I get what you're saying Bfloating, but as my grandpappy used to say "you can't put tires on a mule and expect it to plow." (We actually had a mule named Honey that my grandfather would sometimes plow with because he never trusted mechanical technology and insisted that we all learn how to go-back-to the old ways if we wanted to avoid growing food by hand with a hoe. And if you stop and think about it, it makes sense. The man always had incredible gardens and, in the process I learned how to plow with a mule.)
Think about what an upgrade in weight it was to go from the rifle that won THE war (Garand) to the M14. Soldiers loved the weight reduction, lighter loads (including ammo), increased mag capacity and they raved about accuracy. But it was short-lived and for good reason.
The M1a (sic M14) platform wasn't made to be lightweight. It wasn't designed to be scoped. You can't put wheels on a mule and expect her to plow.
Caveat: I graduated from the old 82nd Airborne Sniper school in the 70s, one of the last classes before they combined the school with others and moved it to Benning .... and I did so with an M21. An M21 ... basically an accuratized (trigger, barrel and bedding) and scoped M14. We made 1000 meter qualifying kill shots with those rifles ... they're very capable. We never thought about making them lighter. We were happy to have 30 cal sticks capable of making such shots if we did our part.
I love the platform and own a couple of them including an Art Cavanaugh custom M21 build complete with all the goodies ... but no glass. Oh, I have a couple of M1a mounts but I started to ask myself ... why? For what purpose?
To each his own but, imho, an M1a has the greatest sights in history and it turns cover into concealment at 300-400 meters with those sights.
Also ... to heck with leather slings and straps. They're pretty but they're not functional on a service rifle. The military no longer endorses them for good reason ... go with nylon webbed slings.
Give staying pure some thought. It's easily a 500 meter rifle if you're young enough and your eyesight is good enough ... with open sights, or even Camp Perry sights.
