Socom 16 Rifles
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About Springfield Socom 16 Rifles
Even the lovers of the long arms per se rejoiced when the Springfield SOCOM 16 showed up; the rather shortened Springfield M1A is an ideal carbine that is equally comfortable, be it in close-quarters combats or as a ranch gun. It’s the shortened barrel that holds the magic, with the other components (e.g. the proprietary muzzle brake, the forward-mounted scope base or the tritium front sight) chipping in greatly for the reputation of this .308. The only place where some might frown is the Socom 16’s lack of rails (to mount accessories); though that dents the esthetics lightly, it’s a fact that the Socom 16 is self-sufficient and doesn’t require a ton of additional components to look loaded. You don’t show off when you have real power!
The Springfield Socom: A choice to many
That’s the primary reason behind the Springfield Socom 16 being offered as a weapon of choice to law enforcement divisions, to the military and also as a personal-defense tool. It is way ahead of run-of-the-mill short-barreled .223 carbines, be it in terms of stopping power or a quick handling. With top of the line optics, a top-notch accuracy is taken to the superlatives. Together with the heavy M118 loads, the Socom 16 loves bashing through sheet metal and knocking down a trouble creator hiding behind it.
Socom 16: A quick look
The Socom’s blunt-instrument-capable rear sights are a direct influence of the classic Garand (slightly modified, though), evident from the .125 ghost ring and the front tritium stripe. There’s an integral muzzle-brake and a regulator to set the gas-pressure in the chamber inside; that sure provides for an extra oomph for the piston even under the most extreme field conditions.
That much of power must be packed with an extra dose of accuracy, so the Scout Optics on the rail (four-inch, 1913) is there to eliminate the concerns regarding the sight radius.
Springfield Socom 16: Test results
Off the bench and at fifty yards, the Springfield Socom 16 averages at 1.2 inches, with the best grouping formed using Hornady TAP 155-grains. However, it’s at the effective range of 300-plus yards where the high-tech optics comes in, but then again, it depends on how sharp your own sights are. Fast, accurate and easy to aim, the Springfield Socom 16 recoil manageably (at worst) but what about reliability? Four failures (while extracting the spent cartridges) in three hundred plus rounds is shameful for anything in the M1A series, but then again, it was due to an extended upper rail and has got nothing to do with the receiver. (Note that an acquaintance of the store provided this review – it was not performed by a member of the staff).