M1A or AR-10 ?

B

bk40

New member
Got the itch for a semi auto .308 bad!! :D

Need opinions as I'm trying to decide which to buy. Usage will mainly be plinking/target shooting, perhaps a little deer hunting - no competition.

Does one of these fine rifles have an advantage over the other in regards to:
1. reliability
2. accuracy
3. all-around quality

Price is roughly the same for the rifles, and for the sake of discussion, discount the higher cost of Ar-10 mags.

Any other issues I need to consider between these two? Am I overlooking any other rifles?

Thanks for the input!
 
One thing to consider is which style of rifle you are more familiar with and more comfortable with. I learned to shoot a rifle with an M16 so the AR10 is a lot more familiar to me. Taking apart my AR10 is just like taking apart an AR15/M16.
As far as accuracy goes, the AR10 probably edges out most M1As. I have heard some people complain about reliability with AR10s but mine has digested over 700 rounds of Cavim and Norinco ammo without a jam so far.
The one area that the AR10 has it all over the M1A is ease of mounting and finding accessories. A flattop AR10A4 is dead easy to mount a scope on, and even the one with the carry handle accepts all the normal AR carry handle mounts.
Either way, though, you're going to be getting a very nice gun...have fun deciding!
 
I attend several high power rifle matches throughout the year-long range, not XC type-and you do see some AR10's being used, but nothing compared to the M1A in numbers. Unfortunately, all weapons will sometimes malfunction, but there have been far more failures with the AR10 than the M1A. For sheer reliablility and overall accuracy the M1A is hard to beat, but as pointed out by an earlier posting, mounting a scope is awkward on the M1A compared to the AR10 flattop version. To really get proper eye line up with the M1A you should have a cheekpeice/comb pad to do that. Not a big issue, but especially true in any prone type shooting. I, as well as many others I shoot with, have had 5-6000 rnds through the M1A with little or no problems. You will break a firing pin eventually in the M1A, especially if you practice a lot of dry firing plus the actual shooting, but that is not a difficult item to repair quickly. True match grade M1A requires good bedding which the AR10 does not require(normally) and have been told by some shooters that the AR10 reliability problems have been resolved?? Both excellent rifles, but if restricted to strictly using optics, I would opt for the AR10. If using the service rifle sights, go with the M1A. Good Luck
 
Yes, FALs are very nice guns and their mags are much cheaper than either the M1A or the AR10. They are also one of the easiest battle rifles to field strip I have ever encountered.
The one downside to a FAL is that they are even trickier to mount a scope to well than the M1A. Dust cover mounts tend to move around too much to hold zero and other kinds of mounts are a bit complicated.
Still, you won't go wrong with any of those three rifles.
 
WEll, I don't own an AR-10 so I won't pretend to know much first hand knowledge about them. As for the M-14 though, I own a couple of them and they are accurate and VERY reliable no matter what kind of ammo I ran through them. Another advantage is that there are a lot of folks that are familiar with this weapons that can fix them if something ever breaks. Spare pats are easy to get and the magazines while gettign higher priced, are still easier to get (and cheaper) than a modified AR-10 magazine. If you are going to scope it though, I would go only with the Brookfield mount. It's not a cheap mount but it is the best. Granted the scope doesn't allow a propper cheek weld but that can be fixed by either using one of the higher combs that strap onto the stock or as I did, replace it with a McMillian 2A stock. Either way, I have always felt very comfortable with the M-14 and have no problems in reccomending it to anyone else.
 
Getting 20 round mags for an AR10

buy m-14 mags at $40 each
buy a conversion kit $25 each or more
find a Gun smith to install the kit ??$25 each

Mags now will not fit a M-14/M1A

A lot of extra money for a rifle that cost about the same and IMHO not as accurate

You said you did care about mag cost but a $100 each is somthing to consider.

Spare parts are a second. There are a lots of places to get GI Spec parts for a M1A can you say the same about an AR10



[This message has been edited by Alan B (edited March 08, 2000).]
 
Not accurate at all Alan.
Here is how you get mags for an AR10.
1)Buy 10 used USGI mags for $31 apiece shipped from Coles.
2)Send the mags to Armalite with a check for $25 each.
3)Get newly-refinished modified 20 round mag back from Armalite in the wrap for a grand total of ~$56. NOWHERE near $100 each.

Also, the AR10 is more accurate than the regular M1A.
 
Alan B,
I didn't say I did not care about mag cost... just did not want the mag prices to influence anyone's opinions.

How many 20rd mags do you M1A shooters have per rifle?
 
bk40 - I've been looking for the same thing - a great .308. I have had three M1As and they are really decent rifles. (BTW, I like at least ten mags per rifle) My take on the M1A is that it is very durable and reasonably accurate as it comes from Springfield. Once you start trying to make it an M21, your wasting time and money. :)

The AR-10 (yes had one of those too) shoots much better from the box and (get the flattop) is way eaiser to scope.

Trigger is good, box to box better than the M1A. However a good M1A trigger really muddies the water.

RikWriter has the scoop on mags and his methods are worty of emulation. :)

I have a DSA on/order and hope to be able to compare the three shortly. BTW, if the trigger is good and the DSA scope mount works, it will be the winner for me. Gotta check those "if's" first.

Giz

[This message has been edited by Gizmo99 (edited March 08, 2000).]
 
hmmmm. All kinds of possibilities here. Thanks for the replies everyone.

I began my journey towards my .308 rifle search today by ordering some mags from Cole Distrib. Ridiculous how we law-abiding gun owners have to consider mags in the buying equation!

The search continues....
 
RikWriter

I have been told Armalite stopped converting Mags, thought they still sell the kits.

When was the last time anyone called Armalite on this?

OK so you are paying $25 dollars more per mag than me. What about Parts. Bet the parts supply for the AR 10 isn’t near as good as it is for the M1A, with all those GI Spec parts out there.


IMHO Any AR is a piece of junk. Lets see Aluminum and plastic compared to Walnut and steel.
 
Alan, I personally sent mags off to Armalite just a couple months ago and had them back in about ten days, shipping time on both sides included. And I believe I am paying over $40 less than you per mag if you are paying $100.
As for spare parts, sure, there are lots of M14 parts out there. That is the strength of an M1A.
As for your slander against any AR type rifle, sorry, that didn't look like intelligent commentary to me, more like stubborn prejudice not born out of fact.
 
What about a .308 M1 Garand? Fulton has them for $1000. Someone tell me if the .30-06 clips work fine with .308 ammo. If so, they cost less than a dollar each.
 
I have a Garand rebarrelled in .308 and it runs on the 30.06 clips real fine. In fact, I've never seen or heard of a .308 Garand clip.
 
I am truly sorry if my Opinion offend you or any other AR supporter. But I have over four years experience with an AR Type rifle straped accross my back on average of 180 days a year. In all that time I never found any quality I liked about that class of rifle as a whole. (I have had one or two that I like because they shot alot straighter than the others I have carried)

I dont doubt that you like the rifle but is it all right if I have a negative opinions of these rifles state them from time to time.

I just looked at the Armalit web sight the apperently they are still converting mags for $25 if the sight is up to date. But the parts set to do it yourself is $47 PN EA5085.
The intresting option is now using Metric pattern FN FAL mags.

Has any one else noticed that Armalite is in the same town as Springfield
 
Alan I too carried an M16 in the Army Infantry and it was my experience there that led me to appreciate the rifle. No jams at all with live ammo. Easy to field strip and clean. Easy as hell to shoot accurately with. My experiences since with over a dozen different ARs and many thousands of rounds have done nothing to change this opinion.
 
Picked up my new AR10 A4 Wednesday. Green furniture and chrome lined barrel.

Chose the AR over the M1A for several reasons - I'm more familiar with AR style rifles. Most importantly to me, the AR10 felt better in my hands than the M1A.

Scope suggestions anyone? Shooting will be mostly inside 300yds. I've got an Aimpoint Comp XD mounted for the time being, until my wallet recovers a little... this rifle and mags don't come cheap. ;)

Thanks to everyone for your input!

------------------
BKs Pistol Pages
 
bk, if you are going to be at that short a range, you might want to consider something along the lines of an ACOG or Elcan. I personally have an ATN Professional 5x33 on my AR10 for the time being, because, as you said, it and the mags were expensive and I can't yet afford a real nice scope for it, but I am leaning towards an Elcan when I get the money together.
 
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