do i really need to get an M14 in addition to 2 FALs?

[silverlance]

I'm in CA. I have two FALs, one entreprise and one Imbel. both are equally good (although to be fair my entreprise was built by entreprise).

do i really need to get an m1a? i do have grandfathered standard capacity magaziens for all of them. incidentally, my fals are CA-legal fixed magazine models. the fixed magazines can be easily converted back to normal (I have the parts and I know how) should the law one day change.

 

[41magsnub]

Need is such an ambiguous term...

 

[glockman19]

Yes you do.
If you'd like to shoot one I'll be at Angeles Saturday morning.

 

[CWL]

Yes. End of discussion.

 

[cat_IT_guy]

Need or want? I think most of us here would admit that we have way more guns than we NEED, but I bet everyone here would say there are more guns out there that they WANT.

So do you really need it.....no. But if you even think you might want one, by all means, go get it!

 

[supraneurotoxin]

you can never have enough guns. boy, is this the wrong place to ask about restraint!

 

[W.E.G.]

If you can:
afford it
store it
maintain it
feed it

Go:
FOR IT

 

[Risasi]

Personally if I were stuck in Kali, I would be...moving.


Seriously though, if I were in such a predicament I would ditch the FAL's and load up on M1A's and Ruger Mini's. Then accurize both. Assuming I had the funds. If not I would go with Saigas in .308, sporting 16" barrels.
Put a decent set of iron sights on them and a forward scout rail. Sling 'em, and load up on extra mags.

 

[silverlance]

as much as i like saigas the trigger pull is incredibly long. actually, i dont know if that is even the correct term. basically i have to reallly stretch my finger way out there in order to pull the trigger.

someone REALLY needs to make an improved stock for the saiga.

kev

ps: oh well guess im going to get an m1a.

i like having doubles of all my guns for parts, etc.

no way im going to do that with an m1a. too expensive.

 

[salthouse]

If you are asking that question, you already know the answer.

 

[The Deer Hunter]

Detachable mags?

Yeah, I'd buy it. But make sure to get it in all black with evil lookin' things hanging off it to spit the gun grabbers.

 

[MassMark]

Yes...

 

[geekWithA.45]

Allow me to rephrase, and please understand that I'm trying to shed light, not be sarcastic:


I have two guns that have been crippled to comply with the law, making them difficult to reload rapidly.

Should I get the fully functional kind of gun the law allows me to purchase?


Honestly, I would sell the two cripples to buy the one fully functional gun. Then I would shoot it until I had mastered every aspect of it.

UPDATED to clarify:

I would sell the cripples only if I needed the money.

 

[Alphazulu6]

EVERYONE needs a good M14. I am in the process of buying one myself

 

[GunTech]

Get a good M1A/M14, drop a Rader trigger into it. Bed the stock, or better yet, drop it in a JAE-100. Ad a Sadlak mount and decent glass, and you will wonder why you'd want to FALs. I like the FAL, but it is a battle rifle. A tuned M1A can shoot rings around a FAL, and there's not too much you can do to the FAL to make it shoot better.

The AR-10, accuraized, will trump both rifles, but at least in California, you can have an M1A with detachable mags.

FAL

M1A

 

[Slvr Surfr]

Dont get rid of both FALs. I have a DSA FaL and a M1A Loaded, and am very pleased with both. In my opinion your comparing a nice pick up truck to a cadillac. The FAL is a short to medium range battle rifle. I use mine for a CQB type work. The FAL is plenty capable of doing long range work but IMO not as well as the M1a. I keep my M1a for the long range work. It shoots completely different compared to the FAL. Id say get rid of your least favorite FAL and go from there. FALs are becoming harder to get every day.

 

[silverlance]

thanks for all the advice guys.
as for the fals - I have quite a few guns and if I have only a minute to grab a gun I have several good choices on hand at all times.

while the fals are temporarily crippled, they woudl not be rifles that id grab to respond to an emergency anyway. to big, too heavy, and too infrequently practiced with to be a good choice in an immediate situation. that role would be filled by m1 carbine, mini14, m59 sks, saiga, ar15, or any of the shotguns. if i desperately needed a quickly reloadable big bullet rifle quick, i also have an SVT40. alternatively, I also have an FN49. and, of course, there are handguns.

the role the fals would play would exist only in the event of a riot, natural disaster, or wartime conflict. in those situtaions, i would have plenty of time to convert the fals back to full mode, and id be quite good to go.

after all, home defense is not home defense if you are shooting the bad guy from 300 meters and four city blocks away.

that said, i reall like that m1a that guntech posted. i think i will get it after all. darn. i spent all my saved up m1a money on an svt40 and the m1 carbine.

 

[Coronach]

1. What's need got to do with it? Do you want one? If so, buy one.

2. You're in Cali. The civvie M14 is one of the few options you have as far as a fully functional .308 battle rifle is concerned. I fully understand you wanting and having the FALs (especially given the ability to de-neuter them later), but if I was in Cali and loooking for a .308, I would jump at the M14 and never even glance back.

Mike

 

[Sven]

DO it now while you can and DONT SELL your pre-ban regular capacity mags.

 

[GunTech]

Sadly, it looks like we are headed for another assault rifle ban if the wrong people get elected in 2008. Obama already let it slip, but you know that's what they are all thinking. In the latest legislation drafts I have seen, they've made sure to include things like the M1A and mini-14. I think I'd be loathe to sell anything, and try to scape together the money to buy extra.

At least with the M1A, you can start with the base rifle and go from there, adding bits later. But it doesn't help that even a basic M1A easily runs in the $1500 range.

I personally like the JAE-100 stock, as I look at the M1A as a DMR. But there are other, equally interesting options like the Sage, Vltor and he Troy. Sadly, only the JAE-100 is Cali legal.

There's one for sale at snipershide.com

 

[nwilliams]

Why yes, yes you should....

You live in CA, take advantage of the fact you can own an M1a there, you never know the laws could get worse before they get better. Not only that, they are great guns and a lot of fun to shoot. Personally I prefer to shoot 10 round mags in my M1a, the hi-cap ones are a bit cumbersome, especially when shooting prone.

 

[Smokehouse]

Best rifle you'll ever buy. Nuff said.

 

[crazed_ss]

Do it..

M1A is th best semi-auto rifle you can still buy in Cali.

 

[Vityaz]

Buy the M1A, just be warned, they're extremely addicting.