Toss a synthetic stock on there and a detachable mag and I'm all over it.
Might as well add rails and a buffer tube while you're at it
j/k, I like the old school, personally, but if the OP wants a beater rifle, such a fate is beneath the elegant FN 49 (though it is certaintly capable, of course). It's "unrefined" decendant, the FAL, would be a wiser choice for rough play. I can't speak to the M1A as I have no experience, other than that I find the mechanism more interesting
The Argentine (?) Navy contract FN 49s had a 20rnd detachable mag in .308. And a wood stock is all the better for bustin' heads with
. My Luxembourg 30-06 is easily topped off with stripper clips (not sure if the other chamberings do that) so the detachable mag is
less of, if not a non-issue.
Also, call me crazy, but it
feels like the FN 49's reciever isn't as overbuilt as the FALs I've handled; those almost feel ungainly to me. The FN 49 balances "like a rifle" in my hands. Granted, most of my rifle experience is with the portly FNAR, so keep that in mind...
TCB
Girodin; for a second there, I thought that flashlight on the side was some sorta crazy muzzle device