I just got a Century FN FAL a few hours ago. I own AR's, but wanted a .308 to play with. I have seen and read about the Imbel, but went ahead for this one. Did I make a poor choice for my first FAL? I was limited on funds, and the shop I do business with had this one, and I just got it. I do not know much about the weapon, yet, but I think I will enjoy it.

Any comments about Century? Improvements before I get into it? What is the best way and cost to mount a rail for optics? Any web links for this rifle out there?

Thanks for any comment, good or bad.

I won't comment on your Century.

DS Arms has a heavy duty scope mount.  You might also check with them about rails.

Somebody tell me what is the deal with Century FALS! I feel like I may be sick after dropping several $$$ on something nobody will comment on.

Quoted: Somebody tell me what is the deal with Century FALS! I feel like I may be sick after dropping several $$$ on something nobody will comment on.

There have posts after posts after posts on the topic of cheap FAL's.

Many people agree(many is not all by any means) that the STG-58 from DS Arms with dealer cost of $800.00 plus shipping is about as low as one should go in the FAL arena.

Not to be picky but you have a FAL - not and FN FAL.
FN FAL's are pre-ban guns and start at about $1800.

You sure can tell I am new to these rifles.

Primative,

you might consider editing your posts title by changing it to something like "Opinions on Century FAL's."

I believe you'll get more feedback.

I have a century built stg with an imbel receiver that works great.  From what I have heard, it is either hit or miss with one.  The ones with the imbel receivers are more desirable than the ones with the hesse receivers due to the fact that most hesse stuff is junk.  If yours works, you got a great deal, if it doesn't well, it might need some work.

The one thing with the century built FAL's that causes people the most problems, is the gas piston.  It is a two piece piston and if it is not straight, it can cause problems with functioning.  Check to make sure it is straight by rolling it on a flat surface and see if it wobbles any.  If you do have a bad piston, you can get one piece pistons from Tapco or DSA that will work.

If it has an imbel receiver, then most likely their won't be any problems with barrel timing or headspace.  However, it does not hurt to check the headspace first, just to be sure.  If the gas block/front sight is not slanted and the piston doesn't bind entering the receiver, then you should be good to go.

One last thing, make sure when you first start to shoot it, that the gas adjustment ring is up against the front sight on the 1 setting.  If it functions fine on this setting, then turn it out until it fails to function to find its highest setting.  General rule of thumb is to turn it back one full number from its highest setting at which the rifle will function reliably.

I had one that worked great. No problems at all. Made on a Hesse receiver. If yours works, is fairly accurate, you like it, then you done ok.

Thanks for the info. My piston is good, and no slanting sight. My dealer said to set the gas ring at zero. if I had taken his advice, what would happen? Too much gas to the piston or not enough?

Try out your Century and see how it performs.  If you have any problems with it you can always send it to Derek at AZEX Arms, www.azexarms.com.  He offers a special on Century rebuilds.  If you need any other FAL info, check out www.falfiles.com

Setting the gas system on a FAL...

Take a look at the gas-port "dial", and you can see that, as it is turned, it progressively covers up a gas bleeed-off port. Basically, the more open this port is, the more gas is bled away fom the piston and thus the less energy goes into operating the action.

As I recall, the correct procedure for setting this dial is to open up the port all the way to position 7 (maximum bleed). Next, place ONE round into the mag, feed it into the chamber and fire. Does the action LOCK OPEN ? If not, turn the dial to reduce the bleed (i.e. down 1 click) and repeat until you can get the action to lock-back for 5 consecutive shots. Lastly, click the dial an additional 1 or 2 notches down to give yourself some room for error, and you are perfectly adjusted.

My SA58 carbine works great when set in this way. If it's a bit dirty (I'm lazy when it comes to cleaning rifles) I usually give it a little extra gas (1 further click down).

Hope this helps.

Blagga

I bought a Century built FAL, stg-58 part kit on an Imbel receiver.

I had acouple of problems with the gun.

1. The gas op-rod as mentioned above bent after a dozen rounds.  A replacement from Tapco resolved that issue.

2. After replacing the op-rod, I consistantly got malfuntions, with the spent case not ejecting completely. Tried every gas setting from all the way open to completely closed. Switched ammo. Nothing seemed to help until I finally broke down and drilled the gas port. After opening up the barrel gas port, the gun has cycled perfectly since, with a mid range gas setting.

3. I also added a enterprise zeroclimb break to complete the package.

Overall it is a great shooter now. Very reliable and athethics are improved. I think next on the list is to repark the gun so that the kit parts and the imbel reciever will match.

Good luck with the gun. You should have a solid base but with alittle elbowgrease you should easily be able to turn it into a fine shooter.

Amongst way too many ARs, AKs, and SKS, I have a Century R1A1 Sporter. Well, that's what they stamped on the Imbel receiver, but it is actually built out of a British L1A1 and the metric Imbel receiver. It works -great-. It's very accurate, has extremely light recoil (less than my 7.62x39 AKM types) and is 100% reliable.

With most ammo (Portugese, British) it works best on a gas setting of 3 or 4. I just wish it wasn't so damn long (the L1A1 is one of the longer barreled FAL variants), and I don't particularly groove on the grip angle. Despite that, if you told me I had to go fight in a conventional war tomorrow, it's the rifle I'd grab. Go out and shoot that rifle, and decide for yourself :)

I have built a few FAL type weapons and had a couple of century guns too.

The best Century FAL in my opinion were the early ones built on Imbels finished in Canada and almost new l1a1 part kits. I looked for one for ages and got one at a great deal. I then went on to replace a lot of parts on it to have it look like the X8 rifle.

Here are a few pics:


Made in Canada


Canadian top cover and New Aussie Green handle.

Bolt open and a view to the like new chromedlined chamber.



Ironwood stock and Aussie Buttplate.




Charging handle

And a bad light one of the whole thing without the Canadian topcover:

primative,

For heaven's sake check over on the FALfiles at www.fnfal.com  Lots of info and knowledgeable people over there.

As for your Century FAL, judge it by how it performs, not by who made it.

Good luck and enjoy it, FALs are as much fun as ARs!

I got over to FN FAL files. They are abig help, as 98% of my home board was. I will shoot it tomorrow to see what I have.

Thanks for all the replies.

i have a century built on a hesse. It function fine but was VERY ammo sensitive. after tuning the springa bit it runs on anything now. Century has a bad rep for poor assembly. I'd be hard pressed to buy anything from century if i was not sure what to look for. I spent several months fighting with mine but now she is a shooter. I guess i got lucky and only had to replace a few springs.

VERY IMPORTANT. if you have not already done so plan on replacing the century gas rod. They will bend or break.