It might be a generational thing, but I’ll take the M-14 over anything else. This thing looks bad. Muzzle velocity?
You will definitely lose some velocity over the 22" barrel of the standard M14/M1a. But, the SOCOM rifle has other issues, mainly accuracy. Out of the box, they usually don't group well at all. Springfield appears to have cut some corners when it shortened the barrel and redesigned the gas block area. Most SOCOM rifles that shoot decent have been accurized, but they are definitely not the shooters that an out-of-the-box full length loaded or National Match rifle is.