McMillan's New Tactical Line Rifle an Agile Shooter in .308 Win

Gale McMillan was a competitive shooter whose namesake company first began cranking out rifle stocks back in 1973.  Almost 40 years later, Phoenix, Arizona’s McMillan has turned into a consortium of machine shops (McMillan Firearms Manufacturing, McMillan Fiberglass Stocks and McMillan Machine Company, just to name a few) that designs and manufactures any number of gun parts and accessories and boasts a lavish line of precision-oriented weapons (a nod to McMillan’s competitive shooter past).  This month the company’s tactical rifle line saw the addition of a new member, the McMillan M3A rifle.

For close to mid range applications, engineers recently have shown a rekindled interest in the M1 platform, mostly promisingly because of the genre’s zen-like balance between .308 Winchester cartridges’ hard-hitting performance and the “keep at bay” fire power of a fast cycling semi-auto.

Accordingly, the M3A chambers 7.62 NATO in what amounts to a Springfield M1A action.  A modest 18” barrel implies increased field mobility and unfettered target acquisition while one look at the body tells you that this gun was meant for comfort in “The Jungle.” An adjustable cheek piece and a seamless, no frills stock and fore-end speak to an eye on comfort and austerity.  Looking down range, the M3A’s design allows the shooter to smoothly transition from a customized scope option to open sights.  As with most tactical rifles these days, you can option a Picatinny rail (10 ¾” bottom rail and 2×4” side rails) for forward mounted scopes or, more likely, night vision options/flashlights.  You could just as easily put a laser sight on this rig. The M3A features a robust two stage military trigger (5-6 pounds).

Ryan McMillan, vice president of McMillan Firearms, touts the M3A as the perfect tactical addition to military and police arsenals.  He said, “The M3A rifle when coupled with the popular McMillan fiberglass tactical stock system is a multipurpose tool for military and law enforcement needs.”

A 10 round magazine comes out of the box and there are an army of accessories and upgrades available (think bipods and optical equipment) which you can get a better feel for on McMillan’s website.

 

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