Hi Quilly,

If you are allowed to carry a firearm during bowhunting......a 4" .44 Magnum is hard to beat.....especially for Black Bears or even Moose. (Just use a bullet that will stay together and penetrate.)

If you just want to buy an M1A.......that's a good enough reason. Both the Bush Model and the Scout Squad Model are shorter than the standard model. Very nice rifles.....a great rifle for any gun owner to have! But I personally think you would find it too cumbersome to carry around with a bow simultaneously!

Best wishes on your move.....and your decision. By the way....the M1A makes a great camp gun, ranch protection....(as in isolated location homestead), and where legal...a better than average hunting rifle. They are tough rifles, built and meant to take hard use!

Dave

P.S. If every gun owner owned one of those.....with a couple cases of ammuntion.....it'd go a long way to insure our continued 2nd Amendment Rights....are not infringed!

P.S.S. And if you're serious about wanting one.....better do it soon!