I had the opportunity to try an M21 at the superb Mid-South Institute of Self Defense Shooting in Mississippi in December of 2000. We were shooting Black Hills 168-gr. match ammunition at ranges of up to 180 yds. (Most police marksman shooting actually takes place at relatively short distances. The police marksman isn’t often under fire and is frequently able to get relatively close to the subject.) Despite my lack of familiarity with the gun and scope, I never missed. The stock’s raised comb comfortably kept my eye aligned with the ocular lens. It was downright simple to place the crosshairs squarely on the reactive targets and get a telling hit with each squeeze of the trigger. In any event, the semi-automatic action—which generated zero jams—would have made for some rather quick follow-up shots.

For those who simply have to have the “best of the best,” Springfield last year introduced the M25 White Feather Tactical Rifle. Named in honor of legendary Marine Corps sniper Carlos “White Feather” Hathcock, the M25 features a rear-lugged receiver, Kreiger 1:10" twist heavy match barrel (carbon or stainless), an integral Picatinny scope base, two-stage adjustable match trigger (1 1⁄2  to 4 3⁄4 lbs.), Harris bipod and low-profile custom muzzle brake/stabilizer. The fiberglass stock has an adjustable comb and a pistol grip with palm swell and is available in different colors. By special arrangement with the estate and family of Carlos Hathcock, the receiver of each M25 is marked with a facsimile of Hathcock’s signature and the White Feather logo.

A shortened (18" barrel), lightened version of the M1A is catalogued as the M1A Scout Squad Rifle. It was introduced in 1998 (see “Dope Bag,” April, 2000, p. 50). That arm is being proffered to law enforcement as a viable replacement for the police shotgun and an alternative to the AR-15-style carbine for those departments phasing out scatterguns. There is a strong case that may be made for the M1A Scout as the preferable long arm for law enforcement. The compact rifle offers better precision, range and firepower than a shotgun loaded with either slugs or buckshot and twice the muzzle energy of a .223-cal. gun.

Moreover, the M1A Scout, when fitted with a forward-mounted Aimpoint sight, just makes a terrific all-around gun for anyone who appreciates a compact, reliable .30-cal. semi-auto carbine—and who doesn’t?

Years of Sales and Fairy Tales
After 28 years, even Springfield’s vast supply of surplus parts has been exhausted and, with few exceptions, the gun’s components are newly manufactured parts. Demand was such that tooling up became profitable long ago. Boyds (walnut), Wenig (M21) and McMillan (fiberglass) now provide the high-grade stocks, though painted government-issue fiberglass units are used on the Standard and Scout models. The company continues to make its own precision investment cast receivers from 8620 alloy steel.

Springfield’s marketing philosophy has always been to focus on a handful of core designs of acknowledged excellence (such as the M1911 pistol) and tweak them to perform at their utmost and be applicable to a broad range of shooting needs. That simple strategy has proven enormously sound.

The histories of the company and its most popular longarm read like an interweaving of classic fairy tales. Springfield Armory, now in its third decade selling a product no one was certain of, is something of a Cinderella story. The M1A—a variant of the design the military didn’t want but the public can’t get enough of—seems the Ugly Duckling that now stands revealed as a beautiful swan. But, for Springfield Armory, it has also been the Golden Goose.