[loknload]

Went to my local Emporium today and laying on the counter was a newly aquired L1A1 .308 rifle from Century International. Looked pretty good for what I believe to be a parts gun?
Are these any good? Asking price is $450. I believe I just found my birthday present :)

[Cliff C]

LnL - Run away!! Run FAR away!!!

That is a killing machine. A vicious engine of destruction. It features a detachable hicap magazine. Not to mention a protruding pistol grip!!! Why... with that grip, it's easier to fire it from the hip!

Oh, the humanity!

Thank goodness those of us here in CA are forbidden from buying such an evil piece of hardware. :rolleyes:

Do I sound jealous? Sounds like a great B-Day present to me. ;)

Cliff

[stu]

LnL- That's a great price on them. The one thing you'll wanna do is have the head space on it checked before you shoot it. I haven't heard of a problem, and they've made thousands of them. But they used to check the head space at the factory, but stopped doing it a few years ago.

BTW you don't need a pistol grip on any rifle unless your planning on doing a drive by but stroking with it. :D

[loknload]

Hey thanks for the thoughts guys! ;) This thing just got my attention and I'm interested :D
SOG is selling them now for $419. and I believe I seen an add in the recent Gun List for Century selling them for $389. So the dealer is making about $70-$75. dollars. The guys gotta make a living.
The one thing that bothered me though is that I had read somewhere that they were using crappy recievers on one of these rifles. I don't remember if it was this one or the CETME's or the HK's.
I also read somewhere about them being metric,Does this matter? except you can't use inch mags in them.
Like I said I'm really interested but I don't want a piece of crap either.

[Bubba]

I am no FAL expert. Somebody poke FAL308 in the ribs and wake himup. He knows these things. I did read a bit about them over on http://www.assaultweb.net/. Seems to be a hit and miss proposition from what I read. (Kinda like a Kimber... heheh ;)) Some of those folks got really good ones for cheap. Some had some problems.

I had the FAL bug really bad a few months ago. Like you, I didn't want or need something that was going to be a pain in the tookus. I just don't know enough about these things to be able to tweek one like I can a 1911. So I wanted something rock solid from the beginning. DSA is making a couple now in the $1000 range that are VERY well built. http://www.dsarms.com/SA58A_STG58_Austrian_FAL.htm Solid receivers and quality parts. When I finally take the plunge, I will probably spend the extra $$ and get the DSA.

YMMV... that one very well could be a good buy. Wish I could give you better insight. But all I know is what I read on the forums.

Good luck.

[ 10-18-2001: Message edited by: Bubba ]

[fal308]

The Century L1A1 is indeed a hit or miss proposition. As you surmised, they are parts guns. As long as the receiver is an Imbel reeceiver you should be alright. There may be some small problems but with an Imbel at least it will be in spec. The Enterprise receiver used to be a POS but they've really improved their QC over the last two years or so. I wouldn't touch a Hesse receiver with a 10 meter pole. I've seen sweveral out-of-spec receivers and have heard of many many more, both on the net and in the real world. If nothing else the Century guns are usually a foundation to build upon. There are several 'smiths that specialize in FALs who can rebuild yours if you don't feel confident enough to work on it yourself. These gunsmiths also sell their own varitations of parts guns.
There are actually quite a few different options available to you depending upon how much you budget for your FAL purchase. The most desireable is, of course, an original Belgian FAL or a Browning import. These are the real deal and can be found in semi and select-fire. Of course these are big bucks. For those of us who don't want to spend more than we do on our house and car payments, the FAL world starts at DS Arms (DSA) www.dsarms.com (http://www.dsarms.com) . DSA makes quite a wide variety of FALs; all the way from a copy of the original T-48 up to a really cool FA entry gun. DSA also has a version of a parts gun that costs a little bit more than Century's normal pricing but uses StG58 (Austian) parts. The MSRP is just under 1K but the going rate is around $750-$800. What with Century lowering their price DSA may or may not follow suit. As for this parts gun, I've heard nothing but praise. Personally I'm hoping to pick up a carbine in the next year and a half or so, unless I win the lottery (then it's the entry gun for me!).
The other USA manufacturers are Entreprise Arms and Hesse Arms. As I stated above, the newer Entreprise guns are built okay but I wouldn't want a Hesse.
Another option is to have an FAL built. Either to your specifications or to a stock spec. As I said earlier, there are 'smiths that specialize in FALs.
The third option is to buy a parts kit and build it yourself. This is rather easy to do. The only part you may want to shop out is the headspacing. FALs headspace on a replaceable locking shoulder.
The last option is the one you're thinking of, buying a parts gun. Century is the player in this game. They have/had several different options for sale. They have/had the Centurion, StG-58, L1A1 and the Century Arms gun. I believe that's the name of the different models. The difference is in the receiver and which parts kit was used.
About the best FAL website is www.fnfal.com (http://www.fnfal.com) . That's where those who really know FALs hang out. But beware they can be rather merciless on folks. Some of them seem to really have an attitude.
Sorry for the rambling but if I can answer any questions, I'll be glad to try.

[loknload]

Bubba, Thanks for the thoughts and I did learn a few quick things over on the assault web. In the short time I've seen this rifle I've gotten some fast education. Just getting my feet wet! ;)

fal, Thanks for your insights. I believe this rifle to be built with a Century reciever because that is the only markings I can spot, and Century/with seriel number is marked on the reciever around the magazine well. I'm going to take a closer look at it today. Everyting seems to be in good order as far as fit and finish.
As I would like to purchase one of the Top of the Line rifles, at this point in time I believe this, for the money would be a good entry level rifle for me. If I decide to purchase it, as you said I can use it for a platform to build it my way or move along to something better in the future. There was a guy in the shop who had one and attested to its worthiness so maybe I'll take a chance.
As far as Century is concerned I do have a Romainian AK that came from them and I was overly pleased with it. Shoots very well and I had no problems with it.

[loknload]

Well I guess I went and done the "Dirty Deed" :eek: $450. plus tax and out the door. It is a metric reciever as I had thought, so be it, I'll take a chance and I can always unload it if it don't cut it.
First thing tommorrow it's off to the range ;)
First order of business after that, sometime in the future is to get rid of the Black Plastic and find some nice wood ;) Gotta have wood! :D
Well Happy Birthday to Me, Don't know how happy Moms gonna be :eek:

[fal308]

Congratulations! I presently have three FALs and would like to have at least a couple more.
There are a couple of places that have wood. The nicest wood I've seen is from....Ironwood Designs, IIRC. Don't have any contact info. other than to search/ask on FalFiles. This guy makes runs of stocks for the FAL that are beautiful. I've seen some of these sets and they are spectacular, though they're rather hard to come by. Also DSA sells wood occassionally. Check their website.

[loknload]

fal, I had it to the range today, It's a keeper! ;) Put 100 rounds through it without a burp. I need to work with it some more to get it sighted in. Today was just a play and get aquainted day :D
My son looked it over last night and is trying to talk me out of wooding it up, He likes black plastic and I don't.
I can see somewhere in time either keeeping this for a shooter and getting a collecter or just putting some money in this one and just having a real good shooter.
Do I believe it was worth, Yes I do! ;)