Cabelas had a 15% off of used guns so I found this R1A1 marked $499 so that made it $425 OTD. 











..but it has an issue



Cabelas has a 10 day warranty on their used guns, if something is mechanically wrong with it they'll pay to fix it. I don't have an inch mag to try it out with but I have one on the way.

Do you guys think that the gun is safe to shoot as it sits? 
Does anyone have any experience with the Cabelas warranty?
I wonder if they can't fix it if they'll replace it with another FAL or just give me a refund?
Or should I just make this into an awesome wall hanger?

assuming the receiver has good geometry, I'd say if it doesn't work, it could be made to work. 1st thing I'd check is head space. Looks like it could be a fun beater.


ETA: Barrel may need replacing though, that look likes a huge probability for a case head rupture.

sre you sure that takes inch mags? looks like a mis mash of parts, the barrel looks to be South African. i would at least check the head space before i shot it.

Good find! My first FAL was a CAI mixmaster R1A1. It took a bit of work to get it running reliably, but it is now 100%. Caveat: just because Century's nomenclature sounds like it's an Inch pattern rifle and it has Inch features, do not assume that it takes Inch mags: some of their R1A1s (including mine) were cut for metric mags. Since metric mags are more readily available, this is a bonus.

I would have no worries about shooting it, assuming headspace is correct.
On that note, bear in mind that SAAMI headspace specs for 7.62 NATO are more generous than the specs for .308 Win:

7.62 NATO "go" is 1.6355
.308 Win "go" is 1.630

7.62 NATO "no go" is 1.6385
.308 Win "no-go" is 1.634 (slightly shorter than 7.62 NATO "go")

7.62 NATO "field" is 1.645
.308 Win "field" is 1.638 (slightly shorter than 7.62 NATO "no-go")

From this, you can easily see that it is entirely possible for a rifle chambered for 7.62 NATO to be within specs, but fail a headspace check done with .308 Win gauges. You can also see that you can check headspace on a 7.62 NATO chambered rifle using the far more common and cheaper .308 Win gauges, by simply ignoring the words "go", "no-go", and "field", and going with the dimensions.

I have almost that much money in the last parts kit I bought.

It's amazing what ugly work can get done with a Dremel.  I'd test fire it with the gas off and measure the case head growth.  This might be a rifle you have to throw away the brass after first firing.

All the grinding was probably done attempting to get it to function so it may not function.

I tried it with a metric mag last night and it locked in place but it was loose and the dummy round that I had was nowhere close to feeding so I've got an inch mag on the way so I'll try it with that before going to the range.

I tried it again and it's working now so this gun might actually feed!

I've ways been struck by guns that don't come with a mag.  How does that happen?  Cheapskate sellers?  Selling the gun because they lost the mag? Mags was disposable once they ran out of ammo?

Good question, the guy from Cabelas said that the same guy sold them this FAL, a Cetme and a Century G3 clone (had diopeter sights) and none of them came with a mag, we both thought it was weird.

Cabelas won't give you any more for a gun with 10 mags than they will for a gun with 0 mags.

They will also bottom dollar you, so saving the mags and selling them separate helps off-set the ass-raping you are going to take if you sell to them.

Also, if he had other guns that take those mags, why would he part with any of them....again...they won't give you any more $ for 1 mag than they will a gun with none.

I sold an almost new Glock recently and only included one mag. The buyer and I had an understanding, because we both own other Glocks. I could have sold it with no mags for all he cared.

Good score on the FAL. The parts should be worth at least that! If it runs off the rack even better but you surely will not loose any money on that one!
Careful with the Smith 9mm. We had a couple at our range that would fall apart during drills.

Those look like the A-Zoom dummies. None of mine feed well in any semiauto, especially the .308 versions. It seems the "bullet" is too short and nearly always gets jammed up at the chamber mouth. They don't even feed very well in bolt actions.

All you really need to do to determine correct magazine type is look at the front of the mag well where the "beak" of the mag hooks in. If it's a full-width slot as seen on the left in the photo, you want Inch mags. If a small crescent as seen on the right, it's a metric mag gun.

The tips of bullets hit the bottom outside of the chamber on some Century guns. Most have been fixed easily by enlarging\ sloping the bottom edge of the chamber. Yours looks extreme but also looks likely to work fine.

I went to the range yesterday for a very quick function check and it WORKS! I fired 10rds and no issues whatsoever, granted I didn't set up a target but the gun functions so I'll sight it in next week.

Nice score, the Cabelas in League City?

Yup!

Guess I need to stop in more often...

Well I was wrong. Just be keep an eye on. The spent casings. The one I bought years ago that was profiled like that had a minor case head separation. No damage to anything,  just had to out the mag back together. 

You going to keep it as is or dress it up?

I just ordered a pebble stock and grip for it, we'll see after that. I'd like to get the A2 off of it and put something more traditional on it.

The feed ramp looks interesting. Century built a bunch with a unibrow ramp, no scallop cuts and they had feeding issues. Looks like someone "fixed" yours. Try some no and no go gauges to be sure headspace is good. Easy fix with a new headspace pin. If it runs it was well worth the price.

either inherited and the caretaker of the estate couldn't find or threw out the mags.  or stolen.  If it was a private sale and seemed in the least bit sketchy, I would 100% assume stolen.

Funny, local Cabelas in Glendale AZ had some attractive prices of 2nd and 3rd gen autos after the 15% sale, but I determined I don't need any more truck guns.  I need more trucks.