I saw pictures of a whole room full of unused G1's that were destroyed a few months back.

I have handled a few M1A's and they are nice but they are much more expensive and much harder to build your own. The only advantage is their stock. In CA that lets you use detachble magazines but you can't buy magazines larger than 10 rounds.

If I could walk in to a gun store and buy a real Springfield Armory M14 or a real FN FAL, I would probably leave with a FAL.

My first MBR was a Garand and it's a nice rifle. I wanted to get a few more from the CMP but before I could, I bought a FAL and now I rarely think about CMP Garands.

It's just like my first Swamp Rat. I have had other nice knives but I haven't bought any knife beside Busse, Swamp Rat and Scrap Yard since then.