...I want one. I have a nice M-4gery, an M-1 Garand in beautiful shape, a nice BYF42 98k, a Springfield '03 and a few others...but nothing in 7.62mm. So here goes, please bear with me on my newbie questions. What would I expect to pay for a FAL in decent shape? Are there any pros/cons as far as metric and inch are concerned? Finally, please point out a website where I can buy one, preferably with pictures. Thanks so much in advance.

Let me add that I have no problem with putting a parts kit/receiver together. Thanks again.

Take $550, send it to Ohio Rapid Fire (me223 on this board) and wait for it to arrive at your dealer...  Enjoy!

Think DSA....hard to go wrong with DSA

Anothe vote for DSA.

Lifetime warranty, top of the line components used, and honestly the quality of most of the prebans.  

I currently own both a pre-ban Springfield Armory SAR-48 Paratrooper FAL and a DSA StG-58A FAL and the DSA might even be a smidgen better in final fit.

Whoa! an FAL for 550? id like some more info. Thats a much better price than DSA. Plus it would be nice to know the smith that put the rifle together.

Looking at their site right now....nice looking stuff.

dsarms.com

Very happy with mine

I have a Krinkov built by Me223 at Ohio Rapid Fire.  Screw DSA, their prices are so far out of whack that they need their own orbit.  For the price of a DSA you can have an ORF FAL AND an ORF AK74.  Both come with a 1 year warranty and the guy can be found here on this board all the time.  You will have a relationship with the builder, not just another invoice number.

one more vote for ORF.


Todd, his product line, his service (two-week turnaround time for a custom order !!),and his prices are refreshingly outstanding !

Here's a $599 Fal www.entreprise.com/ End of summer sale. Some hate them, alot don't. Check out the FAL files for more info www.falfiles.com/forums/index.php?s=

If it were up to me, your money would be spent at DSA. That being said, this may help answer your question. First run away quickly from anything built by Century or Hesse. The low prices will tempt you and some guys will sing the praises of their Century FAL but in my humble opinion, they are shovels at best. Ohio Rapid Fire does seem to be a decent outfit. I have never bought anything from them but they seem to be providing a good service, this comes soley from viewing their website and the positive critiques by others. Stick with a rifle built at minimum on an Imbel or Dan Coonan upper receiver. Make sure it has it's 7 compliance parts and as long as you have the Imbel or Coonan receiver everything else that may be wrong if anything at all can be fixed. DSA is expensive, very, very expensive but last week at the range I was drifting Portugese surplus into 1.5" groups at 100 yards with a 16 mph cross wind through iron sights. DSA all the way.

Thanks for all the responses guys. I had heard bad things about Hesse from my dealings with AR-15s, so I'll stay away from them. I think I'll go with the outfit in Ohio.

How about the whole inch/metric thing? Do mags interchange?

Also, I like the British SLR furniture, particularly the front handguard. Will this fit on a standard $499 rifle from Ohio Rapid Fire?

Thanks again.

Stay metric, way more metric then inch parts out there. Magazines between inch and metric guns are not interchangable. If you like wood furniture which I advise against DSA has a set for $140 that is really nice but expect to fit them.

DSA for me!

Metric without a doubt because of it being much much more available.  


What receiver does Ohio Rapid Fire use?

Quoted: Stay metric, way more metric then inch parts out there. Magazines between inch and metric guns are not interchangable. If you like wood furniture which I advise against DSA has a set for $140 that is really nice but expect to fit them.

Metric mags will fit in an inch receiver. There will be a little more play, but they should function fine. (Much to the Argentinians chagrin, during the Falklands campaign.) Inch mags will NOT fit in a metric receiver.

Wood furniture is heavier...it soaks up heat OK, but it has this awkward tendency to catch fire when hot. Seriously...wood furniture is fantastic for a dress rifle, but for shooting, go for the plastic/synthetic stuff. I would love to have wood on my L1A1, but it'd be heavier, and given how much I shoot it (300 rounds in less than an hour is not unreasonable)...it'd probably char. As it is, it gets too hot to handle with naked hands after 80 rounds, with 2 minutes between magazines.

Does Ohio Rapid Fire just do barreling and headspacing? DSA is "a little too busy right now."

IM Me223 about gunsmithing services, I would say yes, they do barreling and headpacing.

Outstanding. Thanks.

Quoted: Here's a $599 Fal www.entreprise.com/ End of summer sale. Some hate them, alot don't. Check out the FAL files for more info www.falfiles.com/forums/index.php?s=

Hell, for a bit more than that, I'll sell the Entrprise rifle that I paid $1400 for. That should indicate something about my feelings for Entreprise Arms.

I have a pre-ban Entreprise with a Brit L1A1 built on it...inch, of course.

Now that I got it working (gas pin kept walking out), I wouldn't surrender it for the galaxy. Stick it on 4, and it regurgutates all the ammo I feed it with no issues. 1.5-2" groups off of a sandbag at 100 yards with a SUIT isn't a horrible problem...just gotta make sure I don't drink too much the previous night

I guess I got a good one *shrug*

Derek at Azex Arms builds some top notch FAL's...  I'd give him a look.  Not the cheapest out there, but definately one of the best.

I'll weigh in as  a vote for DSA.

There is no question that many a fine rifle can be found for less than a cost of a DSA SA58 or even STG58. On the other hand, the parts compliance and overall soundness of such rifles is questionable. In other words, you may get a fabulous rifle, you may get a junk rifle, or maybe just a rifle that is felonious to possess...certainly going with a rifle built by one of the established smiths is preferable to buying a mutt from just anyone.

Similarly, if you are so inclined, you could probably build your own decent rifle for far less than a DSA.....

That having been said, I believe in Murphy's law...if it can go wrong, it will...I'm not suggesting that DSA is impervious to "issues" but I am suggesting that it's a hell of a lot easier to deal with an established company who built my rifle from the ground up rather than someone who merely assembles my parts, or merely sold parts I had assembled...such an approach leaves you open to passing of the buck, pointing of fingers, etc. If my rifle has screwed up, I know who's fault it is....DSA's.

That having been said, my rifle functions flawlessly and looks terrific (as it should for such a steep price tag). Personally, the peace of mind and the quality rifle I got when dealing with DSA was worth every penny. My experience both with the DSA product and the customer service has been top notch.

EDITED TO ADD: I will note that I was told to expect a wait of at least 6-12 weeks in taking delivery of my DSA but it was delivered, including custom barrel cutting and brake repinning and the addition of carbon fiber handguards within about 2 weeks.

I like my DSA SA58 carbine very much.  With that said, I bought it a couple of years ago at dealer cost.  I have no experience with the me223 guy, but a $550 FAL makes me a little nervous.  They may very well be good guns, and I have no experience with them.
I am nothing but happy with my DSA and their customer service.  When I ordered mine they were supposedly back ordered all over the place, and I lucked out and they had exactly what I wanted in stock.  Also check out their website, as they have versions for just about whatever you could want an FAL for.
www.dsarms.com
I may well have overpaid, even at dealer cost, but I am happy with it.

Why should a low price be a concern.  They have an outstanding reputation for quality and customer service, and they are warrantied.  I bought a rifle from them and it was nothing but 100% pleasant and reassuring.  They take the time to answer any question, they produce great products, and their prices on rifles and gunsmithing are amazing.  Maybe you feel the need to spend twice the money for a DSA... but I don't think you are getting twice the gun.

Quoted: Why should a low price be a concern.  They have an outstanding reputation for quality and customer service, and they are warrantied.  I bought a rifle from them and it was nothing but 100% pleasant and reassuring.  They take the time to answer any question, they produce great products, and their prices on rifles and gunsmithing are amazing.  Maybe you feel the need to spend twice the money for a DSA... but I don't think you are getting twice the gun.

Like I said, I don't know much about them.  At the end of the day though, for $550 it's going to be a parts gun, right?
For me, the price (and I didn't pay anywhere near $1100) was well worth it not to have a parts gun, I don't care if it was put together by jesus himself.

It seems that there are lots of people who have homebuilt or smithbuilt kit guns that are excellent and most of these can be put together for less than a DSA SA58 and are arguably just as good. On the other hand, if you're like me, the extra bucks are worth peace of mind. Not only that but I like the totally US built guns so I don't have to worry about silly stuff like what country my magazine floorplate was manufactured in, etc. Lastly, as an Illinois resident I'm supporting local business.

i'm thinking of going with the ohio rapid fire
rifle for 550. sounds like a good starter rifle.