M1A's in Mass - Flash Suppressors / Bayo Lug Question

[22lr]

I am confusing myself and I am sure you all can help..

I am looking to get an M1A new that would come with a flash suppressor w/ the bayonet lug. Based on how I read the AWB, my initial thought is that I would just need the FFL to swap out w/ a non-bayonet lug suppressor and I would be good to go?

What confuses me is that, considering that the bayonet lug is attached to the suppressor on the M1A, would I need to get the non-bayonet lug suppressor pinned to the barrel? Uggh.. this state drives me bonkers.

Do the Springfield M1A's in MA have pinned suppressors?

Thanks!

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

The ones I have seen have unpinned flash hiders and no lug.

 

[M60]

Get a pre ban and have it all. FWIW, my national match shoots as well as the super match. Then again, Maybe it's me and I can't get out of the super match what it's capable of,lol.

 

[76Too]

get a smith enterprises 'good iron' muzzle break instead...that way you have no flash hider nor a bayonet lug. they're expensive, but work fantastic for compensating for muzzle rise.

unless it's pre '94, then keep them both and say 'eff you Maura...you're not my REAL mom!'

that's what I did/do. and i give her the 'air finger' in the direction of east so i know it's delivered.

 

[mac1911]

Well furer Healey might have a different interpretation?
Awb as read is center fire rifle with detach mag and 2 or more features. Pistol grip, flash hider, bayo lug , calapsable stock.
So you get the detach mag and 1 feature. You pick the flash hider with out bayo. Does it still need to be welded? I don't think so but I don't know for sure.

 

[Sweeney]

It doesn't have a threaded muzzle so... I've never seen or heard of one being welded.

 

[M60]

get a smith enterprises 'good iron' muzzle break instead...that way you have no flash hider nor a bayonet lug. they're expensive, but work fantastic for compensating for muzzle rise.

unless it's pre '94, then keep them both and say 'eff you Maura...you're not my REAL mom!'

that's what I did/do. and i give her the 'air finger' in the direction of east so i know it's delivered.

I'll take option #2 for the win Alex.

 

[Frizzle Fry]

Most M1As don't have a bayonet lug... however, all but the Cali models are threaded.

If you buy a new M1A it won't have a bayonet lug on the muzzle brake. Problem solved!

If you DO want a lug, buy a USGI muzzle brake and have a gun smith blind pin it; now you don't have a threaded barrel.

If you're dealing with a post-94 you can have a brake or a lug, not both - that's LAW not Maura's BS.

 

[42!]

I know they sell the Springfield new in MA, and it will all depend on what the FFL is willing to do, so go to the LGS where you will buy it and ask.

If you go with Maura's BS, you can't make a non-compliant AW compliant. It has to come from the factory that way. The law doesn't say this, but she does.

 

[22lr]

Thanks all. I like the compensator route without having to make any permanent mods to the gun. Maybe some day I will be able to escape MA.

 

[Mountain]

Well furer Healey might have a different interpretation?
Awb as read is center fire rifle with detach mag and 2 or more features. Pistol grip, flash hider, bayo lug , calapsable stock.
So you get the detach mag and 1 feature. You pick the flash hider with out bayo. Does it still need to be welded? I don't think so but I don't know for sure.

This.

Flash hider with no bayo lug and you are GTG. M1A recoil is soft, so no need for a brake but OK if you want one.

 

[22lr]

Do everyone else on the line a favor....and don't get a comp. Maura should ban those things next!

You can buy a neutered FH from Fulton Armory and a few other places. I have one on my M14.

Flash Suppressor, FA, NM, M14 / M1A

Well I certainly like the price of the neutered suppressor better..

 

[76Too]

if you go with the neutered flash suppressor, don't forget a castle nut and set screw...and the pliers to remove/install the castle nut :/ not so cheap now, is it...lol.

if DW is on the line next to you when you're shooting with your compensator, please take video of his reaction after each shot and post it here for us to see

i have a few different size NM type front sights i would sell for $20 a piece or 2 for $15/ea (never installed)...also have a bunch of nm rear sight aperatures as well if you're interested.

i have both compensated and flass suppresor models on a couple of my M14's and they serve different purposes. Mountain is correct that they don't really NEED compensators to assist with recoil, but I figured it was a good way to skew DW's scores at the next modern military match, so I went with it anyway.

 

[76Too]

Maura should ban those things next!

I thought there was some kind of unwritten rule here that we don't give her any ideas :/

 

[mothybee]

WHAT"S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!!! Don't you know how many children are killed and maimed each year by bayonet lugs! When will this end!!!

 

[Sweeney]

If buying a neutered flash hider you might as well get a NM reamed one. The castle nut pliers are good to have either way so you can remove the gas system.

 

[mac1911]

I thought there was some kind of unwritten rule here that we don't give her any ideas :/

we give then to much credit for being stupid,

 

[Frizzle Fry]

To be clear, you're buying a new Springfield M1A, right? Brand new, produced some time in the last quarter-century?

No current production Springfield M1A ships with a bayonet lug. To my knowledge, they haven't since 1994; it never returned following the AWB.

Neither my 2001 model nor my 2010 model has one; both have the neutered muzzle device. None in the SA catalog, either.

This is a non-issue, unless you're buying a JRA or Fulton M14 - both of those ship with a full-feature muzzle device.

 

[22lr]

To be clear, you're buying a new Springfield M1A, right? Brand new, produced some time in the last quarter-century?

No current production Springfield M1A ships with a bayonet lug. To my knowledge, they haven't since 1994; it never returned following the AWB.

Neither my 2001 model nor my 2010 model has one; both have the neutered muzzle device. None in the SA catalog, either.

This is a non-issue, unless you're buying a JRA or Fulton M14 - both of those ship with a full-feature muzzle device.

I was actually inquiring for the Bula / JRA rifles which I guess they call M14. I guess my terminology was off. I am rethinking the Bula gun now though after reading about all of the issues people are running into and that they only have a 1 year warranty..

 

[Frizzle Fry]

Check Gunbroker for a used one; Springfields can be had at or under $1k.

 

[Glockster30]

To be clear, you're buying a new Springfield M1A, right? Brand new, produced some time in the last quarter-century?

No current production Springfield M1A ships with a bayonet lug. To my knowledge, they haven't since 1994; it never returned following the AWB.

Neither my 2001 model nor my 2010 model has one; both have the neutered muzzle device. None in the SA catalog, either.

This is a non-issue, unless you're buying a JRA or Fulton M14 - both of those ship with a full-feature muzzle device.

I believe that you are right. My M1A was purchased about a month prior to the effective 9/13/94 ban date. It has a bayonet lug.

 

[Rehoboth Dave]

What use is an M1A without a bayonet lug? You're gonna look really silly if someone orders a bayonet charge I tell you wut.

 

[Obi2winky]

My apologies for reviving an old thread (or if this issue has already been addressed elsewhere), but I am still confused. I was planning to build a M1a/M14 rifle from the receiver. The MA AWB would make one with flash hider and bayonet lug an AW. However, the AWB FAQ from the MA.gov (Frequently Asked Questions about the Assault Weapons Ban Enforcement Notice) says that Springfield M1A or a substantially similar weapon is not an AW. Since Springfield M1a w/ flash suppressor and bayonet lugs did exist, am I allowed to build substantially similar semi-auto M14 from a receiver?

 

[Deleted member 67409]

My apologies for reviving an old thread (or if this issue has already been addressed elsewhere), but I am still confused. I was planning to build a M1a/M14 rifle from the receiver. The MA AWB would make one with flash hider and bayonet lug an AW. However, the AWB FAQ from the MA.gov (Frequently Asked Questions about the Assault Weapons Ban Enforcement Notice) says that Springfield M1A or a substantially similar weapon is not an AW. Since Springfield M1a w/ flash suppressor and bayonet lugs did exist, am I allowed to build substantially similar semi-auto M14 from a receiver?

What kind of M14 clone are you trying to build? Who made the receiver you're using?

A bayonet lug in the 21st Century is about as effective as a sword. Even back in the 50s when the M14s were being built, a bayonet lug was something of a joke. A select-fire .308 with a bayonet lug? For what, bayonet charges to capitalize on suppressive fire? The Ordnance Department had been trying to get rid of the bayonet around the time of the adoption of the M1903, but brass and politicians wanted a bayonet out of misplaced senses of elan. Put it this way, if I threw you into a WW1 trenchraid party, would you rather have a M1903 with a bayonet, a 1911, or a MP18? Then fast forward to Vietnam - do you want to put your life on the line using a bayonet against VC armed with AKs?

While the flash suppressor is still a functional accessory, muzzle devices have progressed quite far since the 50s. There's a lot more options out there today than the long M14 flash suppressors.

But if you're building a M14 clone, as the rifle appeared in service, then I get what you're trying to do.

 

[Picton]

Lewis Millett led a bayonet charge up a hill in Korea. He was using M1s, granted, but of the enemy KIAs they counted after the battle, like 20 of them had been bayonetted to death. I met the guy in 1998; he showed up when they renamed one of the Benning bayonet courses after him, and my ranger class got to be the first ones through.

I agree that a bayonet is essentially useless, and has been for years. I'm on record on this site as approving when my battalion commander didn't even bring our bayonets with us when we deployed. But it's an easy capability to include on a rifle, so why not? Plus, it was still doctrine in the 1990s to handle EPWs by using fixed bayonets.

Just saying; for a civilian, yes. A bayonet is probably totally useless. But the Army still has a role for them, though a small one.

 

[Deleted member 67409]

Lewis Millett led a bayonet charge up a hill in Korea. He was using M1s, granted, but of the enemy KIAs they counted after the battle, like 20 of them had been bayonetted to death. I met the guy in 1998; he showed up when they renamed one of the Benning bayonet courses after him, and my ranger class got to be the first ones through.

I agree that a bayonet is essentially useless, and has been for years. I'm on record on this site as approving when my battalion commander didn't even bring our bayonets with us when we deployed. But it's an easy capability to include on a rifle, so why not? Plus, it was still doctrine in the 1990s to handle EPWs by using fixed bayonets.

Just saying; for a civilian, yes. A bayonet is probably totally useless. But the Army still has a role for them, though a small one.

The last effective and documented cavalry charge was in March, 1945, executed by Poles serving with the USSR, but that doesn't mean that horse cavalry was an effective tool for armies to consider going into the Cold War. I think the Brits executed bayonet charges in Gulf War 1, but I'm pretty sure we both agree that the bayonet's modern battlefield effectiveness is very limited.

If 2019 OP isn't building an exact replica of a service M14, he's adding an extra ban part onto a rifle that may or may not be interpreted as a clone of the Springfield M1A. Current Springfield M1As don't have bayonet lugs after 1994. If he's building a DMR or a match rifle, is the bayonet lug worth the worry? But if its intended to be a true replica...

 

[Picton]

Yeah, I doubt it's worth the worry, myself. But it's not my rifle.

I will admit to feeling a little pang in my milsurp soul whenever I look at my L1A1 clone, sans bayo lug.

 

[mac1911]

My apologies for reviving an old thread (or if this issue has already been addressed elsewhere), but I am still confused. I was planning to build a M1a/M14 rifle from the receiver. The MA AWB would make one with flash hider and bayonet lug an AW. However, the AWB FAQ from the MA.gov (Frequently Asked Questions about the Assault Weapons Ban Enforcement Notice) says that Springfield M1A or a substantially similar weapon is not an AW. Since Springfield M1a w/ flash suppressor and bayonet lugs did exist, am I allowed to build substantially similar semi-auto M14 from a receiver?

Its not named on the "banned" model list. Now maybe Im wrong but actual written law says and semi auto with a detachable mag IS an assault weapon IF it has 2 or more of the evil features. So detach mag is 1 evil feature , pick one more.?

 

[M1911]

Moved to MA Laws forum

 

[Obi2winky]

Its not named on the "banned" model list. Now maybe Im wrong but actual written law says and semi auto with a detachable mag IS an assault weapon IF it has 2 or more of the evil features. So detach mag is 1 evil feature , pick one more.?

That's exactly why I'm confused. An M1a/M14 with a bayonet lug and flash hider meets criteria for AW, but the MA.gov produced FAQ explicitly lists M1a and a weapon substantially like it not. Hurray MA gun laws...

What kind of M14 clone are you trying to build? Who made the receiver you're using?

A bayonet lug in the 21st Century is about as effective as a sword. Even back in the 50s when the M14s were being built, a bayonet lug was something of a joke. A select-fire .308 with a bayonet lug? For what, bayonet charges to capitalize on suppressive fire? The Ordnance Department had been trying to get rid of the bayonet around the time of the adoption of the M1903, but brass and politicians wanted a bayonet out of misplaced senses of elan. Put it this way, if I threw you into a WW1 trenchraid party, would you rather have a M1903 with a bayonet, a 1911, or a MP18? Then fast forward to Vietnam - do you want to put your life on the line using a bayonet against VC armed with AKs?

While the flash suppressor is still a functional accessory, muzzle devices have progressed quite far since the 50s. There's a lot more options out there today than the long M14 flash suppressors.

But if you're building a M14 clone, as the rifle appeared in service, then I get what you're trying to do.

I'm trying to build a CMP Service Rifle/Springfield match legal rifle. The receiver is from Bula. I'm not too attatched to the lug idea but a) it looks weird without it and b) the part I just happen to have currently is a NM reamed flash hider with bayo lug. So I would have to trade it.