depend on the specific model.

Send that M1A to Smith Enterprise. They will get it done right

Man, I genuinely thank you guys for this video!!!

James I appreciate your content and excellent video but I can’t believe you used the Springfield scope mount. They’re awful and they’ve always been awful. For anyone who might read this save yourself time and money, go for an ARMS18 or the Sadlak/fulton/brookfield style scope mounts. Springfield scope mounts are really hit or miss.

I have an M1A from back when the years began with a One. I fell in love with the platform as a Marine, and I still like it a lot. But my LMT rifles in 308 and 6.5 Creedmoor are what I grab and use 99.9% of the time. Durable, accurate, reliable.

James' defense is one of a true boomer.

To solve the mount problem, opt for an LRB M-25 receiver with integrated dovetails and rail. Loosing the stripper clip guide is no big deal considering the payoff with a rock solid mount.

8:34 words of wisdom

I have a SADLAK mount on my M1A and it has been pretty acturate and consistant.

I’ve always had issues with the Springfield aluminum mounts. Try a sadlak or an A.R.M.S 18 or something.

Funny that the m14s performance in the video matches exactly with anecdotes from its military service.

James: "I've got a traditionally more precise rifle", rack grade M14s back in the day required 4-6 MOA. Later adaptations like the M25 were accurate, after replacing a ton of parts and they go for 6 times more money and probably less reliable than an AR10 if you compared then side-by-side

Scope mounts have always been an issue with M1A/M14s. My dad had a M1A match where the scope mount screw would fall out every so often. And you really don't want to use Loctite on them because it's a very course thread.

"M14 is the last American issued battle rifle.." Is the new sig spear considered a battle rifle?

I also had a M1a 308 with the Springfield mount/Leopold scope. Also pie plate groups with ten different 308 ammo choices. Traded the gun for a Rock River AR 10. RR gets 1 inch groups with a variety of store bought ammo. Love the RR product !

I have been fighting this M1A accuracy lore for sometime. Like since I bought one in the military. 2015ish. There is a guru for this rifle and can be found on many m1a forums. He is known as Tony Ben. I feel like he has done it all in a since of messing around to making actual orders for folks m1a. I would seek his advice. Easy cheaper solutions I have learned. 1 shim the barrel. 2 possible to work. Bedding. Some disagree cause the stock is considered flimsy. Mac millon stocks or whatever are suppose to be top notch. Idk the worth to everyone. Personally I like the rifle. I think it would be the coolest rifle in the world if could hold on the line of sub moa at whatever yard. To me though it search of these results may be like looking for the fountain of youth.........Hopps seem to have found it so....maybe it's possible

I believe that with the M1, when switching out the stock, fitting the stock (bedding the action, if possible) and ensuring a free-float on the barrel, are steps that should not be omitted. Yes, bedding and fitting are time and moolah-intensive. However, my personal research and most of the information we came across at SDI points to stock fitment and barrel harmonics as the two most important factors that are skipped in regards to rifle accuracy.

Good on you for embracing the salt and pepper. Chicks dig it.

The rife was adopted through a bribery, so that is totally expected - it is a spray and pray device. Accurizing it is a "long shot". And as you play with amount of gas it also affects the group size.

Given that the M1/M14/M1A pattern was designed around the peep sight, before practical optics were conceived, it's not surprising that scope mounts are a royal pain on the rifle.

Sadly, living in WA State... I can purchase or possess NEITHER. And I'm growing older waiting for the SCOTUS to reverse the CA "AW" bans so that WA State will have no choice but to rescind these Unconstitutional bans. I would love to own a SOCOM16! However... I really appreciate your honest comparison here. Thanks for enlightening us!

What's up with all these bot accounts

I owned 1 M14 built with all GI Winchester parts on an Armscorp match receiver, and a M1A scout squad. I miss them both. Now I have two large frames; 6.5 & 308, both 16". And a 13" pistol in 308. Again I miss the M1A, it just felt solid.

Hops done a great job the last few years convincing me not to spend money on PTR products. Whats everyones opinion on Zenith HK style guns?

James, although I don't think it's compatible with the tanker model, but if you go up to the 18½ inch scout squad you should consider the Blackfeather RS aluminum chasis for your M1a. It's minimalist, relatively light, rugged, and locks the receiver down as well as my NM glass bedded stock without any of the fragility. You will LOVE it.

Sadlak Airborne mount is the best. Stop messing around with junk.

Best DMR platform: G3. Its verifiably the most accurate base platform of any battle rifle. Especially with M80 ball for those times you need to save your match grade ammo for long shots or just run out of it and need to poach off your local MG crew.

The arms 18 mount is the way to go. Springfield knows how to make a rifle but they do not know how to make a scope mount.

Absolutely contact Ron Smith and Smith Enterprises. He is the expert on M14s. Great company. Great guy, Vietnam vet. Company builds the Crazy Horse Rife for the military.

Unfortunately you burned up some good money on that. I wouldn't spend $40 on a Springfield plastic stock. A tight lockup is very important to the accuracy and I got a super tight usgi stock off of gb. The scope mount you should use a sadlak. I like the airborne mount personally. If you don't like the cutout in the stock you can join the m14 forum and with 50 posts have access to the market place purchase a dummy selector kit from forceman. You could also either unitize or shim the gas cylinder for more accuracy, or add a NM spring guide by sadlak and a tubbs flatwire spring. I'd start with the stock and mount. People have achieved much Better accuracy then you on the platform with irons, spending half as much. You should have known better on the mount. Springfield needs to just stop selling those all together.

LOL... I could have saved you a video. The Aero M5 is great. The barrel and BCG upgrade will make a huge difference besides good glass of course. I sold my M1 shortly after that upgrade. Recoil is noticeably different. Stag makes a great 16" barrel. Fail Zero BCG is a great combo for the M5

I don't know what the technicality is, ARs are a platform known for accuracy, M1As are a platform known to be rather expensive, require accuracy mods to be a match rifle and difficult to mount optics on. I also don't know what you think a $2,500 scope is going to do at 100 yards that a $1,000 scope won't do. It's pretty simple, expensive optics are made for taking dificult shots in poor conditions. If you are shooting in low light with wind and maybe ranging with the reticle at an unknown distance an expensive scope probably has better features for that type of shot and maybe better glass but at 100 yards that makes almost zero difference. Any way a gucci M1A isn't a Springfield, it's a Smith Enterprises M1A with all USGI small parts, a match barrel and their forged steel receiver. The Springfield uses a cast receiver, just not as good. The "poor man's" M1A isn't even a Springfield, it's a Norinco upgraded with a USGI bolt, that has a forged receiver and everything else is as good or better than Springfield. But the real story is the large frame AR. They have gotten cheap. Before covid I built some nice Aero M5E1 rifles with good barrels (better than BA), nice triggers, free float handguard, adjustable gas and a few furniture upgrades to get the ergos I like for around $800. That requires some shopping, I buy stuff on sale or deeply discounted Aero "blems" which usually look perfect and always function fine in my experience. A large frame AR really isn't a bullet hose so I build mine chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor to maximize the long range accuracy potential because good 6.5 Creedmoor ammo isn't any more expensive than good .308 ammo (by the box or reloading). As for reliability, I think most large frame AR issues are gas related. Mine all seem to run fine until I change ammo and it becomes under-gassed because of the different powder charge. The reason for that is that I adjust my gas to the minimum required to lock the bolt on the LRBHO after the last round is fired from the magazine. I should start hand loading to eliminate that issue and save a little money. So no technicality, you have learned what service rifle competitors have known for decades, the AR platform is a better platform for match accuracy.

Many years ago went to a gun show ready to buy from the Northwest's largest Springfield dealer who is always there. And there it was used but new 16" in urban camo no less. I picked it up and immediately was shocked by the imbalance, way front heavy. I had Keith hold it for me and wandered around like I had been punched in the forehead. Came to a small table of two retired cops, one in a wheel chair, they had two RRA AR 10's left A2 basic configurations. It weighed left and was way more balanced. took FAL standard or metric mags. I bought a dozen or so FAL mags as I found them. 10 years later, hundreds of rounds NATO surplus to steel case russian .308. Not one failure, and many deer with a 5x prism scope. I still love the nostalgic appeal to the Springfield, and plastic sucks for sound bush whacking.

Hey James, just a heads up. The barrel is not free floated and your stock being synthetic will flex. Basically, it's like resting your suppressor on a barricade and firing. I've gone down this route before, you need a rigid wood stock that will minimize the flex and pressure on the barrel. Also, get the sadlak mount please.

Springfield scope mount… That’s why I installed a Sadlak mount on my M1A, a much more secure mount to the left side of the receiver and a second mounting point using the stripper clip attachment point.

I tried the ar10 market for a bit I had a dpms lr308 and a aero m5 both were nonstop issue machines I got sick of it and just bought a scar17 3 times the price but 0 malfunctions it's worth every penny just to have trust in your rifle I now have a hk417 on the way and don't regret all the saving is worth it.

When it comes to M1A optics mounts, Bassatt is the way to go. Simple to put on, holds zero incredibly well and is made solid. The other simple thing you can do that will greatly improve accuracy, change the operating spring guide to one with a round body. It’ll make the operating rod cycle consistently. I’m a big M1A/M14 guy. I have 6 of them. 1 from LRB that’s here in NY, where i live. I have a loaded, a scout squad, a socom from Springfield, i have a standard Bula and a Chinese polytech that i got in the 90s. I changed the guide rod in all of them and it worked wonders for accuracy. It also helps to shim the gas system too

I fell out laughing when i heard James describe the m1a as a traditionally more precise rifle. Theres a reason you dont see m1a's on the service rifle circuit anymore, they cannot compete with ARs for accuracy. They are expensive to accurize and require rebedding due to the recoil/operatong system. That metallic ping is caused by resonance and is partially why scope mounts dont hold up. Scar has the same issue

That bad mount is an inherent flaw to trying to use a non-modular design like the m14 vs and extremely modular AR

I agree with you on the reliability of AR10’s never seen one that ran well.

I thought after the SIG interview that Glock would have ceased the sponsoring. Glad that's not the case!!!

Won by technicality, hmm like the Alec Baldwin trial.

The ONLY mount I've had luck with on an m1a is the forward rail on the Scout Squad.

*Talks shit about ar10s *picks a gun that is basically a semi auto converted mauser...

How was 16 inch the limit when there are plenty of 18 inch options? Beside that, very cool video idea, couldnt wait to get home to watch this .

Lots of awkward boomer moments and conversations defending the M1A.

From my observations of the M1A through seeing others use them. The Springfield M1A seems to work best when you just stick to plain old Iron sights. And expanding on my two cents; The mere fact the M1A needs some convoluted scope mounting system is in of itself a liability. Modern AR-10's are typically made to accept scopes with ease. With no adapters or the like necessary. And they tend to hold a zero great. There is a reason the AR is now the Gold Standard now-a-days. While yes, Direct impingement is a little dirty. The merits of the AR platform (as far as i can tell) by far out weight the cons. Furthermore; The M1A is known for shifting a little bit inside it's furniture, which could also potentially effect accuracy. I'm sorry to tell you James Reeves, there is a difference between a battle rifle and a precision rifle. and the M1A is not a precision rifle. It is a Battle rifle. (M1A's forebears) M1 Garand and the M14 was Intended to be handled by a grunt in a warzone and be sufficiently accurate enough to hit a man sized target at a reasonable distance. The M1A is simply unlikely to give you Sub-MOA performance due to it's design as a whole, however that is not to say you might not get an outlier. but there is good reason the M14 platform is going to the way-side. AR style rifles plain and simple are superior. Even in 308.