Well, y'all know that I'm no newbie - to guns or to this board. And I'm not new to .308s, either - I have an FAL, a "G3" clone, and several bolt-actions (heck, I've even got one of those French MAS .308s
). But I've never had an M1A or a .308 AR, and one or the other will be my next new rifle (probably my Christmas present from my wife) after the SEBR - so please forgive my newbie-like questions here...
I've shot a "traditional" M1A and a basic AR-10 in the past and liked them both. The M1A really appeals to me from the standpoint of aesthetics and history, but I am intimately familiar with operating ARs (the AR is my very favorite rifle platform - the unpcoming SEBR will be # 25 for me...
). So I find myself really torn on this one and I don't want to exercise the "
GET BOTH!" option - some of you may remember that I cut way back on the gun-buying recently...
So I'd like to hear from those of you with a strong preference for one platform over the other, and/or those with a strong preference for one brand of .308 AR over the others - what would you recommend and why? I understand the magazine issue has been a deciding factor for some in .308 AR choice, but I don't really know what the differences/issues have been. I know I'm probably asking things here that are well-covered territory (and I don't usually do that), but I'm hoping that some of you who know a little bit about me and are well-versed in this area can steer me in the right direction.
FWIW, I will probably choose something "short & tactical," whichever way I go - i.e., a Scout or SOCOM from the M1A family or a 16" CAR-ish .308 AR (I have plenty "long-range" rifles, in .308 and otherwise).
I am leaning slightly more in the AR direction, which is why I posted this here instead of over on the M1/M1A Forum.
Mods: If this is entirely inappropriate for this forum, please lock/move as needed and I will certainly understand...