Cheapest .308 rifle out of these?

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Kenshin

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What is the cheapest way to get a .308 (in CA)?

1) Get an M1A (whatever model's the cheapest)

2) Get a Garand, converted to .308

3) Get a Chinese M-14, and depending on what I get, may have to make the necessary repairs/refurbishes.
 
I have a loaded M1A. I like it. However, it is a bit heavy. If I have to do over again, I'll get M1A scout.

I also have a Garand. It probably be cheaper if you can get one and convert to a 308.

-Pat
 
What about a saiga? I found a saiga 308-1 ata local store here in east TN new for $300. Standard 8 round detachable mag and uses the AK action. They don't have a pistol grip so it might be legal, but I'd ask other members more familiar to be sure.

You don't say what you want to use this gun for which would help a lot. Is this for hunting? SHTF? Plinking? Would a bolt action be OK or do you want a semiauto? Does it need to have a detachable magazine or can it have an internal mag?
 
Cheapest would be a Chicom M14.They sell for between 600 and 800 but their are deals out there and you could pick one up for less.Check the headspace,if it's good then shoot it and periodically recheck.If headspace is long or just for your own piece of mind then give http://warbirdscustomguns.com/Rifle%20Shop%20services.htm a call.The conversion is relatively inexpensive and Warbird has alot of experience with them.
If you go the CMP route for a Garand then the .308 conversion is a simple barrel change.Depending on the grade of rifle you get from the CMP this would be cheaper yet. Warbirds Custom Guns does these too as well as some really cool .308 M1 tankers.
 
No doubt, CMP Rack Grade rebarreled to .308

Genuine military firearm, no cost-cutting measures.

By the time you meet the various checks-in-the-box for CMP, you'll maybe be $350-400 into the basic rifle, add another $150-200 for rebarrel with a no-frills .308 barrel. Can probably get a trigger job or other goodies done while you have it in the shop.

End result: somewhat cheaper than the ChiCom M14, undoubtedly cheaper than the Springfield, and higher quality then either.

Plus, if you don't buy the M1, it will be either burned in slag furnace by a future administration, or will be gifted to the brutal armies of an oppressive dictator elsewhere in the world. Get the Garand, it's the only moral thing to do.

-MV
 
Kenshin
I am currently in a similiar position, I am not sure if I should buy an CMP M1 or save up and wait for a M1A.

I don't have much money but I do have time to wait and save. My plan is to buy a CMP garand and see how it shoots in original .30-06 If it shoots well I will shoot it in this caliber for a while and become familiar with it. If it shoots poorly or is mediocre, I will rebarrel it in .308. Shoot that for a year or two while I save up for an M1A. That way when I get the M1A they will be in the same caliber and be the same basic operating system. The m1 could become my training gun for new people.

Brother in arms
 
What's it for?

The cheapest good .308 semiauto that's accurate out of the box would be the Remington 7400 in synthetic. 10 round mags readily available if you want them.

Depends what you want to do with it.
 
How consistant is the quality on the 7400? I've been hearing a lot of horror stories from other hunters lately. I know that's just anecdotal and that all guns break, but a guy I work with just got rid of one that was a jam-a-matic and one of the guys who hunts on my dad's land had a lot of problems with his this year. Both were .30-06, if that makes a difference.
 
Can't say for sure.

.308 is, of course, a shorter cartridge in the same size receiver.

The things do not like to be dirty, though.

I'd opt for the pump version, anyway. Even cheaper, quite reliable, and perfectly capable of a high rate of fire.

But compared to a CMP gun? Gunsmithing ain't cheap, and an old milsurp rifle is a crapshoot. A $500 crapshoot in this case. Depends what it's for.:)

There's always a FAL, an Armalite, a BAR or a Benelli. But cheap is a different question.
 
The 760/7600 is one of the best all-around rifles on the planet. Everyone should have at least one.
 
personally I would avoid the 7400 series of firearms though they are much better than there parent design the 742. All of these guns will malfunction and evetually will fail. They are not a very good design and very often have alot of malfunctions. I would avoid one of these like the black plague.

As for the M1 it may not be the cheapest rifle (which I later noticed was the topic of the thread) but they are one of the better ones. You can get a CMP garand for $350 or less (if you get the model without wood $295) also rebarreling wouldn't cost me anymore than the price of the barrel ($200) as I am a gunsmith by trade.

lets compare prices:

So a new springfield that is California legal goes for $1543

where I live you can buy a used Springfield or armscorps for about $1000-$1200, when you can find them... But I'm guessing that you can find that in kali.

CMP M1 Rebareled to .308 $350 for the rifle,$20 for shipping,$200 for the barrel, and $200 in shop fees add up to $770 lets call it $800 tops.

Then you have the Norinco or Polytech M1A about $600-$800 or so. Then the bolt conversion at least $200 for the bolt and convesion. And you still have a chinese M1A. Not that I think everything made in china is junk just that the norinco and polytech m14' have forged reciever though most of them are soft and have many out of spec parts, and in some instances metric ones.

The springfields have cast recievers, the M1 has a forged reciever. The Cmp guns are a crap shoot but I have never seen one that wouldn't function. Usaully the barrel is the worst part and that is the part you are going to replace anyway.

Also in California the highest cap mag you can have for your M1A is 10 rounds. The M1 has 8 not a marked increase in capacity to warrant such a increase price. Also the M1A is not much more accurate than the M1, many would argue the m1 is more accurate as the M14 never won a Palma match. Both firearms can be made into super accurate match rifles, though it might be slightly easier to do with the m1a/m14. They are very similiar in operation and both are very reliable rifles.

Plus if you don't absolutely need the rifle in .308 you can leave in its original chambering and get alot of rifle for about $400, and that deal won't last forever. You can't get a better deal than that on a M1A and you never will. Also once the CMP guns are all gone there will be nothing but over priced cast reciever clones.

I say for the money and the situation (California) I would go with the .308 garand. I have shot both the M1A and the M1 in hi power matches and Love them both, the pricipal advantage of the M1A to the M1 is its detachable hi-capacity magazine.



Brother in Arms
 
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