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Posted: 9/1/2002 4:13:43 PM EDT
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Hey, I was wondering what the quality of these guns are? Any good? Run like hell? Here's a link to an auction gun I saw: www.gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=5142349 I owned one briefly back in the day, but promptly returned it after the rear sight would not adjust itself. I picked it up for around $650 and think I'd be able to match that price now. Would you buy this, the CETME, an FAL or save up for something better like an AR10 or Springfield M1a? I'm only going to use it out to roughly 300 yards and I'll be putting shitty surplus ammo through it, but I would like to be able to get decent groups with good ammo. Tall order or can a polytech handle it? |
| If you're interested in the opinions of well known gun smiths who are considered experts in M-14's search the following www.fultonarmory.com www.smithenterprise.com There is a lot of misinformation about Chinese M-14 clones out there from people who have no first hand experience with them. BTW the only parts that won't interchange with U.S.G.I. is the gas cylinder lock and the front sight assembly (castle) nut |
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To date I have never checked headspace on one that WASN'T loose on a field reject gage. Never heard of one blowing up but I am not that brave either. There is a different fella out there doing the mod. Unlike Fulton he ONLY changes the bolt and leaves the rest of it alone. Much cheaper, too. My FAL is as accurate as I am, making ME the limiting factor. They will eat any junk you feed them; mine does. In .308 it is my first choice. MAgs at $5. ea rather than $45. has some effect too!! |
Considering I'm looking at all types of battle rifles, I would consider the FAL. BUT, I can't (won't) pay for the DSA's and that leaves the rest of the market to Frankenguns. Do you know of a reputable place that sells good FALs? What kind of accuracy can you get? I'm used to my heavy barrel guns getting 1/2MOA or less, so the gun seems to be my limiting factor! Offhand? Benched? Any other info would be appreciated! |
Well, you could always build one yourself. Failing that, check out the Marketplace section on the FAL Files. There are always decent rifles available in the $600-$800 range. None of the three FALs I have are DSA or major manufacturer built guns. They are all quality parts on different types of Imbel receivers. All run great, shoot accurately (combat accurate at the worst, sub-MOA from the best) and are a lot of fun. |
Thanks Dave, but the problem with the FAL is that there are just so many goddamn configs and types, that I'm left somewhat clueless. Do you have a suggestion on what combo leads to the most accurate rifle? |
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Generally, the rifles that you find in the $600-$800 range, sold used, from a good source, will be combat accurate. That is, they will be 2" groups at 100 yards. That includes the standard models of DSA rifles, despite the claims of MOA. Now that's with surplus ammo. Match grade ammo will tighten the groups up some, and I would think that's the only way to get MOA accuracy from any standard FAL. That being said, my Israeli Heavy Barrel FAL will shoot MOA with $140/k Portuguese surplus 7.62x51 and sub-MOA with match grade ammo (Black Hills 175 gr). Of course, even building that rifle myself, I'm into it for over $1000, and it's a bench queen, tipping the scales at over 15 lbs with scope and mount attached. Regardless of which rifle system you go with, getting a rifle with consistent MOA performance is going to put you over $1000. |
| Hey MickeyMouse, field reject for a USGI M14 is 1.6445, don't think a Polytech will lock on one of those if you could even find a guage that darn big. You must have tried a 1.638 which for a USGI M14 is just a wee bit smaller then NO GO for a brand new USGI M14. |
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David, thanks for the offer and info! If you have a pic of that Israeli barreled gun, please email it to me, I'd love to see it. Did you completely build the gun? Headspace it and all? I heard it was pretty difficult to get right, I guess you're pretty good! Anyway, any pics you could throw at me would be appreciated, I'm trying to work out which direction to go in. If you're around, you should try to make it to our next Long Island Shoot, its a blast and you'll go home WELL FED! [email protected] Thanks again, Greg |
| I believe Smith Enterprises offers extensive services with respect to Chinese M1-As.www.smithenterprise.com |
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I was going to try to make it to the last LI shoot buit I had a scheduling conflict. When's the next one? I had a friend barrel the upper. It's not all that difficult, but it takes a couple bucks worth of tools I didn't have. Israeli Heavy Barrel  Israeli Light Barrel  StG-58  |
Some damn nice rifles! The next shoot is tentatively going to be September 29th. It will probably be the best one yet, especially since it'll be cool enough to eat the food! Last time, the temp topped 99 degrees! Anyway, it looks like I need to do a lot more research into these guns. I expect a lot out of my rifles and tend to get pretty pissed when they don't shoot the way I want. All of my rifles currently shoot close to 1/2" or under except for a custom Mauser which I ASSUME to be a bad bedding job! Anyway, here's the link to the poll and pics of the last shoot. Thanks again for your help, I'll probably still be shopping when Sept 29 rolls around! www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=140120&w=searchPop |
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If I may be so bold as to give the benifit of my experience & wasted hard-earned money? I bought a L1A1 & Federal G3 parts gun. Both shot ok, 4-6" groups @ 100 yards. Sold the L1A1 as I got tired quick of readjusting the gas regulator every ammo brand change. Kept the G3 & it's spongy trigger & adquate groups. Then I bought my AR-10 & I suddenly saw the light! Accuracy & dependability & a good trigger in the same gun! Freakin' amazing! So had I joined what I had spent on the L1A1 & G3, I could've had the AR-10 a couple of years ago. While there's no doubt the FAL is a fun gun to play with, there's not a chance it'll be more accurate than the AR-10. And ONLY accurate rifles are interesting. >gg< My .o2 |
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