Complete the overall look of the m1a rifle - Boyds Hardwood Gunstocks Springfield M1A/M14 Handguard

I installed it onto the rifle and now it looks like it should've when I paid the $$$$ for it. That being said, I didn't feel like buying the special pliers for the clip removal so after some reading on the M14 forum I followed one person's idea of using thin wire looped through the holes in the clip and securing one of them into my bench-mounted vise and wrapping the other wire around the jaws of my vise grips and pulling the clip apart just to remove it from the plastic handguard. I then used this same system to install it onto the wooden handguard and took my time while doing it.
To initially remove the plastic handguard (with clip attached) I disassembled the rifle and removed the op-rod assembly and gas piston housing then I was able to carefully slide the plastic handguard off the barreled action. When reinstalling the wood handguard with clip already installed onto it, figure out where the handguard will sit at on the barrel and carefully push it straight down onto the barreled action. Keep the wires looped through the holes and if needed, pull the clip open some so that way you dont have to use a lot of downward force to avoid cracking the wood at its most vulnerable spot and most importantly..take your time, don't rush this.

BTW my handguard matched up with my stock's grain and color quite well, it looks like it came from Springfield that way so I am pleased with this purchase. The fit was good but I did use some 80 grit sandpaper on the underside of the handguard just ahead of where the op-rod cut-out is because the handguard was making contact with the rifle's stock and there was no visible gap for about 1.5 inches until I sanded some material away to create more of a gap to match the gap that was near the front of the handguard. Expect to do some fitment work when dealing with this.