I would like to ask you guys opinion of these sub-$400 rifles. I want a descent .308 without paying for a M1A or an HK. I know these are kit guns by Century Arms. Are they worth the money or should I avoid them?
I've talked to people who say they are great guns and are accurate as hell. I've also heard they are the worst thing on the market and don't waste your money. What is your take on these if your have experience with them.... Thanks....

A buddy of mine bought an L1A1 from SOG a couple of years ago. It's a metric Imbel on a British inch kit. It functions reliably. It has reasonable accuracy (3-4 MOA with good ammo). The finish is spotty. The replacement stock set sucks ass (cheap, flimsy plastic with no rear sling swivel). The rear sight is awful. It does hold zero and it shoots. It won't win any matches or beauty contests. It's the SAR of the FNFAL world. Cheap, reliable, utilitarian. If your on a budget and need a 7.62mm battle rifle I give it the thumbs up. I'd take one over an SAR any day but only because it fires a full power round.

I had one. It was ok but every time I changed ammo lots I had to readjust the gas nut, a real PITA.

It was a shooter, nothing better.

Bob, at least the FAL has a gas adjust.  If you'd switched lots like that with a CETME you might have written "it only functioned reliably with certain lots of ammunition"...

I think they are a good buy for the money.  You'll spend another hundred dollars or so really making the gun right, but you are still well underneath the next step in FALs, which is the M444 metric (which needs some of the same parts replaced to run right!)

You'll want a new fire control group, maybe some new springs, a US made gas piston, and probably a different profile stock.  After that it'll run just as well as guns costing $500 more.

You might want to consider checking the EE here and the Marketplace onm the FALFiles for a used one that someone has already upgraded, for just a little more than paying the $400 for an untested one. I picked up a Century receivered L1A1 that had been completely upgraded internally, plus had a beautiful set of walnut US made L1A1 furniture added, with 10 magazines, and two extra sets of furniture (US made plastic and original Aussie L1A1) for less than $600 including shipping and my transfer costs.

I sold mine to help finance the 2003 SEBR.
It was a good rifle that I'd played and had a lot of fun with.
IMBEL/Inch unit.  From Century.

go to ohiorapidfire.com.

$499 for an Imbel-receivered FAL.

Turnaround-time for MY custom order= two weeks= one happy camper !!

Oooh now THERE's a thought.  Everything I've seen from Ohio Rapid Fire has been top notch.  That's a hell of a deal on what's sure to be a fine FAL.

The prices on ORF's website I believe are outdated.  Their webmaster is forward deployed and they do not know how to change the site.  Expect price to be around $50 higher.  On a positive note, they are building using penguin furniture instead of century, so it is worth the extra scratch.