So a retired O-5 from the army heard me talking about a dillon 650 and said, "I've got two 5 gallon buckets of spent 308 brass, just looking for a new home." What was I to do? I had yet to enter the world of the caliber that makes the world go round, so I had to add another gun to the safe (how many of us keep safes to hide the contents from spouses?).
I had settled on an M-1A because my father swore up and down it (military M-14) was the best gun on earth. He was part of the Vietnam crowd that was told, "this M-16 needs little to no cleaning," and the rest is history.
Then I started looking. Scoped M-1A's tend to perform poorly. The gun is fairly expensive for what it is. There isn't a great aftermarket for accessories or mags.
I looked at the FN-FAR. Too unreliable and a beast to field strip.
The FAL or SLR was another option, but too many frankenguns cloud the market. A decent one is $2k+ and the 10 gallons of brass would have to sit a while to make that worthwhile.
I called an FFL I know and talked to him. He said, "I can get you a DPMS Oracle for $750," and I was sold. I know it's worth exactly that or less, but that is a cheap entry into this caliber.
So I am new to the community, and will spend several hours reading and digesting the wisdom herein then drop off the face of the planet like many members. If I leave a comment and it sounds like I have an anal-rectal inversion, it may be the case and I ask for forgiveness now.
Otherwise, thanks for the gifts of, "been there, done that," and I've already decided against a piston system based on reading here so thanks again!
