SOCOM 16 accuracy

[LCR]

 I'm wanting to buy a SOCOM but have heard mixed accuracy reports, it seems all the bad reports come from people who don't own them, so I was wanting to hear from OWNERS about what kind of accuracy you're getting. I would like to be able to make center mass hits reliably out to 400 yards. I don't think that's too much to ask from an $1800 weapon. Thanks for your input.

[Lloyd Smale]

buddys does a pretty consistant 2 inch at a 100 yards with good components. About 3 inch with ball ammo

[LCR]

 Thanks Lloyd, just put it on layaway

[Lloyd Smale]

hell of a nice gun.  Wish i had one myself.

[Default]

That they are Lloyd,  (great guns)

  The one i wanted was gonna cost me $2000+  And i cant warrant that on one rifle   I went with the DPMS LR308 AP4 instead... Was very very happy with that choice for half the money (8 months ago when prices hadnt got retarded yet) ... But dont get me wrong LCR , The M1A is deffinately a fine weapon , One which is seeing more service now in the theatre of battle then it did after it was originally adopted as the US service rifle way back when , A true testament to it ... And i will have one to be sure ( some day)

 The SOCOM model , From what i know is a loud little beast , That likes to display its fireball abilities for all to see  i.e. it has a short barrel and a powerful cartridge ... This will lead to a bad situation if one had to fire it indoors with no plugs and in a closed room.. Just something to consider or remember.

 As far as accuracy is concerned , I have no formal experience with the SOCOM variant.


       Default

[Lloyd Smale]

no louder then a 16 inch dpms

[teddy12b]

LCR,
     Once upon a time I really had my heart set on the M1A scout.  I did a lot of research on the springfield M1A's and from the people I talked to getting an M1A that shoots 1 1/2" @ 100 right out of the box is the best you can hope for.  For my money there were better options and I ended up buying a DPMS 308B that shot less than 1/2" at 100 after a new trigger.  Then again that was bought and sold before the current crazy prices showed up.  The prices are heading down on guns and ammo and when another DPMS 308B becomes affordable I'll be buying one.  DPMS makes such an incredible rifle.  Check out the AR15.com forum on the M1A's and you'll find all kinds of people that love their $2000 guns, but couldn't reliably shoot a pop can at 200 yards with it.

[SHOOTALL]

The rear sight is more open than on the standard rifle . I find it a little more difficult to hold for a tight group than the standard sight , but far faster to pick up targets quickly . It has a little more flash and noise . I have only shot ball ammo and it does ok like about what Lloyd posted I would guess as i don't use a scope and can keep it inside 3 inches all the time and 2-2.5 most of the time from a bench  younger eyes do better with it . If you do your part you can hit clay targets at 300 yards pretty well not every time but enough to have confidence in the rifle ( i like shooting stuff like that over paper ) . I plan to see if a standard hand guard will work on it and remove the forward rail to see if it affects the shooting .
I looked at several other guns before getting the socom and didn't see anything that came close . A good friend had 2 A-10's and they didn't seem as good . I didn't care for the FN-FAL either . I know some love either of those and they are Ok just not what i like . If you get one Cheaper than dirt had the best buy on 20 round mags that i have found . Also on cleaning kits .
And the night sight up front is a nice touch .

[mannyrock]

Dear Guys,

  I don't own an M1A, but from what I know, they are true battle rifles, with open apetures to quickly pick up targets out to 200 yards, and fairly loose tolerances to prevent jams, lock ups, etc.  Expecting these to be target or sporter rifles (1 to 2 MOA) is in my opinion just plain silly.  You aren't paying $1,800 for this rifle in order to get a varmint rifle.  You are paying for the fact that it is as utterly durable and reliable as a tank, and fires the 7.62 Nato in a 20 round magazine.

  I doubt that if you put any AR configured rifle (DPMS included) side by side in a torture test with the M1A, including mud, dirt, extended high rates of fire, etc. that the AR is going to outlast the M1A.  Saying that a DPMS is a "better deal" than the M1A really depends on what you are looking for.

  Just my thoughts.

Mannyrock

[teddy12b]

Saying that a DPMS is a "better deal" than the M1A really depends on what you are looking for.

  Just my thoughts.

Mannyrock

You hit the nail right on the head.  It all depends on what you want to do with it, and what you want it to be capable of.  Personally, I use my rifles 99% of the time at the range and then maybe I get to take one of my guns out hunting for a week a year.

[LCR]

The rear sight is more open than on the standard rifle . I find it a little more difficult to hold for a tight group than the standard sight , but far faster to pick up targets quickly . It has a little more flash and noise . I have only shot ball ammo and it does ok like about what Lloyd posted I would guess as i don't use a scope and can keep it inside 3 inches all the time and 2-2.5 most of the time from a bench  younger eyes do better with it . If you do your part you can hit clay targets at 300 yards pretty well not every time but enough to have confidence in the rifle ( i like shooting stuff like that over paper ) . I plan to see if a standard hand guard will work on it and remove the forward rail to see if it affects the shooting .
I looked at several other guns before getting the socom and didn't see anything that came close . A good friend had 2 A-10's and they didn't seem as good . I didn't care for the FN-FAL either . I know some love either of those and they are Ok just not what i like . If you get one Cheaper than dirt had the best buy on 20 round mags that i have found . Also on cleaning kits .
And the night sight up front is a nice touch .

  Man, clays @ 300 yards with irons is some nice shootin' my friend! If the one I have on layaway does close to that, I'll be giddy as a school girl! I agree, paper sucks....things that blow up---much more fun.

[SHOOTALL]

It took my son and i a few sighters but once we got it down it was fun .

[LCR]

It took my son and i a few sighters but once we got it down it was fun .

   Sure sounds fun, I was planning on pulling the scout mount off mine also, that can't be good for accuracy being clamped on the barrel the way it is. Fulton makes real nice handguards in brown or black that will clip right on, just save the two clips when you take the old one off.

[LEO]

I have no experience with the SOCOM 16 but I have quite a bit with the standard M1A, my rifle is an older (mil parts) Springfield Armory rifle.  All I have done to it is put a military fiberglass stock which I installed an adjustable cheekpiece on, a Springfield 3rd generation scope mount (better choices available) and a Leupold Vari-x II 3x9 scope.  The rifle will consistently shoot 3/4" 5 shot groups at 100 yards with Federal Gold Medal Match 168 gr ammo.  I suspect that I was lucky and my rifle is better than average but I am very pleased with it.  Keep in mind it will only do about 2 inches for 5 shots at 100 yards with ball ammo and about 1 1/2" for 5 at 100 yards with Remington 150 grain core-lokt ammo.  The accuracy standard for the Military for the M-14 and I think the M-16 as well was/is 4 MOA groups with ball ammo.  However, that 2" group at 100 yards should be no more than 8" at 400 yards and under field conditions that is more than adequate when shooting at man sized targets and I really can't think of many instances where you would want to engage at that range in real life anyway because at that range you would probably be better off evading than engaging unless you are defending a fixed position but the SOCOM 16 is really designed as a M1A for CQB ranges out to about 200 yards or so.  This is not meant as a condemation of the rifle it is just to point out its intended deployment after all you can drive a nail with a wrench but it is not the best tool for the job.

[SHOOTALL]

lcr thanks , i will look them up , a black one would do nicely .