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Definitely no on the M1A. I would much sooner spring for the Mini-14. .308 is expensive and Too Much. $887 for a Mini-14 actually is something I can visualize paying for a rifle. I think M1As run for like $2100, right? Ouch. As the for Mini-14, it's Good Enough in most respects. It's just too expensive for how many weaknesses it has. A Fightlite FCR lower is about $300 more than it should be, too, but it's basically an AR in every other respect. Too bad it's out of stock. I think between the two... I dunno, you could take everything off of the lower of the Fightlite once the ban gets repealed and just get a regular AR lower. Whereas the Mini-14 will always be a Mini-14.
Pistol caliber carbine is also something I was thinking about. I've shot one before, they're incredibly fun. A 10 round limit on it makes it kind of goofy, though. The 9mm pistol I have is 15 rounds, but apparently putting it into rifle form makes that verboten. Ruger makes one; at $800 MSRP, it's a lot more affordable. I partly want one for hunting hogs, though, and 9mm is no good for that. That's also why the .300 blackout barrel swap would be a good deal.
Have you considered an M1 Garand? Expert grades with excellent barrels are currently available for under 1200 bucks from the CMP, your choice of .30-06 or .308. Then commit heresy and replace the rear sight with a 3x or 5x micro-prism (it's the only scope you can mount that isn't a meme like scout mounts are, and you can still load the gun like normal). You can probably get one for cheaper; it looks like they only have Experts in stock at the moment.
The biggest problem here's going to be the cost of ammunition, especially if you pick .30-06 (there really isn't much of a reason to other than historical propriety, so how much you care is up to you). But it's arguably the most cost-effective rifle outside of the SKS (or the Rasheed, if you can find one for a reasonable price), and the SKS is slower to run, just as heavy, has a worse trigger and sights, and Yugos are the most affected by corrosive surplus. An SVT-40 would also work, has cheap ammunition, but is absurdly expensive for no reason and has accuracy issues.
You could also go M1 Carbine, but those are kind of overpriced for what they are and you'd probably still have to pin your magazines to 10. You could go Model 8/81 in .35 Rem (or .300 Savage), or some other WW1/2-era fighting rifle, but that creates ammunition cost problems. You could go Ruger Deerfield (which is the only Mini-14 derivative worth owning, by the way), but .44 Magnum is still more expensive than 5.56 is and mags larger than 4 rounds are very expensive.
You could also go Mini-30; 7.62x39 is cheaper than .300 Blackout is and is more effective ballistically. You'd have to clean it, but it's still better than the SKS, and unlike the SKS you can put an optic on it with little difficulty.
That aside, I'm going to second the Fightlite for reasons beyond "it's the only thing that's legal", and into "it's the only rifle in its class, period". If you can't have a threaded barrel, you might as well go with a larger caliber than .300, and you have very few semi-automatic options outside of the AR-15 platform when it comes to those.
.350/.400 Legend, .450 Bushmaster, and .458 SOCOM are arguably better candidates than .300 Blackout is for solving hogs. Of those, .350 and .450 are the most available, and Faxon makes a couple of pencil barrels for .350 (though they are threaded; I'm not sure whether your law accepts tacking a cover on as a mitigation for that, but you can always just get the 20" and have it cut down for you). .458 SOCOM magazines have a hidden advantage- that they're not-so-secretly just 5.56 magazines (just used in a different way; the reason you take such a haircut on capacity is because those rounds stack single-file in that magazine)- though whether you and your drop-shipper are comfortable with that property is another matter.
One of those, a carbon-fiber handguard, and a standard upper will still run you 1300 after all is said and done, yes, but if you're not happy about spending a bunch of money on just a bog-standard rifle then this might at least make you feel a little better about it.
Note also that the Fightlite can be used itself as a PCC, and there are 2 ways to effectively do this (Glock magazine adapter block sold separately = you get 15 rounds AIUI): a bufferless CMMG upper and a Glock magazine adapter block, or build with their delayed blowback kit that doesn't require a bespoke bolt carrier (though in that case I'd advise you get something with the fixed extractor unless you like replacing ejector springs).
If you know you're already planning to buy 2 rifles the cost delta for the SCR lower is muted (the PC Carbine is OK but overpriced).
Very good post! Thank you for writing all of that up.
I like the idea of M1 Garands and such things, but I'm trying to maximize utility in the guns I own, so I have already considered it and discounted it. I really can't think of any real need for anything in .308. I don't have any desire to shoot out super far, I have a shotgun already for hunting large game like deer if I ever wanted to do that, and it wouldn't even give me the satisfaction of working a bolt-action. It's a cool gun! But not really what I am looking for. It'll be similarly expensive. That goes for the M1 Carbine, too. Mini-30 was something I considered, too, but the same downsides for the Mini-14 still apply. In addition, I watched the Paul Harrell video comparing the Mini-14 to the AR-15 and found the most vexing thing would be that you have to rock the magazine in, meaning I would much prefer an AR-15.
Most of all I am interested in those alternate calibers, though I had heard .300 Blackout would be fine for hogs. Which of those calibers are the cheapest? You don't need to buy different mags for .458 SOCOM? That would be a legal use of those magazines, so that's something worth considering. My friend likes 6.5 Grendel. Any opinions on that one? Why do you think those calibers are better candidates than .300 Blackout?
So if you got the Fightlite, you'd get just the lower? What are some respected .223 uppers? Honestly $700 for a Frankenstein lower isn't that bad, is it? How much does a normal lower cost?
Another rifle, someday, maybe. Thanks for letting me know the Ruger PCC is overpriced.
My friend likes hammer fired pistols, so that's mostly what's been on my mind lately... I just can't justify it, though. Unless it was a real cheap 1911, maybe...
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