M1A or AR10?

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flashhole said:
So which gets the nod of approval for a purchase. You have to have a favorite.
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I am still fairly new to the Windham 308. but i am liking it more and more. i am used to the controls on the ar platform. If i had to choose one, it would be the ar10. cheaper mags and alot easier to mount scopes and sights. Pretty much the reason why i got the ar10. I hated the setup with a scope on the M1A.
 
I'm an Old M14/M1A kind of guy and over the years I've been issued or used most of the M14/M1A variants. But even I now own a DPMS NATO REPR. The M1A requires multiple modifications to ensure proper cheek weld and solid scope mounting. But for open sight shooting it is superior to the AR. The best part of the M1A is the Heavy Air Gauged Match Barrel. For F-class style 1K shooting the 22 inch barrel is a min to ensure 7.62 performance. That makes the 20 inch barrel on most AR's a hindrance. If 800 yards is the longest you expect to shoot, the ease of scope mounting and lower cost of the AR is your best bet. Even though the AR is supposedly designed to reduce perceived recoil, the M1A feels softer on my shoulder. Perhaps it's just years and years behind the M14/M1A that influences my perception.

leatherwood m1a.jpg

RFLR-REPR.jpg
 
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Reloadron said:
Yeah and if we all worked from that the only AR 15 would be Colt. While each manufacturer has their own names the shooting community in general tends to use AR 15 and AR 10 pretty widely. I even see manufacturers referring to the AR naming conventions. Never did see any reason to get anal over naming conventions.

Ron
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That's because you don't stand to lose piles of money over it. I'm sure you'd want your intellectual property protected.
 
MistWolf said:
That's because you don't stand to lose piles of money over it. I'm sure you'd want your intellectual property protected.
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I agree and my point was that inevitably the subject comes up in forum discussions and the common reference term is an AR 15. Eventually somebody will point out that the naming convention is owned by Colt who did pay good money to Armalite Rifle to buy the name. That said to argue it over and over again in a gun forum just gets a little old. So in a gun forum I really don't see Colt losing any money to anyone else over a naming right which they own and have owned since around 1959.

Ron
 
If "AR-15" falls into common usage, Colt loses it as intellectual property. In fact, protecting model names is so important, Colt went to court to protect their right to "M4". Colt lost that battle. Most folks online call an AR an AR, not "AR-15".

If you're tired of people pointing out the mis-use of model designations, such as AR-10, stop mis-using model designations and stop defending the practice.
 
MistWolf said:
If "AR-15" falls into common usage, Colt loses it as intellectual property. In fact, protecting model names is so important, Colt went to court to protect their right to "M4". Colt lost that battle. Most folks online call an AR an AR, not "AR-15".

If you're tired of people pointing out the mis-use of model designations, such as AR-10, stop mis-using model designations and stop defending the practice.
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OK

Ron
 
Last year I was asking myself the same question. I was wanting a semi auto bench type rifle. Long barrel, big scope long range type.

An AR10 is cheaper but the cost difference is less than you may think. Of course you can buy a DPMS panther 16 inch entry level rifle for less than $800 but that rifle isn't up to the leveling quality in a M1A. You would need to compare the cost of a mid level AR10 to have a more accurate apples to apples comparison.

I found the AR10 to still be cheaper but having a case of overARitis in my safe I went M1A. 20180325_164448.jpg

In truth though I got both because I snagged a Aero stripped lower that I'm going to build while my son builds a AR15.
 
It's the Springfield gen 4. I wanted the Sadlak steel mount but it was quite a bit more money.
 
There are a couple of real good deals on M1A rifles right now at gunbroker. If I was in market, I'd snap up one of these:

Standard - $1100 - Buy it now
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/759923279

Scout Squad - $1200 Buy it now.
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/760327327

Standard - $1200 w/ accessories - Buy it now.
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/759977234

I was watching this one that sold for $1075.
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/758511635

I'd add a nice GI wood stock from Treeline (bought out Fred's M14 Stocks Inventory)
https://treelinem14.com/M14-M1A-USGI-Wood-Stock-Birch-Big-Red-Very-Good-M14FSTBBRVG.htm
 
I considered both and ended up building a 308 AR. For the price of a new Springfield M1A SOCOM I was able to put together an AR that shoots MOA with a 20" barrel, Magpul PRS stock and a Bushnell SMRS scope.

I actually just sold that rifle to a buddy the other day, not because I didn't like the platform, but because I want to try the Browning BAR DBM in 308 and I needed to sell a gun to fund it. I haven't gotten it yet but if it shoots anything like my BAR in 30-06 then it' money well spent. Browning BAR MK3 DBM - 031054218.jpg
 
I've never shot an AR10 but drawing conclusions from my AR15 building experience, I would build an AR10 to my liking. If nostalgia is on order I would get an M1 garand. Why buy a copy of something when you can have the real deal?
 
someguy2800 said:
I've never shot an AR10 but drawing conclusions from my AR15 building experience, I would build an AR10 to my liking. If nostalgia is on order I would get an M1 garand. Why buy a copy of something when you can have the real deal?
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I bought an AR15 (M4 variety) primarily for nostalgia reasons.

It’s a copy too, because I didn’t want to pay $30k for the real deal
 
Nature Boy said:
I bought an AR15 (M4 variety) primarily for nostalgia reasons.

It’s a copy too, because I didn’t want to pay $30k for the real deal
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Have a few friends who own the "real deal" and while firing a M14 or M16 in full auto is fun as well as nostalgic I am not about to run out and buy one. :) Last fall I invested 30K in a garage which took precedence over any guns.

Ron
 
LoneGoose said:
I saw a rifle ad and thought, "How do the Springfield M1A and the AR10 compare to each other? They're both .308 semi-autos, right? What are the pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages? Price comparisons? I have never shot either of these and just got curious.
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Had em done em then I got into collecting M1 Garands & they all went away to trade for Garands. I seldom ever trade or sell any of my firearms but the reloading just
wore on me, & the AR didn't shoot military ammo well where the M1A was very good.
The only one I miss is the M1A which is the best of the 2, it cost twice as much because it is twice the rifle.
The AR10 is like the AR15, modular & composite, the M1A has wood which makes
it a real rifle to me.
I just got tired of reloading huge amounts at a time because accuracy s more important to me than chain smoking.
But the M1A is more than a match for accuracy if you know how to reload. The National Match M1A
is a must & I found that open sights was actually fun to shoot. I did a high dollar scope & mount
on it which made it unbeatable, but took all that off & traded it for a Garand that shoots very
accurate & looks great. I just love old stuff better.
Had a 308 & a 7mm08 which was great but first thing you will encounter is not every magazine is
created equal for the AR10.
 
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Bobson said:
No, they aren’t. I know there’s the DPMS pattern, and also the ArmaLite pattern, which differ from one another. Those are the two major options. Of the two, DPMS is more popular in terms of what most AR10 manufacturers adhere to.

And if you want to be strict about it, there’s only one “AR10,” which is ArmaLite. I don’t know what we’re supposed to call all the rest of the “long action AR pattern rifles,” but some guys are anal about it.

For quite a white, I had the same question as the OP and was torn between the two. I’ve since settled on neither and have been very happy with my decision. Got a 308 bolt gun instead.
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I've had 5 different "AR-10" model rifles; KAC Stoner SR-25, late 90's model Armalite AR-10, (not to be confused with the original 50's era AR-10) a DPMS LR-308, SiG 716 DMR and last year I built a Spikes "Jack-308" ... None of the uppers would fit any of the other receivers, the bolts wouldn't fit the other barrels.

The the KAC was a like shooting a laser, easily shot 1" groups at 300, you could make dandelions vaporize at 300!
On the other hand I could never find a load the Armalite liked, it wouldn't shoot under 2.25" MOA at any distance over 100.
The DPMS shot better than the Armalite but not much, but the fit & finish was much nicer.
The SiG DMR is about a .65" MOA gun, great fit & finish ... I've heard people complain that it's heavy but not that I've noticed.
Lastly, the Spikes is the only one in 6.5 Creedmoore, it's also the most expensive as it was built with JP Barrel/gas block/handguard/Bolt/captured buffer, MagPul PRS, Geissele SD-E, flat bow trigger ... It's a laser too shooting 3/8" at 100 and under 2.5" at 500.
 
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