This Is It, New Rifle Coming...Which One?

[amprecon]

Well, it's tax refund time and a new rifle is in order. As I thought I knew what I wanted, when it comes down to laying the cash down on the table, reality sets in and the alternatives you've disregarded get renewed interest.
I had thought I had my mind made up on an M1A Scout Squad as I already have a standard M1A, .308 ammo and M1A magazines and I can readily get a new one for $1,600.

I have been looking for a general purpose smallish rifle that could fill most perceptible niches well, such as deer/hog hunting, shtf scenarios, range gun, general defense gun, etc. etc.

I have had this annoying infatuation with the 6.8spc cartridge for some time now and have been wanting a rifle in that caliber for awhile, but as ammo is so much more expensive than .308 I disregarded it.

I have always held the AR rifles in disregard, between being in .223, a caliber I have no use for and being a direct impingement gas system, a system I'm not fond of, I disregarded the AR design unless it had a gas piston and was chambered in 6.8spc. However AR's with gas pistons make them prohibitively expensive.

My primary interest in a 6.8 piston AR was the XCR rifle, but at nearly $2K I just can't justify it. In my previous searches of AR rifles in 6.8 I found that I prefer Rock River Arms Mid-Lengths in 6.8. For under $1K I could have a handy smallish rifle in a potent caliber that could fill the niche I need, I just need to get over my reservations of the direct impingement gas system.

So, I've narrowed my choices down to two contenders, an M1A Scout Squad in .308 or a RRA Middy in 6.8spc.

So what do you guys think? The money saved going with the RRA could go towards getting a few magazines and ammo. Also the RRA Mid is 2lbs lighter and 4" shorter than the M1A Scout Squad making it truly a handier little rifle.

 

[Skylerbone]

Recon, you might want to wait and see... Rock River introduced their new Performance Piston System at Shot Show in Jan. with an initial 5.56 carbine and pistol offerings. Their website indicates a number of additional models are forthcoming but does not indicate whether other calibers will be offered. I do know in speaking with (and shooting with) several employees that their orders are far surpassing their parts inventory at present, especially for 16" barrels. The MSRP for the 5.56 is $1685 and you can expect to pay full retail for the first year or so.
A second option to look in to would be a conversion kit, around $300 (CMMG at Brownells) giving you a 6.8spc with gas piston.
As for the M1A Scout, I have no experience with them. You may wish to handle one and check the balance before you plunk down that kind of change, I've heard the balance is poor at best. The AR platform will offer you a wider variety of options in the long run but the decision is too personal for me to suggest which is right for you. I love my Rock River (yes, its 5.56) and plan on getting a 6.8spc upper in the near future, but .308 it ain't.

 

[PAPACHUCK]

[QUOTE}This Is It, New Rifle Coming...Which One?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, it's tax refund time and a new rifle is in order. As I thought I knew what I wanted, when it comes down to laying the cash down on the table, reality sets in and the alternatives you've disregarded get renewed interest.
I had thought I had my mind made up on an M1A Scout Squad as I already have a standard M1A, .308 ammo and M1A magazines and I can readily get a new one for $1,600.

I have been looking for a general purpose smallish rifle that could fill most perceptible niches well, such as deer/hog hunting, shtf scenarios, range gun, general defense gun, etc. etc.

So what do you guys think?

I think for your stated needs/desires, a SKS would be just fine. You could take the extra $1200 and buy, I don't know, 3-4K rounds for practice and SHTF.

 

[amprecon]

Nah Papa, I already have an AK, don't need an SKS.
And thank you skylerbone for adding yet another alternative to consider as I'm vehemently trying to narrow my choices down .
I can put down $1,600 on an M1A Scout Squad because I'll need to purchase nothing else.
But I can't put down $1,600 on a 6.8 because I still have to buy magazines and ammo. It'll actually be cheaper if I go the M1A Scout Squad route considering I'd probably have to spend between $200 and $500 on magazines and another $500 on ammo for a 6.8 rifle. If I spent $1,000 on a 6.8 rifle, another $1,000 for mags and ammo would take me to $2,000.
Also $500 for ammo gets me around 500 rounds of 6.8, I can spend almost half that for 500 rounds of .308.

 

[C-grunt]

I vote for the AR as you alreadt have a M1A.

 

[Hatterasguy]

I don't understand the attraction of 6.8. Its crazy expensive, and kind of hard to find. I don't reload so I'm stuck paying retail, which is $1+ a shot. Seems to me like another .45GAP.



I'd stick the with the common rounds that you can get, like the M14.

 

[wally]

What's wrong with an AR .308? Something like the RRA that takes FAL mags or the DPMS LAR-308. Around here its pretty easy to find them for ~$1200 in 16" M4-like configurations. Mags are reasonable and you'd not need another caliber ammo to stock.

--wally.

 

[amprecon]

Well I did it, I couldn't overcome the draw to the 6.8spc cartridge so I went with the RRA LAR-6.8 Mid-Length A4 with the RRA flip front sight gas block as the only option.
I mailed off the money order today and don't have many reservations about it all.
I have always been against the direct impingement gas system, but I've wanted a 6.8 caliber rifle for some time now and just can't afford the piston driven variants and also can't fully trust the Ruger Mini-14 rifles for accuracy.
So I'm going to find out on my own about the DI systems.
I paid just over $1K with the front sight option for a complete rifle, now comes the loooong wait. I'm really looking forward to getting acquainted with this rifle as much as I've chided the design all these years. I plan to buy C-Products mags, I've heard good reviews about them and they're much cheaper than the PRI mags.