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I am extremely happy with my now 20 year old FN FAL Paratroop. It's a .308 powerhouse. If I were to do it again, I would buy the same thing. I do love the Garands and M1A's though. We had both in the USCG, believe it or not, and when boarding parties were called there was a fight for the M1As... Both are way heavier than the FN...
These days though I find myself going back to my 3030 lever though. Not sure why but I just love the feel of it and it is pretty light on the trail.
And if I were in a situation where I had to grab one long gun and run, it would be my Rem 870. It's versatility cannot be beat.
I say buy the garand if you really want it. it's a fine long arm and really fun to shoot. And, You know what the drawbacks are already.
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I was a big FAL fan for awhile, I had a couple different configurations from DSA and then I started having problems with them. I'm sure there are thousands out there running without a hitch, but mine wound up being a costly nightmare and I haven't gone back since.
There was a really nice 30.06 AR type rifle made by COBB back in 2006 for the 100th anniversary of the 30.06 cartridge and I'd love to get my hands on one, but alas they were bought out by Bushmaster in 2007 and I haven't seen anything in that caliber since. I'll keep checking around for these for sale as they take the BAR mags and are sweet shooting rifles, or at least that's what the owners are saying. I think they are around $2000.00 plus if you can find one. <sigh>
That type of rifle would be able to handle commercial hunting loads and regular primers. Now I need to save my pennies and time it right. :)
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CMP is your best bet for a true American classic that has been completely disasembled/inspected/headspaced/etc. They offer various greads and nonoe are junk.
$600 for a Service Grade M1 is by no means expensive (compared to many other centerfire rifles on the market).
As for 30-40 year old M2 ball sealed in spam cans I would DEFINITELY trust my life to the stuff (both the Greek HXP and Lake City).
9.5 pounds empty is a handful for packing through the boonies but remember, they are not making them anymore.
Springfield Armory (not the original SA that made them for Uncle Sam) attempted to recreate a modern version (30-06 and .308) with less than stellar results.
As for ammo prices, bulk GI M2 ball is still a bargain at $0.48-0.50 per round.
Adjustable gas plugs allow for modern commercial ammo with no ill effects.
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