"On a different note, the 20 round box magazine on the M1A is a liability to me. They are expensive, bulky, and slow to use. With enbloc clips, you can carry more ammo per pound and there are no issues on what to do with the empty mags. You can also get closer to the ground with the Garand. The Garand has better balance. I think it is a myth that the M1A is better in every way."
-Dave 3006 While you might have a personal preference for en-bloc clips (everyone is entitled to personal preference) I believe that the absence of modern firearms being produced with the en-bloc clips clearly demonstrates thier inferiority. Besides the absence of a tactical reload (which is quite honestly a HUGE disadvantage in certain specific scenarios) enbloc clips have a (by modern standards) ridiculously low round count. I am hardly a been there done that type of guy, but on the two occasions when I was forced to present a weapon (once rifle, once handgun) I was glad to know there were at least 18 (Glock 17 & AR) rounds on tap. Aside from getting closer to the ground (which I will concede) the other points offered seem like grasping at straws. Balance is subjective, and the weight difference between a 2 enblock clips (which still hold only 16 rounds) and one 20 round m-14 mag is negligible. Reload speed too is questionable. In 3 gun I've seen some wicked fast magazine reloads, and with Mags you can stick two together, thus doubling your capacity, while providing a handy location for the spare. I forget what they are called, but a certain company (mag pull I think) makes a rubber connector which places two AR mags just the right distance apart. So your reload becomes drop curren, move mag over 1 inch, insert mag, charge, rock n' roll with another 30(not 8). Admittedly that's the Ar system but similar things can be done w/ a battle rifle mag. Try doing that with a en block clip (taping two together). Going back to my previous point, could you imagine what would happen if FN tried to produce the SCAR heavy (7.62 version) with enblock clips because of better ballance/questionably faster reload issues? They would get laughed out of town. How about a OICW en-bloc? You get the idea. I love Garands but the lack of a detachable mag is the achilles heel. Nobody makes en-bloc clips on current weapons because they are simply obsolete. Everyone can have personal preference and if you have put in the time to get good with the clip system godbless, and by all means it might be the best for you. Training always supercedes hardware in my experience, and there are a number of people I would be wary of facing even if they were armed with nothing more than a Brown bess. But in a majority of situations, for a majority of people the garand is a lacking design. I don't want to be antagonistic, but it bothers me when people suggest the superiority of a weapons system on the internet, only to have the uneducated take thier word as gospel. Then when these very same people are forced to use said recomended weapon in a life and death scenario (i.e. defending thier home) they are compromised by the inherent disadvantages of an obsolete design. My opinion take it for what it's worth.