Looking for a FAL on a budget. Possible?

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Thrash1982

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Sometime within the next 2 months or so I hope to be purchasing a FAL. I've been looking around the net on on FAL Files for the last few days and am boggled by the options out there. Unfortunately I am on a budget and can't really say how much I will be able to spend on the rifle or when. Can someone tell me where to look for a relatively inexpensive FAL that is still a quality weapon? (doesn't have to be the best match grade rifle out there (no way on a budget)). I've seen lots of kits minus upper recievers and it seems to me it can be done for around $400. If I go the kit route what should I look for in recievers and parts? Thanks in advance for your help guys.
 
Here's what I did. I got an Austrian STG-58 kit and an Imbel receiver and put almost all of it together myself. My kit was disassembled down to the individual roll pins, if that tells you anything.

The only step I did not do myself was putting the barrel onto the reciever. I paid a gunsmith to do that to keep from turning my rifle into a grenade.

My costs ran right at about $500 total.

My rifle runs great. It's a joy to shoot, especially since I scrounged up a SUIT scope to put atop it.

If you go the kit route, be aware you must put in a certain number of US made parts. My kit had the flash hider removed and the barrel recrowned, so I didn't have to add on the annoying muzzle brake, etc.

But I had to use US made furniture, cocking handle, hammer, trigger, sear, to meet the requirement for US made parts so I wasn't making an imported "assault" weapon.

But rolling my own FAL was a very fun, rewarding experience for me.

I have zero mechanical aptitude, but I have so far rolled two of my own ARs and my own FAL.

Some day, I 'd like to roll my own AK, too.

hillbilly
 
wow, that's more information then I got from the same post of FAL Files. They were less than helpful sadly.

Did you already know how to build one? or did you buy a book/instruction manual? Also, where did you get your parts? Hopefully soon I'll have the money to put one together.
 
Thrash,

unfourtunately, cheap fal kits are drying up. It was builders heaven this time last year. Some kits may still be out there and affordable, but you'll have to look hard.

You may have better luck picking up a Century built rifle. Before everyone jumps in and says how bad Century sucks, let me say yes they aren't known for great quality, but you do get a decent parts kit, with the right number of US parts, assembled to a reciever that may or may not work. You can probably (75% chance) fix whatever you don't like on a Century rifle for less than the build price on a good kit, US parts, and an IMBEL gear logo reciever. Don't forget, tools to build with.

I did build one up cheap using gunplumbers guide and lots of WESCOG tips from the falfiles. It can be done, but it was only economical because kits were cheap last year.

--usp_fan
 
Hopefully the prices on kits wont go up too much in the next couple months. The latest I hope to be able to do this by is mid February. I will also look into the Century rifles and see if that might be the way to go. Thanks guys
 
If it's cheap you want.

I would go with the Century as well. SOG, AIM, Centerfire, CDNN, Bachman, and others have them. You can call and order, and have it sent to an FFL for $12 for UPS, and $25-50 to the FFL for his transfer.

Worst case scenario, you need about $60-80 in parts from someplace like Tapco.com, Piston, firing pin, (U.S. made First Sons brand )Trigger-sear-hammer pack and plunger to get it working right. Even then, most should be fine out of the box. I've not heard of one with any truly fatal barrel-reciever problems, just piddly stuff like what I had, and if it is that bad Century will trade yours in or fix it for you.

I was getting light strike failure to fire about 80% of the time in my Century FAL, and buy the Tapco parts is what I did, it was still way cheaper than anybody elses FAL, or even a build if you added the tools.

The Century FAL's run about $389-400 most everywhere, and mags are still cheap. IIRC they still use an L1A1 "inch pattern" U.K./Aussie/Canada style reciever, and inch mags are a tad more expensive than metric (sometimes this flip-flops), but metric mags will work in an inch reciever just fine, but with a tad bit of "wobble" but no locking problems.

The money you save would go twoards some 7.62 NATO battle packs. Fal enthusiasts, and FAL collectors usually turn up their noses at the Century, but if you're just looking for a basic representative of the FAL in your coolection, or an inexpensive .308 batttle rifle, it's a good buy as long as you're aware of the risks beforehand.

FAL's are the easiest to build from a kit, but who's to say you won't screw it up, at least if you get a screwed up Century they'll fix it. That they're the easiest to build is why the parts kits are also drying up, partly from consumer demand. The other part is the ATF. Even thouh building your own is perfectly legal, even if you had the skill to machine your own reciever instead of getting one from an FFL, the ATF dosen't like us peons doing it, and they've been nitpicking the importers to dry up the supply.
 
I picked up one of the Century "R1A1"s offered by AIM Surplus right now for $529. Mine works just fine. Brand new barrel (w/o muzzle brake - which was a big plus to me) and metric pattern CAI receiver. AIM is pretty good with problems, I'd imagine if you were to get a CAI problem-child AIM would repair or exchange it.

Since I got the gas setting right, I haven't had any problems (shooting Aussie F4 '87 prod. .308). I love my Bushy A3 Carbine, but the FAL pattern rifles are incredibly easy to break down (or break open, actually) and clean. Plus, metric magazines are dirt cheap and plentiful.
 
Thrash1982---I learned all I needed to know over at FalFiles.com.

I got my parts kit from ClassicArms.net, but I don't know if they still have any.


I used to spend all my time over at FALFiles, but quit once I found this place.

FalFiles.com gets so many "Hey how do you go about building a FAL" questions that they probably even got tired of saying "Use the Search Function" in response.

Kits are drying up quickly.

A Century Arms International or CAI gun might be the way to go.

CAI FALs are crapshoots...............You might get lucky and get a really good one. Lots of folks have gotten really good ones for cheap.

You might get unlucky and get a really bad one. Lots of folks have that outcome, too.

One thing I did hear over and over and over at FALFiles and other web sites is to be leery of any FAL with a Hesse receiver on it.

But a CAI gun would be the cheap way to go. And as AndrewWalkowiak pointed out, even if you got a bad one, the fix for that might be relatively cheap.

Shop around, and see what you can find. Good luck. FALs are great!

hillbilly
 
Century can be the best FAL deal for the money around. I know mine was. Keep in mind that the only new fal is a DSA SA58 everything else including the DSA STG58 is a kit gun. Some may cost more and be cosmetically better but they are still a kit gun.

My Century has been perfect and it has a Hesse receiver. Accurate and reliable, no complaints at all. I got it for a great price because of the Hesse receiver. But I've got a good dealer who told me take it out and try it if it doesn't work just bring it back. If a century or a Hesse works they work as well or better than the rest. Find a dealer with a good return policy just in case there is a problem. But I have no complaints with mine at all.
 
I've been out of the loop on the whole gun scene....

Last time I heard, the kits were drying up, if you can still find an Imbel parts kit and Imbel gear logo receivers that would be what I'd be building, 922r.
 
Thrash you have asked a very timely question.

I was considering the same thing.

How do you know where to find someone who is qualified to put your kit together correctly?
 
tlhelmer: I know a gunsmith in town that has recently put together a match grade FAL. He has done some work for friends of mine and is supposed to do very good work. I havn't talked to him yet but plan to in the next week or so.
 
God willin' an' th' crik don' rise, I'll get an Ohio rapid Fire FAL in Feb for $550. Evan marshall of Stopping Power fame has one, and so do three of his friends, and they all love them.
As for Crapury, I had one of thier CETMEs, and a bigger POS I never saw. Fortunately I found a guy willing to buy it to fix - it's still sitting in his safe, waiting. Another officer at work has a Century FAL, and says it's the greatest thing he ever got....go figure.
 
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