ihave 2 and a half ar's and 3 pistols so i don't really need another self defense gun but am really wanting an m1a. i want to know what would be the ideal m1a for my 1st. meaning full size scout or socom 16. i'll be shooting no more than 200 yards , i'm a small guy with small hands and don't want just a bench rifle. i'll be using iron sights at first. not sure about mounting anything for awhile. socom seems like a nice compromise but i hear bad things and great things. they do feel good in my hands but never shot one.

I'm an opinionated guy, so if I come off sounding crass my apologies... my gf thinks I'm an a**hole
Personally, I don't shop into the SA parts are crap philosophy that everybody chimes in on when they spend serious $$ replacing SA parts with USGI. Have I got USGI parts? damn straight, but why burn up all my TRW & Winchester surplus when I can use my SA parts up-- which still haven't failed me yet, and probably won't in my lifetime... given that philosophy, if you like the SOCOM, get it. Yes, it means the USGI parts interchangability is limited, but hell, if you like it, that's yer gun son.. My HK and Sig parts aren't interchangable either, and I'm not bitching about that.
Given that thought process, let's look at the flipside. You get the scout and you can pick up parts from EE and here's and there's but pay premium because M14 parts are freaking Midas touched right now and probably will be forever. Clinton is a prick by the way for trashing so many M14s. Cocksucker he was... back to the point, the Scout will give you versatility with parts whilst the Socom will be everybody's lil' Shortie. And it's fun, although loud as sh*t, but WTH, wear your ear protection!

For me personally, I've got a woodie just for nostalgic reasons, and hell, my girl likes the wood
And I've also chosen the SAGE highspeed EBR setup, for when I want to make the range crowd ooh and ahh, and tell Navy Seal behind the lines lies...

M14s, its a great world. Welcome to it. And you'll probably end up with more than one anyway... and then you'll get a couple of FALs too and then a Garand... (you'll soon be saying "oh sh*t!!" not "what rifle" )

My vote goes to a standard.  Longer sight radius and I just like the way they look.  

+1 on Standard with USGI profile bbl.

The Loaded Medium bbls are noticably heavier, and the N.M. heavy bbls feel like you are lugging a cannon.

The USGI contour bbls is full length for max velocity and sighting plane, but light enough to run and gun without being a body builder.

For the life of me, I just don't understand the SOCOM mania as the M-1A is designed to be a distance shooters 200 - 500 yard optimum.

BIGGER_HAMMER

I stared at a rack full for quite a while.  The SOCOM never did anything for me at all.  This was my choice:



Springfield Loaded stainless.

if i choose scout or full size , wood or fiberglass for comfort and reduced recoil?

Quoted: if i choose scout or full size , wood or fiberglass for comfort and reduced recoil?

Go for the semi traditional good looks of a Scout in Walnut with a GI flash suppressor.

who sells these at good prices?

Get a Standard-ish in a 22" barrell. If all your experience is with the bastardized shorter variants, you really don't know what an M14 is about.

I have all three lengths. If I had to choose only one it would be the standard size.

My vote is to get neither.  Get a CMP Garand while they're still available.  

AFTER you get the Garanditis under control, then I would say go for a full length loaded model.  The NM trigger is worth the price of admission by itself.

hmmm  I have a loaded w/ NM barrel and worked trigger.  It's on the heavy side.  #2 is an LRB with GI winchester barrel (standard contour) and a GI glass stock.  

I figure it'll be as light and handy as the NM barreled one isn't.  As far as the socoms and scouts; I'd like a bush 18" but know damn well that they'll be noisy little cannons.  Barrel length is your friend.