Southern_MD_Boy
Member
Yes but then you have to feed the pig that high end ammo! 308 is cheap (sort of) and 6.5 makes my ass hurt!
Personally I see no practical application for this rifle chambered in 6.5. But..... if this is what you want, then buy it and shoot it until the barrel is worn out.
M1A is like a boat, you want a friend to buy one. I'd buy or build an AR10 in 6.5CM. My .02
I bought my M1A in the 90's but if I had to buy one now in any other cal. but .308 because of unconstitutional Maryland law I would want 7.62x39 but I already have plenty of semi-auto rifles in x39 so an AR10 is the only real option IMHO
I've known a few guys that tried to buy M14/M1A platforms and "accurize" them into the Designated Marksman platform, and they have all sorts of issues and expensive parts and a general lack of aftermarket support ...
I have heard this several times from several other sources. In particular I knew an infantry guy (Army Captain at the time) that shot competitively and he went to great pains to get his rifle shooting the way he wanted it. So I personally would never be interested in any sort of M14/M1A in any caliber. These seem to be very needy rifles.
And I'm not saying it's a bad rifle, I'm saying it's not the best platform for a *precision rifle* or anything you'd want to take full advantage of the edge a 6.5CM could give you.
As a service rifle, other than being heavier than modern service guns due to the difference between when it was designed and issued versus now, I'm sure it was and still is a great gun. But every attempt I've heard of trying to put it in a new chassis and push it out to something requiring a solid MOA past 600, it's been a train to Trouble Town.
That, and magazines are expensive. Luckily CM can use 7.62 magazines.
I agree that theirs always a better platform for specific applications but would like to have better understanding of a rifle, any rifle for that matter that say, for instance would do 1 moa at a hundred yards vs the same at any known reasonable distance in average similar conditions?
Does a chassis that doesn't work at 100 have improved performance at 600?
How does that work?
Well, it wouldn't work the other way around, not for the rifle hardware. It's just that certain platforms, like a modded out M14, seems to have a certain tendency to struggle a lot more at 300 keeping the same relative group size that it did at 100. At 300+ is when a lot of factors start to come into play that can be more or less ignored at 200 and under; environmental, hardware, and the shooter themselves.
Well, I guess theres 2 ways to look at it.
1. Do you want it because you want a M1A, and the 6.5C is the version that's legal in MD?
Or
2. Are you looking for a rifle in 6.5C? Because there are several alternatives to the M1A.
In your initial post you said you lust after one, so why not buy it if you want it. It may not be the best platform for that caliber, but you want it for the rifle. There are tons of people who like the M1A because either they trained with the M14 in the military, and they have a familiarity and affection for it. I am not saying it is better or worse than anything, just acknowledging reasons people desire certain things. I bought a M1 Garand in 308, simply because I wanted a M1 Garand, but my current ammo stock had a significant amount of 308, and no .30-06. I bought it for the rifle. If you want a M1A, by all means buy it, and enjoy it. But if you are looking for a sniper or dmr rifle, I'm sure there are other alternatives to consider.