TFB Review: 1,000 Rounds With The Springfield Armory SA-16A2

Retro is all the rage these days. Though flat top uppers remain the standard and are much easier to use with optics, the nostalgia factor of the classic carry handle still has a certain allure. Springfield Armory is one of the first major manufacturers to embrace that trend with the SA-16A2.

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Disclosures are critical in any review so that the audience has all of the relevant facts. I have done a few reviews for Springfield previously, including the standard and 20-inch Hellion rifles. Springfield let me borrow the rifle, and TFB paid my standard rate to write this article. I paid for the ammo.

Design & Features

The SA-16A2 is a very clear homage to the M16A2. Short of looking at the barrel or receiver markings, about the only clue that this is not an M16A2 is the black anodizing rather than the standard gray. Matching gray tones can be difficult, and sticking with black helps keep everything nice and matching.

One area where some purists might cry foul is the magazine well. It is a modernized, flared design, which is a departure from a true M16A2. Though I am an admitted retro AR nerd, I didn’t notice the flared magazine well until someone else pointed it out.

Springfield includes a Duramag Speed 30-round aluminum magazine. That is a great choice, and I have had consistently good experiences with those magazines across a wide range of guns. The gun and magazine arrive in a nice padded soft case with an accessory pouch.

The receiver is a classic A2 configuration. It has all of the features one would expect in the upper, from the brass deflector to the windage and elevation adjustments. There are some rough forging marks inside the carry handle, and that is not unique to this particular gun. I looked over another random SA-16A2 in a gun store and the same marks were present.

Inside the receiver, M-4 feed ramps facilitate easy feeding. That may not be “clone correct” on this type of gun, but it is an improvement over the original. Another feature hidden inside the receiver is a tensioning screw, similar to those found on an Aero Precision lower. Moving forward on the barrel there is a bayonet lug which is functional. My old M7 bayonet fit perfectly. As a brief aside, my dad thought it was stupid to buy that bayonet when I was 12, but I did it anyways, and it came in handy for this review 20 years later.

The only other cosmetic issue is with the handguards. When the gun first arrived, the delta ring assembly was pushed back and was bowing the handguards out. Once the handguards were back in place, a large gap remained between them. I contacted Springfield and they provided a new set of handguards in short order. The new set had much less of a gap, but there was still a gap.

Another thing I like to test with guns that use AR-pattern mags is if there are any issues with brands or types of magazines. The following magazines fit, fed, and dropped free without issue:

Duramag Speed 20, 30

Duramag Steel 20, 30

Magpul PMAG M2 30

Magpul PMAG M3 20, 30, 40

Surefeed 20

Surefeed E2 30

Amend2 Mod-3 30

FAB Defense Ultimag 30

D&H 30

KCI Polycarbonate 30

The only magazine that had issues was a Hera H3 that had repeated failures to feed. Given how many other magazines worked well, I am inclined to think that this was a magazine issue rather than a gun issue.

On the topic of magazines, the flared magazine worked well. It facilitated faster reloads. It is not as obtrusive as a large, extended competition mag well, but it makes just enough difference to be noticeable.

After many hundreds of rounds through the SA-16A2, I checked the trigger pull. It measured 6.5 pounds, and smoothed into an almost two-stage pull. After a little take up there is a wall and the trigger breaks clean. Not bad for a milspec unit at all, but definitely not a Geissele.

Accuracy Testing

I like to include accuracy tests with a range of ammo in each review, but the human factor involved with iron sights is an issue with the SA-16A2. On my first range outing I shot some groups with cheap FMJ ammo and some 77-grain target loads from my competition rifle. Though the 77-grainers usually shoot significantly better than bulk range ammo, the groups were indistinguishable. With iron sights alone I would not be able to gather accuracy data with any precision. It's simply easier to shoot consistent groups with glass than with irons. So I did something a little stupid:

This style of rifle is not what most people think of for a suppressor host, but I decided to throw one on there to try anyway. Adding a can on the end of a 20-inch barrel and fixed stock makes for a very long rifle. I used a SilencerCo Omega 300 on the Griffin Armament A2 mount, which attaches to the included flash hider. It worked fine, and there were no reliability issues. It also did manage one group at 1.6” with Fiocchi Target Max .223 ammo.

At Distance

I brought the SA-16A2 along to a recent CMP service rifle match. It's not the right tool to be competitive in that game, but I pulled it out after the match to shoot a little on the 600 yard targets. Our club uses Shot Marker electronic targets so it was very easy to see where the rounds impacted. Those targets also provide downrange velocity data.

With Fiocchi Target Max .223 ammo loaded, I dialed up the rear sight elevation to the “6” mark for 600 yards and took a shot. Somewhat to my surprise, it landed in the 5 ring. I was shooting prone with the magazine resting on the ground, which is a decent shooting position in the real world but hardly the stuff of competition. The standard 600 yard target is very large, similar in size to the doors of a shipping container. Hitting it at all with the first round with uncertain dope, a poor position, and run-of-the-mill FMJ seemed like a success to me. I made some adjustments on the sights and shot a few more, then passed the gun around to other shooters who wanted to try. Here is the group:

This was not a true test of what the SA-16A2 could do at this range if everything was ideal. From a muzzle velocity of about 2,900 FPS, the targets read an average velocity of 1,340 FPS with the 55-grain FMJ bullets. The wind was changing between two main conditions, resulting in the two shot clusters on the left and right of the black. With 77-grain match loads, the group would have less of a gap in the middle because the wind pushes them less. This is all a lot of words to say that the A2 sights bring a lot to the table, even if most shooters will seldom use them in a situation like this.

The only issue to note is relative to the handguard fitment. They don't seem as nice as the rest of the gun. But even with the sight gap, they still protect the shooter’s hand from the heat of firing. It takes about 150 rounds of sustained firing before they really get hot.

I may be biased, but the A2 configuration is the pinnacle of iron-sighted military rifles in my book. A2 sights are possibly the best iron sights ever issued on a military rifle. The 20-inch barrel zips bullets out at speeds that turn plinking ammo into light armor piercing, and that minimize drop and wind deflection. Great sights, excellent velocity, the inherent accuracy of the AR platform, and the light recoil of a 5.56 further minimized by the rifle buffer and rifle-length gas system all add up to a gun that's extremely fun to shoot, and capable.

If your AR experience has been limited to carbine or SBR configurations, you owe it to yourself to see how a true rifle setup runs. And if you want iron sights and classic lines to be a part of that experience, go check out an SA-16A2 at your local shop. Springfield did a great job with this rifle.