They're both cool rifles. Lots of pluses and minuses depending on what you want to do with them;
For both the convention is powders with burn rates between 3031 and 4064 with the 4895's being the "go-tos" There's been a bunch of new powders since then, so you'll have to research whether they'll work...burn rate charts aren't always accurate when it comes to the Garand and m14. Bullets should be no heavier than 175's...maybe 178's (unless you're willing to get into the special mods to accomodate heavies).
Garands come with built in history. Can be had in 308 as well as 30-06. With out a magazine hanging down, they're easier to shoot in prone. With the 24" barrel you have a longer sight radius for easier sighting.
Oprod is less forgiving than in an M14/M1A.
Negatives: En-bloc clips take some doing to get the hang of and you'll probably learn what a "Garand Thumb" is in the process. You'll want a Garand SLED (single load enhancement device). Maybe a two round clip if you want to shoot Highpower.
M14/M1A's have an improved gas system with a gas cutoff. But you'll still have to observe the powder burn rate conventions. The Box magazine makes life a bit easier for loading.
Both are about 2 or 3 minute rifles out of the box. Both have known accurizing procedures (bedding, unitizing gas system etc) and can yield a 1 MOA rifle...but the smiths/armorers that are good at it are a dying breed. I personally know of recent wins logged by both at 600 and 1000 yards over very good AR shooters at big Service Rifle matches so they're certainly capable of accuracy still.
A competition gun ridden hard requires a good amount of maintenance. I'd get a rebed annually...and parts breakage was a regular occurence. Parts used to be readily available...but now you're competing with the collector market for the M1 and a dwindling supply for both. They're getting pricey.
Neither has what I would call a easily installed, solid scope mounting system.
Oh yeah...while that article is crap, he is right about the durability of a match tuned M14.
If you have an unlimited budget, there are a couple of chassis systems ie Sage, for the M14 that address bedding and scoping issues...but you'll be lugging a 12lb rifle at that point.
Last edited by ChrisF; 01/20/24.
