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Posted: 4/26/2011 5:05:36 AM EDT
| I am going to drive two hours one way to look at a used Century FAL this afternoon. I am familiar with AR,AK,and M1A but not the FAL. I also know of Century reputation for quality is not good. This rifle was bought "new" at a gunshow six years ago. No mags come with the rifle. What issues should I look for and how can I tell if it is metric or inch pattern? Where can I get a mag? I like my M1A but just want try something different. |
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Do you know what markings are on the receiver and what parts were used to make it? I would be leery if it's buiilt on a Century made receiver. Their own receivers have had problems with feeding if it has a "unibrow" feed ramp. The unibrow has single feed ramp. FAL's have dual feed ramps. Century FAL's built on Hesse receivers are known to have tight magazine wells and some magazines won't fit.
Century has also used Imbel reciever's, most people will tell you that is the best Century and some Century's are marked "Made in CANADA". I have a Century R1A1 sporter built on a Hesse receiver and STG parts kit. I had to polish the feed ramps and open up the magazine well. The STG barrel with this rifle looks new and it now functions perfectly and it's very accurate for a FAL. My brother has an older Century L1A1 Sporter marked made in CANADA and built on an L1A1 kit but set up for metric magazines. It has always functioned perfectly. In my area I've seen Century's selling for between $500-950. At 500 they're gone in minutes over about 750 they sit for a while. |
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Well you're going to want to test fire and make sure it runs and feeds from the magazine up the ramps.
Also check to make sure the barrel is actually tightened on the reciever and not just hand tight. (It happens with century guns) I doubt from that time frame that it's an Imbel or Argentine reciever which would be a good thing. Inch will have a wide rectangle cut in the receiver frame for the tab on the front of the magazine to fit into. A metric cut will have a smaller notch for a punch tab from the metric magazine to fit. The metric will look like a portion of a cyclinder cut on a diagonal angle. Basically an end mill cutter plunged in at an angle. |
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Back during the AWB, I had a Century L1A1 Sporter with the thumbhole stock. I never had a problem with it.
I traded it years ago and decided to pick up another FAL. I found a Century R1A1 Sporter and took a chance with it. Again, it's been flawless. It's an inch pattern with the Century brand receiver. For the money, I'm happy with it. |
| I have a century built on a non-gear imbel receiver. It's a great rifle and it will put cheap wolf ammo into one hole at 25 yards, which would extrapolate to a rough 1.5 MOA accuracy for 4 shot groups. I've never been able to stretch it but it is very consistent as a "clover leaf" gun T 25 yards. |
| I had a century "franken-fal' and it had 2 problems; the gas system leaked and the triggrt spring was shot...but after I fixed both of those minor problems it worked great! And still does after 15 years. It has the Hesse reciever and I have had no other problems. |
I shoot rifle left handed. I have shot the M1 Garand and I do not think it is left hand friendly. I have a left handed friend who loves his Garand. I want to shoot this FAL to see if I like the feel of the platform. Will try to play with the gas block when I get off work. Learning about a new firearm is better than being a kid at Christmas. Thank you for your information, will post how the first session goes. Wolfman 
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| Only had about an hour to set up and shoot before it got dark. Put about 40 rounds through it. Only one malfunction that wasn't my fault. My light target loads would not cycle the action even with the gas full on. My "nato spec" load only had one fail to feed. Can't wait to try out the Portuguese surplus ammo when it gets here. |
| Yesterday I tried to shoot up the last 15 rounds of the "nato spec" ammo. Day before yesterday I only put a couple rounds in the mag at a time, this time I put all 15 rounds in the mag. I had 5 fail to feeds in the first 9 rounds and then the last 6 fed and fired without issue. So I was thinking maybe I have a mag spring issue. Today I disassembled the rifle for the first time to give it a good clean and lube and to familiarize myself with how things operate. I was spinning the gas tube around wondering if it was supposed to be that loose when it unthreaded from the gas block. That got my attention. There was no roll pin to hold it in place and keep it indexed with the gas port. Luckily the local gunsmith had a roll pin that fit, all I had to do was shorten it clear the gas adjustment sleeve. I am ready to hit the range again just don't know when. The gunsmith told me that G3 mags might work in my rifle, anyone out there tried this? Thanks for all the help. Wolfman |
| Thanks for the links, I only had to back the tube out about 1/8 of a turn to get the pin lined up. I have tried the Korean mags in my Glock and M1A and was not impressed. Where do get parts for these things? I would like to get some spare springs, pins, another gas tube, spare firing pin, bolt catch,ect. Thanks again for the info. |
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