If only one para-military weapon, which one?

Straitshot said:
In boot camp we qualified with Grands. I have always liked the M14 although I have never shot one. I have had a love afair with the Old West since a boy so consequently most of my guns are from the Old West genre with the exception of a bolt action hunting rifle and a Ruger #1 I hunt with.
Click to expand...

If you have shot the Garand you well like the M1A. It is very similar to the Garand with the added benefit of a detachable magazine, a little less wood on the front. The sights are the same design and the NM sight is more refined.

To reduce the expenditure you could get a Garand from CMP. You could have a nice rifle and 1k rounds of ammo for significantly less than the price of a M1A.
 
Right arm of the free world

Fal_para-1-.jpg
 
If giving the choice its the Garand hands down for my limited in capacity yes but it causes you to be very good at making your shots count. It is not a M14 or a M1a but neither of them would have came into existence because of it. Evolution would have eventually gotten them two to that point but the Garand stands alone and always will. The Garand is my choice
 
Why an M1A over a SCAR-17 or FAL?

Remember, you can only have one. So, I chose an American classic. I love FAL's, but they aren't American classics. And, the M1A is really every bit as good and possibly better. The SCAR-17 - yes, I like that too. But, if I could only have one, I'm going to pick the format that has been battle proven and still highly regarded today. Maybe 40 years from now, that would be the SCAR-17.....but we don't know that yet.
 
interestng

Believe I've looked at all posts, .......interesting to note that the most prolific "para military" rifle, the AK is NOT the choice of anybody thus far.

My choice, the Garand. A viable shooter, and a huge chunk of history.

That rifle, and the men that carried it across Europe and the Pacific, likely saved the world as we know it. ( along with their brothers in arms) . I pick up my two war era rifles and wonder, ......where have you been, what have you seen?

Gives me goose bumps.
 
bamaranger has my vote every time I shoot the Garand it speaks with authority
 
Last edited:
Um don't hate me guys but I'm a proud owner of a Norinco SKS. Hunted white tail in ky and its a good brush gun. Getting good hunting ammo is pricey though.
 
Very many or most of these answers are about using a rifle in Military type situations. For hunting, for defending the Ranch or as a pickup truck gun you don't need to carry dozens of magazines with hundreds of rounds of ammo. I've been in Law Enforcement for 34+ years, been in 6 shootings and the most rounds I ever fired in a fight was 4. The gun you need, or want, at home or in the hunting field isn't the gun you need if you're with a Military Unit in Iraq. If the longest distance you'll carry a gun is to the hunting blind then weight is no big deal. I suggest shooting as many different 'para-military type' guns as you can and getting whatever you happen to like to shoot.
 
Either a Loaded M1A or a Garand. Both are incredibly fun to shoot, and that ping on the eight Garand round when the clip pops out is exquisite.
 
Para doesn't include WW2 for me

WW2 era military weapons just don't count as paramilitary for me. I guess it is all the wood. The Mauser, Garand, Luger, P38, 1911, Hi-Power, Walther PPK, etc. are just classy looking weapons compared to what you see today.

I know current technology is cheaper to make, generally more accurate, more reliable, and easier to maintain, but man, the old stuff just feels better.
 
If you are using it on the range, I would say a M1A. If you are defending yourself with it, a FAL. A FAL may not be as accurate as an M1A, but it is quicker, at least for me, to get in to action, then a M1A. A M1A is a fine target rifle, but when you have to snap it up for a quick shot, a FAL is a good bit quicker, at least for me. I sold my M1A, and now have several FALs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top