Need help choosing a rifle.

[esaabye]

I am looking for my first .30 cal and need some advice.

First a few of my goals:
Long Range (300-600) SHTF rifle
Useful for hunting, should double as my deer/elk rifle if possible
SemiAuto
Reliable

Problems:
I am left handed; I hear that will be an issue with an M1A and M1
I am cheap (maybe thrify is better) and need to get this past the wife so would rather not break the bank. This is why if it doubles as a hunting rifle I can justify it better.
I want a caliber that is easy to find in both ball and hunting rounds, thinking 308….

So based on that I see a few rifles but have never shot any of them; the M1 (love the history), the M1A (like having a mag), the FAL (no idea) and the AR-10 (familiar platform).

What advice and experience do you all have that can help me out?

Thanks!

[BigBear]

Esaabye, there are a ton of wonderful options out there. I have a .308 as well. If price is the deciding factor and you're looking for something factory check out the Savage, Remington, Howa offerings and the like.

A great resource I've used is to go over to Snipercentral.com and talk to mel (screen name "Mele"). He's the moderator of the site, retired operator, and a friend. He puts together different long rifle packages for different budgets from the beginner to the professional. He'll take the time to talk to you (email or phone) and explain what stuff does, etc, even if you don't buy from him. Great guy all around.

[mutt]

Atlantic Firearms has CETME .308s for $499. That's a pretty cheap mag fed, semi-auto option. I've read that Century Arms CETMEs can be hit or miss, but Atlantic Firearms has some pretty good customer service, so I'm sure they would be willing to make things right if something was wrong.

I for one would prefer to get a DSA FAL or PTR HK91 clone, but there is a significance difference in price over the CETME.

[rhineoshott]

Long range and semi-auto is hard to get at a good price.
You might look at some HK clones (HK91, 93, 21) I've seen those for about $700 semi-auto, and 308. I have no experience with these guns, so I can't really speak for their accuracy.

[rhineoshott]

Ha! we came up with the same answer independently. I didn't see yours. Two minds make a right!

[Batteriesnare]

I'm a big fan of the Remington R-25. AR style platform in .308, comes with 5 round magazine so it can be used for hunting, and is in a cool camo finish! I had the R-15 (.223) version and it was very accurate and well made!

http://www.remington.com/product-families/firearms/centerfire-families/autoloading-model-r-25.aspx

[rhineoshott]

I'm a big fan of the Remington R-25. AR style platform in .308, comes with 5 round magazine so it can be used for hunting, and is in a cool camo finish! I had the R-15 (.223) version and it was very accurate and well made!

http://www.remington.com/product-families/firearms/centerfire-families/autoloading-model-r-25.aspx


What $$ do they run?

[esaabye]

Just to clarify, price is an issue but not THE issue, I was thinking under 1500.

[rtr]

DPMS LR 308 can be had for around $1000.

[Batteriesnare]

What $$ do they run?

I've seen them locally at Dick's Sporting Goods for $1299. I'm sure you can find it cheaper than that, probably around $1100, leaving you some bread for a sight.

I like the rifle tho. Barrel is factory free floated, good trigger, over all just well made. Good luck!

[rhineoshott]

Ahh,

AR-10s can be very accurate. And nice ones can be had for under 1500.

I like the Kel Tec RFB (the one on the bottom is an FN FAL)
http://world.guns.ru/sniper/rfb-18.jpg

Another one is the FNAR:
http://www.fnhusa.com/support/images/dynamic/m/FNM0136mb.png

[mutt]

Just to clarify, price is an issue but not THE issue, I was thinking under 1500.

Ah, if your budget is in that range, definitely forget a CETME, there are better toys to be had =)

I'd be partial to the AR-10 myself and not because I know firsthand it's better/worse than any other .308 caliber rifles. I just like AR type rifles.

[SA Friday]

Save your money and just get this. http://www.jprifles.com/1.2.5_LRP07.php

Accurate has hell, tough as nails, best parts on the market, and doesn't use proprietary mags. You would never want for anything else.

[esaabye]

Save your money and just get this. http://www.jprifles.com/1.2.5_LRP07.php

Accurate has hell, tough as nails, best parts on the market, and doesn't use proprietary mags. You would never want for anything else.


I love it but 3200 is more than I can do.

So I notice none has suggested the M1A or the M1A25. Really not worth considering ?

[Marlin]

Always been fond of the FAL myself...

[mutt]

I love it but 3200 is more than I can do.

So I notice none has suggested the M1A or the M1A25. Really not worth considering ?

I bought my Dad an M1A for his birthday. It's a nice rifle. Well made and accurate out of the box. Kinda heavy and long though. I guess for me it's not EBR enough =)

[10x]

You can get an M1A for under $1500, but adding a scope and mount would take you over $1500. I see some M1As going for around $1200 in the used market. You might find a used NM for $1500, maybe. A good scope would be $400 and a good Smith mount around $200.

An M1A is an excellent rifle. Match and Supermatch version are very accurate and suitable for competition right out of the box.

No problems for a lefty like you and me.

[Irving]

Kel-tec .308 bullpup is the rig for you.

Takes care of all your concerns (especially left handed as it is a forward eject) except for the price part.

[5.45x39]

I am a big fan of the FAL, but for shooting left-handed the position of the charging handle sucks (the same problem righties have when using an AK). That said, I don't think it's a deal-breaker.

You can get a used FAL for under $1000, leaving you money left over for a decent optic (for your purposes I'd go with the Burris 3-9x40, which has a great BDC reticle).

[car-15]

I went dpms, with a leupold mark4, I have around 1700.00 in the whole setup. magpul even makes pmags for it now.
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd27/rruusseell1/101_0688.jpg
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd27/rruusseell1/101_0691.jpg

[Birddog1911]

I'm a fan of both the FAL and the M1A platform; particularily the M1A. I just can't speak to the southpaw issue, though it sounds like one person gave it a resounding yes.

Some say it is too heavy; I say get more excercise. But, I've always carried what many consider heavy rifles, so it doesn't really bother me. 5 round hunting magazines are readily available. Sure, a full combat load with a scoped M1A is gonna be heavy, but one with just one 5 round isn't going to be that bad.

FALs are nice, in particular the ergonomics. That said, the M1A is going to be more, to much more, accurate than a FAL.

[esaabye]

So I am thinking ar10 platform but will get a chance to check out the m1 this weekend at a cmp shoot.

Thanks everyone