.308 semi-auto rifle. Help me choose.

[pokersamurai]

I've recently been in the market for a semi auto 7.62/.308 rifle. After much research I have it narrowed down to 2 rifles. The FN FNAR 20" heavy barrel and the Springfield M1A Loaded. I've found both rifles locally for around $1400 which seems to be a pretty good deal. However, in the most recent CDNN's flyer they have the FNs for $1000. I know the M14/M1As are a truly battle tested rifle, and from what I understand the FNAR uses the BAR operating system which has also served our country well. At this point I would just like to hear some of your opinions, preferably by someone who owns one or both of the rifles. How are their accuracy and reliability? Have you had any problems? Are they worth the money?

Thanks you in advance.

FN FNAR 20" Heavy Barrel

Springfield M1A Loaded

 

[sgreen3]

Ive shot one of the Springfield M1A's before, Super nice rifle, a real quality piece. Very accurate.

 

[mettle]

No, to a new manufactured m1a. Less than stellar quality.
buy an old model

Fnar ---can u afford the mags for it?

Seriously, think about a DI AR15 in .308.
lots of quality builds with good names behind them.
Armalite
Lwrc
Lmt

 

[cwillour]

What are you looking to do with the gun? The M1A would be the last rifle to go, but mine is not match accurate by any means (1-1.5" with match ammo, but then again it's the 18" scout.) I almost bought the FNAR instead and they have a good reputation for accuracy, but parts and mags seemed almost impossible to come by around here.

Reliability has been great, not a single stoppage, but I was cautioned early on to avoid many of the aftermarket mags. YMMV.

 

[Hoosier45]

Love my M1a Scout Squad. Wished I had bought one years ago.

 

[TheWabbit]

And on the 8th day, God made the M-1 Garand and it was good.

 

[Mosinguy]

Buy an FN-FAL. You can get them cheaper and they are a little more accurate than an M1a and way easier to buy mags and parts for than the FN-FNAR.

 

[spencer rifle]

Buy an FN-FAL. You can get them cheaper and they are a little more accurate than an M1a and way easier to buy mags and parts for than the FN-FNAR.

^^This. And you can now get 30 round mags for less than $25. But if you're looking for the king of cheap mags ($2), you need an HK/PTR/CETME

 

[turnandshoot4]

Buy an FN-FAL. You can get them cheaper and they are a little more accurate than an M1a and way easier to buy mags and parts for than the FN-FNAR.

Please show me where these FAL mags are so much easier to find.

I am having a heck of a time just finding quality FAL mags for a decent price. Gunbroker is a great example right now of the poor choices for FAL mags.

M1A mags are plentiful because CMI continues to dump them on the market.

 

[actaeon277]

And on the 8th day, God made the M-1 Garand and it was good.

Love it.

 

[DragonGunner]

Pick one of these an your good to go. I like my M1A with all USGI parts, an its very accurate with German MEN ammo that sell for around 84.00 for 200 rds.

 

[pokersamurai]

Buy an FN-FAL. You can get them cheaper and they are a little more accurate than an M1a and way easier to buy mags and parts for than the FN-FNAR.

I've handled the DSA FALs and while they're beautiful rifles I've never found the FALs to be very ergonomic the same goes for the HK G3 clone rifles.

 

[duffman0286]

springfield m1a would be my choice i know the fnh has better reviews but ill stick with what i know plus we all like garands right

 

[kawtech87]

I own several FN products and they have all been excellent guns but the only one i dont own anymore is the FNAR. It was very reliable and extremely accurate but the thing is damn near impossible to field strip for cleaning. It requires tools and has very small parts that are easy to loose, I once spent an hour with a flashlight trying to find the little springs that go on the gas block after my dog knocked them off the table. That was the last time I tried to clean it. I sold it a few months later and bought an M1A and havent missed the FNAR once.

 

[red_zr24x4]

No, to a new manufactured m1a. Less than stellar quality.
buy an old model

Fnar ---can u afford the mags for it?

Seriously, think about a DI AR15 in .308.
lots of quality builds with good names behind them.
Armalite
Lwrc
Lmt

No problems out of my new made M1A, Less than steller quality?? Fit and finish on mine is excellent. Ive been picking up USGI mags for $10, the most I paid was $20.
The only thing I would do different than the pic you posted, I'd go with the wood stock, stay away from the polymer.

 

[grouse08]

And on the 8th day, God made the M-1 Garand and it was good.

Amen

 

[actaeon277]

hallelujah

 

[sig1473]

Buy an FN-FAL. You can get them cheaper and they are a little more accurate than an M1a and way easier to buy mags and parts for than the FN-FNAR.

More accurate than a M1A?? Not true at all...I don't know where that info is coming from

Accuracy goes as such for semi-auto 308s:
-AR-10-Most modular and very accurate. Best bang for the buck.
-M1A-Very accurate and easy to maintain. Very robust and reliable.
-FAL-The most reliable of the bunch. Shot one. Its ok and I'm looking to add a STG58 Para w/ 18"
-HK G3(91)-The most robust of the 4 and reliable in its own right. I had 2 PTRs and 1 SAR8(Greek).

My choice.....well:

 

[sloughfoot]

I've handled the DSA FALs and while they're beautiful rifles I've never found the FALs to be very ergonomic the same goes for the HK G3 clone rifles.

I agree with this.

 

[sig1473]

Tough to get a good cheekweld on my SAR although I had a PTR with a MagPul PRS that provided a good cheekweld.