1) the M-14 is a full auto weapon, placed in service in the mid-1950's to replace the M1. The civilian version is called the M1A, which is a semi-automatic (i.e. self-loading, one shot per trigger pull) rifle. Both come standard with a 20-round box magazine, though you can obtain others (5, 10, 15, 25 and 30 that I've seen, not all of which are reliable - esp. those made in Red China).
2) I suspect that he'd dislike either one even more if the rounds are loaded with AP bullets (still plenty out there, folks).
M14 was/is a semi auto...the fully auto was/is M14E2 and that was selective (single/fully auto)...replaced the BAR in '63
Even more than you might suspect. If you reload ammo, then you could consider buying obsolete Russian rimmed 7.62x54 that is fired in the common Moisin-Nagant rifles. That stuff used iron or steel cored bullets as a more plentiful alternative to lead. Use a magnet to verify before buying. The stuff is .30 caliber and the slugs could be pulled to reload into .308 or .30-06 brass. You would have to consider the bullet weight and resistance to rifling as you work up a safe powder load. I doubt you would find published loading data for these, so unless you are a seasoned reloader and understand the issues and potential dangers of working up custom loads, don't try this.