M1a or M4 with magnetic for SHTF

[m1a_scoutguy]

Bought PILES of M1a spares from 1998 -2000. Your good friend Willy Clinton crunched the shit out of several hundred thousand M14s---trigger groups $25, bolts $25, gas cylinders $35, stocks 6/$50, flash hiders $15....

I'm set for a while....

Oh yea, that's why I said some people have never been around "serious" M1a guys !! I have ammo cans full of all kinds of goodies & never needed any of it, LOL. In the grand scheme of things, I'm old and won't be trucking around anyplace unless it's life & death in my area! I agree the ammo is the killer weight wise & if needed I will deal with that if I took my M1a with me, but as my name implies I have an M1a Scout rifle and while I know it weighs more than a basic M4 it's probably not that much worse than an AR with lights/lasers/optic on it. My Scout rifle has irons but I have a Basset Mount with a scope mounted that can be installed in less than a min and I'm optic ready. An M4 is the obvious choice for many situations but regardless of the type of ammo you have a BIGGER bullet is just needed sometimes!

[okie]

The M14 is a hot mess to begin with, and the M1A isn't exactly the best of the bunch. So as far as 7.62 rifles go, that would literally be my last choice. First choice would be just about any AR pattern, probably followed by the FAL, then the G3. Or if you're rich, a SCAR or some new hotness like that, although I would still take an AR pattern first.

Do you really need 7.62? Do you plan on shooting things more than 300 yards away? If you have a big open piece of property out in the desert or something, yea, you need it. If you live in suburbia or there are woods around your house limiting range to 300 or less, then it's just wasted power.

For some reason the M1As are going for big bucks right now. I would sell that and buy an LE6920 if I didn't have a clear need for it.

[Dirty_H]

I’m in full agreement on taking the M4 style over the M1A, but I don’t know if I’d say the AR pattern rifle is that much more reliable. I’m not going to start a debate, but I’ve had more stoppages in my DD than my Springfield.

In full disclosure I haven’t run it as hard either.

[JediGuy]

My problem is whether or not a 16” barrel AR is just peachy vs. “should I Form 1 my lower so I can switch to a shorter barrel?”

And yeah, already have an AR pistol.

Easy: Buy/put together another complete lower, keep that for use as a pistol, and SBR your lower.

[wetidlerjr]

i have another question, 9MM or 45ACP? On a more serious note, I trained as a Marine boot on the M14 in 1966 and was assigned one for most of my enlistment until Vietnam when I got a 1911. The M1A/M-14 is bulky, heavy and hard to maneuver with but can be dead nuts accurate at over 500 meters with iron sights. I have a Springfield M1A which has been flawless but it wouldn't be my first choice to go all "Red Dawn" with if the need arose. I do, however, always laugh when the "hard core, black-ops" members here whine about a "heavy" AR or M4A. If they only knew...

[ViniVidivici]

If I HAD to go 7.62, or wanted a guy in the squad equipped with one for reasons, I'd go FAL all the way. It's what the Rhodesians would do.....

[OldArmy01]

i have another question, 9MM or 45ACP? On a more serious note, I trained as a Marine boot on the M14 in 1966 and was assigned one for most of my enlistment until Vietnam when I got a 1911. The M1A/M-14 is bulky, heavy and hard to maneuver with but can be dead nuts accurate at over 500 meters with iron sights. I have a Springfield M1A which has been flawless but it wouldn't be my first choice to go all "Red Dawn" with if the need arose. I do, however, always laugh when the "hard core, black-ops" members here whine about a "heavy" AR or M4A. If they only knew...

LoL no kidding, I loved my Garand, but it got sold last year to fund upgrades for an AR or two. They're great weapons, but heavier and larger than needed.

[okie]

i have another question, 9MM or 45ACP? On a more serious note, I trained as a Marine boot on the M14 in 1966 and was assigned one for most of my enlistment until Vietnam when I got a 1911. The M1A/M-14 is bulky, heavy and hard to maneuver with but can be dead nuts accurate at over 500 meters with iron sights. I have a Springfield M1A which has been flawless but it wouldn't be my first choice to go all "Red Dawn" with if the need arose. I do, however, always laugh when the "hard core, black-ops" members here whine about a "heavy" AR or M4A. If they only knew...

My Mk18 with all of the crap on it is probably as heavy or heavier than a stock M14. Aimpoint, SOPMOD rail kit, PEQ15A, Surefire light, and suppressor. It all adds up quick. It's a flat shooter though, between the weight and the brake effect of the can.

[ABNAK]

I think a good tradeoff would be using a 20" AR in 5.56 and using heavier ammo, like 70 or 77gr (wouldn't kick Mk318 or M855A1 out of bed either) if you were trying to "split the difference" between an M-14 clone and an M4.

Ammo availability (the first reason), weight, and availability of parts would steer me to the AR platform. A full-length 5.56 with quality ammunition and optic can shoot out to 500+ yards with decent terminal ballistics to boot. A 7.62 is gonna own the penetration/turning-cover-into-concealment game every time, but a full-sized AR would be a solid tradeoff if you were hung up on the M-14 platform.

All that said, I would not feel under-gunned or behind the 8-ball if all I could get my hands on was an M-14 style rifle and the world was ripping apart at the seams around me!

[khc3]

My Mk18 with all of the crap on it is probably as heavy or heavier than a stock M14. Aimpoint, SOPMOD rail kit, PEQ15A, Surefire light, and suppressor. It all adds up quick. It's a flat shooter though, between the weight and the brake effect of the can.

It's not just weight, the M14 has a 22" barrel with 4" of flash hider on the end, 13.5" LOP stock. Doing any of the non-shooting SHTF tasks with one slung up would become tiresome pretty quickly. Sure, there are shorter-barreled versions, but...why?