Garand, M1A, AK-47 What To Do?

A

amprecon

New member
Ok, here's my situation. I have an M1A standard with ARMS #18 mount with a Nikon 6X42 scope mounted. I also have an M1 Garand with the Scout Mount and Aimpoint CompC3 2X 1moa red dot attached. And then an SLR-95 with the Ultimak rail and Aimpoint CompC3 2moa red dot.
I feel that I must have a scoped rifle for hunting at range and other long range applications. I also feel that I cannot get rid of the SLR-95 at all as it's just the ubiquitous shtf defense carbine. Now the Garand on the other-hand I'm having trouble justifying. I felt that it would be the medium range woods gun as I have the 2X red dot on it, but at the ranges I'd be shooting at in the woods, the SLR-95 could do that job fine and not be as heavy and bulky. So I'm having trouble finding a niche for the Garand. I have also been looking at the M1A Scout Squad 18" rifle. I think that putting a red dot on that would make it a more niche filling gun than the Garand, being lighter and handier and still having the punch. So I've been mulling over the idea of selling off the Garand and 2X red dot and putting that money on a M1A Scout and adding a red dot to it. I'd also be narrowing down my calibers from three to two.
Had the Garand been scope mounting friendly I'd probably not even have the M1A as it has the range and all my bases would've been covered. Maybe I should off-load the Garand all-together. Maybe I should just stop thinking, keep what I have and shut-up.
I'm just not one to duplicate tools that'll do the same job, trying to keep things uncomplicated.
So if you decided to keep the Garand in it's current configuration, what niche would you use it to fill?
Would I be duplicating my tools by getting an M1A Scout with a red dot?
I guess the best set-up would be keeping the scoped M1A, losing the Garand and the SLR-95 and adding the M1A Scout with red dot. Then I'd be down to one caliber and all gaps would be filled.
 
You are a lot more pragmatic than I am. I have a Garand that is completely pointless from a practical standpoint but I'm still keeping it. I had a great one a few years ago and I got rid of it because it was redundant from a 'niche' standpoint. I missed it almost immediately and it took three years to get another one that I like almost as much.

If you ditch the Garand, the hole that it leaves will only be in your heart.
 
guess the best set-up would be keeping the scoped M1A, losing the Garand and the SLR-95 and adding the M1A Scout with red dot. Then I'd be down to one caliber and all gaps would be filled.
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since your asking for opinions, and please take this constructively:

You would be foolish to sell one the BEST commercial semi - AK series , for one of the most problamatic commercial m-14 clones.
 
Of the rifles listed the SLR-95 would definitely be the hardest for me to let go.
I haven't heard of the M1A Scout Squad having many problems, I've usually only heard good things about them.
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gee, i donk know. tell you what, you pay me $50 and put them in a box and i'll take them off your hands and we will call it even. sound good?
 
Out of the three, I'd pick the M1A every time. A nice 22" barrel with a 1:11 twist would make a great all round target/hunting rifle. A bipod & a decent 10x mil-dot & you've got a hell of a rig!

I've never liked the Garand on the strength of its clip loading system & the fact if you wanted to fit an optical sight, a special mount would be needed & the sight still won't be in line with the axis of the barrel.

Accuracy wise, the AK-47s reputation speaks for itself! M1A every time.
 
Find a niche for the M1 Garand.

Such as competing in nearby "John C. Garand" matches. Or come up to Camp Perry and shoot in the Garand match on 8 August and the M1A match on 9 August. Those are weekend matches. Just take those scopes and mounts off first.
 
Garand

Hearts will break all across America if they read that you sold a Garand -- without at least giving them a chance to bid! Keep it, get to a John P. Garand match and have some fun putting holes in paper. You'll meet some great folks along the way.
 
Accuracy wise, the AK-47s reputation speaks for itself! M1A every time.
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Kieth have you ever shot a real bulgarian SLR-95 ? Whole nother animal in accuracy...esp. with FMJ, even steel cased wolf.

Amprecon:

I haven't heard of the M1A Scout Squad having many problems, I've usually only heard good things about them
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http://www.thegunzone.com/m1akb/762r.html


"The barrel was marked by two long*i*tud*in*al cracks running from the chamber end up towards the muzzle for a distance of about 14 inches. These two cracks appear to line up with the two catastrophic cracks seen in the receiver. These cracks were located on the top and bottom of the barrel of the assembled rifle. When the rifle failed, the barrel and receiver expanded left and right. A further examination of the failed cartridge case shows that the primer face and the bolt face markings align such that the case also failed when the cracks were aligned vertically. Again, all indications are that when failure occurred, the cracks propagated along the approximate top and bottom centerline of the barrel, receiver and cartridge case. The fact that there were apparently no serious injuries reported was largely due to the fact that "parts" moved left and right and not "up and down" into the shooter's face or arms. The upper half of the barrel shown in the figure was removed to allow a clearer examination of the fracture surface and to later allow for removal of metallographic specimens for analysis."
 
FAO IZZY,

When I said the AK-47s reputation speaks for itself, I meant Kalashnikov models generally. Most (almost all) are absolutely abysmal. I haven't ever fired an AK type rifle, much as I'd like to but the M1A is far more accurate & has a much longer effective range. If accuracy was the name of the game, I'd still pick the M1A every time if only those three different rifles were available.
 
Sell a pistol. I would not let go of any of the before mentioned. And the SLR-95 does not get anywhere the respect it deserves.
 
Didn't Clint Eastwood have one in his last movie "Gran Torino"?

There ya go. Problem solved, now it has a niche :)
 
If you do not really need the money, I would not sell any rifle at this time, nor would I buy another rifle. Best to become very proficient with what you have. You have some nice rifles as it is. JMHO.
 
Garands are all about emotion and nothing to do with practicality. Get rid of it and you'll reget it the rest of your life everytime you see one.
 
Izzy:

That page you linked dealt with a standard-length M14 built on an SAI receiver, but with other components
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fair enough:

http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=9919

IMG_0652.jpg


"Springfield, Inc. makes a cast M14 semiauto-only receiver. They went ahead and renamed it to the M1A, and copyrighted the name. If it's not a Springfield, Inc receiver, it's not an M1A. Springfield, Inc. M1A cast receivers can be either a thing of joy, or a thing of despair. I saw a couple receivers that should never have left the factory. One ended up as a paperweight. It should have gone back to Springfield, Inc, but the gunsmith was so ****** at the poor quality he saved it as a reminder. Other folks have been quite happy with their M1A rifles, and do just fine with them in all endeavours, to include competitions at Camp Perry."

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=1580

A friend of mine ( who I trust) saw a M1a crack at a local VA range...YES even forged framed can crack ( like the Galill for instance) but the SLR-95 is known to be a SUPER high qaulity rifle. ...the M1a has a spotty record.
 
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