What's your opinion on 308 SHTF rifle... AR/M1A

I love my 5.56 AR15, but I think I'd like to upgrade to 308 for my "all hell just broke loose" rifle. I just don't think there is any getting around the superior performance of the 308. Since I fear there may be only a few years left to easily purchase such "evil" firearms, I think I'd better start working on it.

I really like the look and feel of the M1A scout, but I'm currently more "practiced" with the AR style (not that I couldn't adapt rather quickly), and the AR in 7.62 is a little cheaper than the M1A.

Any opinions on reliability or ease of maintenance or anything?

There's also the Remington 7400 in 308... Dirt cheap and sweet shooting little thing, but as far as I know you can't get larger than a 10 round mag, so that would be a big drawback in my opinion.

 

In my opinion, it depends on how you want to use it. If you are looking at capacity and like the .308, then I would definitely look at a M1A or an AR10 if you are more comfortable with an AR platform.

I have an M1A on my list, for a couple of reasons.
1. Nancy Pelosi and our new leadership will try to bring back legislation on "Assault Weapons" in my opinion in the next year.
2. I love the range and knockdown of the .308. I also like the capacity, I just can't afford to shoot it like my AR.

I am looking at M1A or possibly a Remington 700 PSS. It is a bolt action with a synthetic stock and stainless barrel. Very accurate out of the box. I am trying to figure out if I want my AR for capacity, and then have a .308 for sniper ability. That is what is going to be the determining factor for me. The PSS stands for Police Sniper Special and is built for that purpose.

If I had to choose today and price was no concern, I would buy a M1A. A close second would be the PSS though.

 

Yeah, with the dems back in power, I'm getting a "renewed sense of urgency" about weapons purchases.

 

If they can get their in-house magazines squared away I am seriously considering this one. Click on it for more info.

 

The same kind of thinking lead me to by a new SA M1A about 3 months ago. I went with the standard model in camo. I love this gun as it's very accurate and a sweet shooter. Iron sights are great on this gun. I'm currently building up my supply of 20rd. USGI magazines and have several cases of South African 308 surplus ammo that shoots very well in my M1A.

My opinion is to go for it. As far as a MBR it's hard to beat and the power and distance for this rifle is a step above most rifles. I have several AK47s
which are good little guns but lacking in accuracy for ditance beyond 200 yards. The Ak is great for close in but I wanted the M1A as a go to MBR as it had everything I was looking for in knockdown power, range, accuracy and dependablity. You won't regret a decision in getting one and
will find peace of mind in owning a great battle rifle to go to if things get rough.

 

If you can find a good G3 clone they shoot really well, are a lot cheaper, and the 20 rd. mags are about a buck-fifty to two bucks each. The FAL is also cheaper than the M1A, but you really need to try them all and see what feels best for you. Don't forget about the M1 garand. It is a lot cheaper than the M1A, and you can still get them pretty cheap through the civilian marksmanship program shipped to your door.

 

E.L. I do love the Garand, but I want something w/ 20 or so rd. mags.This will be a SHTF rifle. Another reason for my considering the M1A is that even if society would break down, the military (and black market) will still have M14 parts.

Sounds like the M1A is fairly popular here. I'd say that about cements my choice.

 

A M1A is on my list to if I can come up with an expendable $1,800 , that's the tough part .

E.L. is correct the G3's or if you can find a working Cetme are also a viable alternative as how many of us can honestly take advantage of the M1A's long range capabilities ?

I figure with the open peep sights on my Cetme I can "get it done" to about 250 yards and the 308 hits harder than the 223 .

I won't win a national matches in the accuracy department but I can keep them a mans chest with little problem .

The Saiga's as Kahn points out are also an option at about $350-400 they are a great deal cheaper than all of the above .

 

.308 or 7.62 NATO is by-far my favorite caliber rifle and I own at least ten different rifles in that caliber, including M14, M1A, FN FAL, G3, HK 91, Garand (yes, it is in .308 as well as .30-06), An Enfield, 1919A4, Savgae model 10 Tactical, and a 700 Remington. I have no doubts that eventually I will own more in this caliber because it will punch holes well beyond where the little 5.56 digs into the dirt, it will take pretty much any game in North America, you can buy ammo for it at any ma and pa gunshop and most hardware stores, there is a broad selection of bullets for handloading, oh, and did I mention that since it is a NATO caliber, there will always be the option of smurf resupply?

 

Okay, I don't know much about firearms in the technical sense, however I do know that anything which is like the M16 as far as size in ammo goes, is not going to be a choice of mine. If the 308 is bigger, sort of like a .45 or the AK rounds, then I would go with the 308. When you want take down, I think you need a middle ground. You could put someone down with a 223, a 50bmg or you have the middle ground which to my knowledge would be the 308. That's just my uneducated about firearms thoughts. Try not to laugh too hard at my lack of knowledge. You could hurt yourself.

 

I dearly love my CETME, and the M1A/AR10 rifles are too pricey - but if I did it over, I'd go HK91. Better parts availablilty than the CETME.
Downside is it's not one that a shade-tree 'smith can rebarrel easily.
AR10 and FAL are more 'smith-friendly! I like the M1A as I used one occasionally in the Navy.

 

There's also the "cool" factor of the M1A. http://www.springfield-armory.com/prod-rifles-scout.shtml

That's the one I'm thinkin about..... Just sexy, aint she?

 

So many guns to choose from and not enough money to buy 'em all. Some day I'll probably take the M1A plunge but until then I'll enjoy the company of my FAL's and Armalite AR-10. Both have mild recoil and are enjoyable to shoot but the FAL is cheaper than the AR-10 when it comes to replacement parts and price for mags. 20 rd. mags for FAL's can had for about $6-$8 each, while the Armalite AR-10 20 rd. mags are about $25 each. However, you don't have to worry about U.S. compliance parts with an AR-10, like FAL owners do.

I know absolutely nothing about the M1A or HK91 platforms to comment.

 

PTR-91 is my choice. I was looking at these for three years but could never justify dropping that much money on my budget. I finally took the plunge a few weeks ago as my "election insurance" in case of another Clinton gun ban. The magazines are still dirt cheap so I was able to get enough within two weeks for my comfort. The FAL appears to have superior features but the additional $700+ for that rifle doesn't seem worth it to me at the moment. I definitely wouldn't like to lug around any MBR but for a relatively static security perimeter it will pretty much put down anything.

 

There are lots of excellent 308 platforms, all reliable as well as accurate. I went with the GII pattern AR308. It's barely larger and heavier than my AR-15's. Both platforms have the same great ergonomics, the same battery of operation, maintenance procedures, share a majority of parts and tools.

To me the role of the AR-15 is for when I need to take the battle to you or for people who can't manage an AR-10/AR308 when you bring the battle to me.

Conversely, a 7.62x51 battle rifle regardless of platform is for when you bring the battle to me or when I need to reach out to perhaps 1,000 yards.

 

I should also mention the FN SCAR 17 looks amazing but short of selling my organs to afford it, I don't see it added to the collection anytime soon.