Also have a new, unfired one with National Match barrel & OD green synthetic stock. The magazines aren’t cheap, I found a few 20 round ones. I really enjoy shooting the M1A, the recoil is far less than the kick from a .308 bolt action rifle. The trigger is superb. Life is short, get one.
All day this week? It passes.
With ARs and AKs going for a grand or more, $1100 for an M14 type is totally worth it. Second coolest rifles ever, after the Garand. The M1A is the commercial name for Springfield Armory's semi-auto copy of the military M14, but M1A has kinda come to mean any semi-auto M14 variant. But there are M14Ses, etc. depending on which company you buy from. If money is no object, go LRB, IMO. https://www.lrbarms.com/m14-rifles-for-sale.html
You just made me more interested in the significance of this rifle. Please explain to me the various models, and explain the M25 which you used in combat.
The standard M14 is just the M14 issued to every joe and jarhead until the M16 came out. My experience with it is limited to schoolhouse settings- students in SF weapons training work with them to this day, as thousands of our old M14's were gifted to allied countries as parts of various military aid packages over the years, which means SF guys may encounter them deployed. The M21 is a VN era sniper rifle that started off as a standard M14. It was modified into a match grade configuration. Mods include a match barrel and iron sights, fiberglass bedded stock (later replaced by a all fiberglass stock by McMillan) a "unitized" (welded) gas cylinder and retainer, permanent alteration to disable full auto capability, and a 3-9x ART scope and mount. The 168 grain M852 match round was developed and issued for use with the M21. They were standard US Army issue sniper rifles until the M24 was issued in about 1990. The M25 was designed "in house" in the SF community. They saw service in somalia and limited use in iraq/afg. The major differences are that it had an improved scope mount and recoil spring guide, and all were issued with a newer improved stock. The scope that came with it was a MK4 variant. The M25 AFAIK was only issued in SOF units. The SEALs had them, as well as 5th SF, 10th SF, and various units in JSOC. I never saw an M25 version that had any special receiver markings- they all retained the RIA M21 overstamps. The EBR is a frankenstein abomination we called the starship trooper rifle. It was/is issued in some conventional units as a "designated marksman rifle". It is a M14 variant in a Sage chassis. The chassis is big and heavy and festooned with rails. It is an attempt to modernize what is essentially a WW2 era rifle into something usable with modern accessories. It should not be disassembled by the user due to the configuration. It is also covered with many sharp edges. They typically come with a MK4 series scope. I was offered one of these things and declined. We had 2 in our stateside gun locker that never got used. I obtained a M25 during an early deployment to afg. I replaced the MK4 with a 1-4X Schmidt-Bender short dot. I primarily only used it for missions where I was perched in a helicopter supporting ground operations. It also had a "decent" mount for an IR laser for night use. I used it for this due to lack of better options for the task. If something like an AR10 based carbine or SCAR-H were available at the time, I would have gladly used either. The M14 was never designed for precision sniper engagements- it was supposed to be a standard issue infantry rifle- no more, no less. With the exception of a sling and bayonet, nothing else was ever meant to be attached to the M14. This includes items like scopes, night vision aids, Harris bipods, and suppressors. With today's technology and the dynamics of the modern fight, this is problematic to say the least. This is why the SCAR-H and carbine versions of the SR25 have been developed and issued within the SOF community. Carbine versions of the SR25/M110 are now standardized in the US mil, and as I understand are now being issued even in conventional units.
) and started with an Armscorp receiver that I acquired 15 years ago. Prior to that I had started a hunt for USGI M14 components, mostly on Gunbroker, but I did find a fellow with a parts-stash over near Rt1 that let me pick thru his warehouse. I came away with a few gas cylinder assys and several other items at excellent prices. Also, I think that it was in '05 that DSA started selling off its stash of NIW USGI M14 mags ... so I got a supply of those. 
WOW!
Three weeks ago at the FW show, the only one there was a new SAI for $2300. Plain-Jane vanilla M1A. No extras, just the box.
