My "you get what you pay for" FAL clone - range report added

[forindooruseonly]

I recently helped a friend move to a new house, his wife and he no longer had kids at home, are getting older, and really needed to downsize to a smaller home with less maintenance. He had a large barn which doubled as farm shop and storage. While separating what was to go, what was to throw away and what was to sell, we came across this Century FAL on a shelf....



Turns out it was one of his boys, the wild one as it happens, who is no longer allowed to legally have firearms. The gun must have been there for ten or fifteen years based off my memory about when and how things went down. My friend laughed and said it was a hunk of junk that was always problematic, mostly because it kept coming apart while shooting it

Anyways, he didn't want it, didn't even realize it was out there. He's a shooter, but has no real use for something like this - it doesn't fit his tastes which run heavy to blue/walnut classics. So, in thanks for helping him move, he gave it to me. This thing is rough. The bolt cycles, but is sticky. There are patches of rust that make this look like it has been serving in a third world.



Worse, I suppose the latch that keeps it from breaking open wasn't operating correctly, because there are hammer marks on the lever and frame where the son apparently beat the lever shut. I couldn't get the lever to budge, but I haven't spent much time yet..



Hell, there's even hot glue(?) on the barrel. You don't see that every day on a well maintained rifle. I really doubt this thing has ever been cleaned. Frankly, I 'm a little hesitant to even take a peek at the bore!



Anyways, THR, what should I do with it? I've never really messed with an FAL or clone. On one hand, I'm thinking of just cleaning it, getting it functioning, and shooting it. Rust and all. On the other, I am thinking maybe having it coated and try to do something interesting with it. It's a Century, so nothing even remotely special, but since all I have in it is labor and a friend's generosity, I could afford to throw a couple of bucks at it and not feel bad about throwing good money after bad.

 

[mrming]

Suppose it all depends on how mechanically talented you are. It's an R1A1 so its a fair to good chance the receiver is an imbel. At least, as far as I understand things...

Imbel receivers were among the best produced for the civie market so.. you may have some good bones to work with. I'd check the bore. Barrels are no longer easy nor cheap to lay hands on. If the bore is messed up or the rust has penetrated too far its no longer a spray-can and small parts job.

You'll have to get it open and check the damage from the hammering of the locking latch. FALs the upper is the regulated part. It's also what the latch is grabing. If they've managed to damange the receiver badly enough then its a parts gun.

 

[MistWolf]

Hie yourself over to http://www.falfiles.com/forums/ because there are fellas over there that would love to help you get a FAL in that condition up & running

 

[M1key]

I'm envious. Clean it up a bit, oil it, and shoot it. If you still don't want it, I'll give you XXX dollars for it.

M

 

[1KPerDay]

I'll give you XXX+1

 

[Shear_stress]

It's an L1A1 parts kit on an American-made receiver of some sort (definitely not Imbel or FMAP). I think any shootable rifle is worth something, but if the barrel is good someone might want it for the parts.

 

[Fishbed77]

Looks like it could be a fun little project to me.

 

[Awsomepossum]

that Fal is cool, look at that bolt with the sand cut. Also think about getting a old SUIT scope for it, and putting some duracoat(or something similar on it). XXX+2


Edit: does it have Hesse anywhere on the rifle?

 

[MistWolf]

If it's going to be refinished, get it parkerized. Don't worry much about the barrel. Clean out the bore and see how it shoots. If it's too far gone, replacements are available

 

[twofifty]

that Fal is cool, look at that bolt with the sand cut. Also think about getting a old SUIT scope for it, and putting some duracoat(or something similar on it). XXX+2


Edit: does it have Hesse anywhere on the rifle?

possum, about the sand cut on the bolt.
Is it the gap at the front of the bolt? Or?

 

[GBExpat]

"Sand cut" refers to the shallow diagonal channels milled into the sides of the bolt carrier.

 

[GBExpat]

BTW, forindooruseonly, looks like the top cover on that pup may be TIGHT (fore&aft) ... which, IIRC, could result in difficulty unlatching the action.

Can you impart any movement on that cover, back&forth, with your hand or is it tightly captured?

 

[MatthewVanitas]

Just one man's opinion, but unless you're truly dragging this rifle through the muck and grime (for whatever reason), I don't see any need to do any coating on it, or any external/cosmetic work beyond buffing off the rust. Might as well leave it looking "weathered", and just worry about whether the insides are moving smoothly and bore clean enough to shoot decently. This isn't going to be a beauty queen in any case, so might as well leave it with some "character".

Plus yours has a cool story behind it. Hope you can get it functioning smoothly, and that you'll come back and update the thread when you do!

 

[forindooruseonly]

Okay, so I had a chance to mess with it tonight. I field stripped it and gave it a good cleaning, surprisingly the bore isn't bad at all. It might be a little pitted in the rifling but the lands are nice and shiny. The gas system looks to be in good shape, all the internals seemed to be alright. That was a big relief. There was a ton of dried, crusty grease and gummy oil, as well as a decades worth of dust and grime from sitting in a barn, but mostly it came out ok. I definitely need to detail strip it and go through the whole thing, but I'm gonna try to test fire it tomorrow.

Most importantly, some careful work with some files solved the latching issue. The latch would only barely engage the lug, letting the gun break open on the hinge if you just looked at it wrong. That's why the son hammered on the take down lever. Sheeesh. Kids, I tell ya. Definitely from the bigger hammer school of thought. Anyways, it locks properly now and is still nice and tight, properly fitted.

So, I didn't see any markings beyond the Century R1A1 marking, so who knows. It's definitely an "inch" not a metric gun. I also got two magazines, one "inch" and one "metric". I did some reading on the falfiles forum, as was suggested by Mistwolf and got started on my FAL education.

GBExpat, the top cover was snug but not tight, it came off pretty easy. I think the tightness was just from all the crud built up in there. It is much slicker to work now that it is cleaned and lubed.

One thing I did notice is that the bolt lockback isn't working, with either magazine. I also ain't smart enough to figure it out. Any thoughts on what would cause that?

And thank you to everyone for the replies. The more I mess with it and the more I read about them, the more excited I am about getting the gun going.

 

[MistWolf]

Most commonwealth (inch) pattern rifles did not use a mag activated BHO. I believe the BHO can be modded to lock open on the last shot.

Filing on the latch is a bad thing. You'll have to check with the gurus on the Files as to how that problem is supposed to be fixed

 

[forindooruseonly]

Filing on the latch is a bad thing. You'll have to check with the gurus on the Files as to how that problem is supposed to be fixed

That's what they suggested to another fella with the same problem as this one here:

http://www.falfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=370439

I didn't bubba it with a grinder or anything, I used machinist files and a jig to keep it square. It now locks snugly, with the lever fully closed. I took just enough off to get to that point, there is no slack in there.

 

[gunnutery]

forindooruseonly, wow, great catch. I've always wanted an FAL, but my timing was never good, monetarily speaking. You seem to have excellent timing . Have fun on your new project.

 

[vaupet]

My original, Enfield build, L1A1 doesn't have a bolt catch on the last round either.
I can confirm the SUIT phrase: I just had one installed and it looks cool but it shoots even better (4 touching rounds out of 5 at 50 metres)

 

[amd6547]

Can't wait for the range report on this one.

 

[Fishbed77]

Can't wait for the range report on this one.

Same here.

 

[benzy2]

Personally, if she works, and everything checks out in the detailed strip, I'd leave it "worn" and have a shooter. If the surface is pitted rather than just light rust, even a recoat is going to show the previous wear. Might as well embrace it and enjoy it. Maybe something cheap as a coating but I wouldn't spend good money on looks for a "field grade" rifle. That is a cool rifle and one I'd hold on to personally.

 

[Rusty Luck]

Nice pick up! Give us some pics of it cleaned up and a range report.

 

[GBExpat]

forindooruseonly, is the receiver cover of the Inch-style (tabs protruding both sides bottom-rear)?

Weird, I posted a like interrogatory early this morning before I left the house ... and it disappeared ... ... perhaps too early for me to be reliably crafting & submitting posts ...

 

[forindooruseonly]

GBExpat, yes, the receiver cover has the tabs protruding on the bottom at the rear of the cover.

So, like any kid with a new toy, I ignored my household chores this morning and went to the range. The gun cleaned up pretty well. Still a lot of pitting from the rust, but it doesn't bother me, or at least not much anyway.





I brought with me 60 rounds of Lake City surplus and picked up a couple of boxes of cheap, ZQ1 Turkish stuff at Walmart. I wanted to set a baseline for functioning with the LC ammo, and then try something cheap. I understand to stay away from steel case ammo with FALs, so the ZQ1 is about as cheap as I can find in brass cased ammunition.

How did it do? Well, it's a mixed bag. I have two magazines, one metric and one inch, so most of my problems are found in magazine issues. The inch magazine worked great, both with the LC surplus and the Turkish ammo. Didn't hiccup once using that particular mag, through the 80 rounds I put through it.

The metric magazine will not work at all. Strange malfunctions like - bolt hung towards the back, pushing on the next cartridge in the magazine, with the empty casing sitting on top of the magazine. Never ejected, just laying there in the port. Or, fire a shot, then try to fire again and the empty case from the previous shot is back in the chamber.

I played a little with the gas system. It was fully closed, set to zero, when I got it. It was clearly over-gassed, flinging brass way the heck out and denting the case neck something awful. I ended up turning it down several positions so it wasn't beating the gun, and my brass, senseless. Messing with the gas didn't help the other magazine function at all. I've got it adjusted now, so that's another checkmark off the list.

So, the big question is accuracy. Honestly, my eyes aren't good enough to shoot from 100 yards using iron sights. Its just not going to happen. Unfortunately, my range (which I have pictures posted of somewhere on here) doesn't really have a good in between station. It's either the nice shooting table at 100 yards or the pistol table at about 35. I could have moved the table, but it's heavy and I wasn't feeling that. Rather, I just shot off-hand at about 50 yards, which is from the back of the pistol range.



I'm no rifleman, so I wasn't unhappy with the target. If I had a sling, or shot from a rest, I'd imagine it would be a minute-of-paper-plate all day long. I will have to be more precise next time, actually bag the gun and see what it will do. As it is, I anticipated a couple of shots, though a couple felt good, so I'm not surprised with the lateral spread. Sorry I don't have anything better than an off-hand target to show you guys.

Conclusion - I like it. I need to sort the magazine issue, probably will just be sure to buy inch pattern magazines. It needs a detailed cleaning, just cause there are still places with grime and trash in them. I don't think I'll refinish it - as benzy mention, cosmetics aren't really an issue. I'll just do something to inhibit any further rusting.

However, the plastic foregrips and stock have got to go. I don't like the feel of them, nor the looks, so I'm going to hunt down some wood furniture for it. I need to look and see what's out there.

 

[M1key]

Thanks

M