M1A was never a government issued rifle. It's a commercial semi auto version of the select fire M14 which requires a Class III license and a warehouse full of 7.62 ammo to feed it. There are better choices than the M1A if you want a military style rifle chambered for the NATO round. The .30-06 round the M-1 fires has about a 200 FPS advantage over the 7.62- - - -same bullet, more powder.
