New to Fals, currently an AR 15 owner.  I have a local gun shop with a
Century r1aq sporter marked "georgia" on the receiver for $599.00

The Fal Files have a mixed review with many for and a lot against these
rifles.

Any comments?  I would like to buy one but do not have the dollars for the
more expensive ones.

thanks,

I got incredibly lucky when I bought mine from a guy ( 3 mags Trilux and rifle) for $350, but that seems kinda high for a Century. I think $450-500 range is more reasonable, especially if it's one of the new ones without a threaded barrel. Mine is an Inch gun through and through, as opposed to a mixed bag. I saw one that was inch receiver, metric gas block, and who knows what other parts sold at my local gun show for $400 (also had threadless barrel). Mine has been reliable with a couple different kinds of ammo (thankfully), and so it is a little of a crap shoot.  

ETA: Great place for this post number, huh?

Quoted: Any comments?  I would like to buy one but do not have the dollars for the more expensive ones.

This is a bad place to cheap out. You may spend as much as you "saved" making your cheapy run correctly. Unless you're an expert or know one, don't go cheap.

I recently traded an AR Varmit upper for a CAI R1A1 Sporter on a Hesse receiver that everyone bitches about so much.  Original owner bought it from Century in 2000 an said that thru approx. 500 rounds he had 0 (that's zero) problems.  So far I've sent about 100 rounds down the tube and haven't experienced any problems myself.  Guess I got lucky.

If you look more closely, you will see that it read Georgia Vt. That would be Georgia Vermont.

That price is a bit high in the current market.

A few weeks ago I took a chance a purchased one. I've wanted an FAL for a long time and the price was hard to beat. So far I'm very impressed with the quality. I have approximately 200 rounds thru it with zero malfunctions. I know they have a bad rep, but at this point I would buy another one.

Was your price better than the one I was quoted?

thanks,

Jmark

I paid $575 I believe.

The recent CAI FAL's seem to work without problems. They are definately a parts "rifle" as CAI uses what they have in hand to build them. $599 is a fair price for a "new" one. Typically the bolt bolt hold open pin will be missing so you will have to plan on another $45 to a gunsmith to fix. Check the bore closely. You will need a DSA or ARMS cover if you want to mount a scope. You can go $1000 ish to DSA for a StG 58 if you want a higher quality rig.

Quoted: The recent CAI FAL's seem to work without problems. They are definately a parts "rifle" as CAI uses what they have in hand to build them. $599 is a fair price for a "new" one. Typically the bolt bolt hold open pin will be missing so you will have to plan on another $45 to a gunsmith to fix. Check the bore closely. You will need a DSA or ARMS cover if you want to mount a scope. You can go $1000 ish to DSA for a StG 58 if you want a higher quality rig.

Don't spend $45.00 to fix the bolt hold open. What you do instead is find a pin that fits tight in the hole that's located in the bolt hold open, hammer it in and then grind it down a little and that's it. The follower in the mag is what catches the pin to hold the bolt open and this should be very self explanatory if you look at it closely. There are some instructions floating around on this easy do-it-yourself job somewhere, maybe it's on Falfiles.

Here's a link from the Falifiles on fixing the bolt hold open:
www.falfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=132773&highlight=bolt+hold+open

I have one and I love it but wouldn't pay $599 for one. My advice would be to look for a good used one for $350-425 or if you want new, buy a new ORF model. Ohio Rapid Fire's basic model FAL starts at $599 as I recall and WILL work straight out of the box. FWIW, mine was $400 with an ARMS scope mount, under 200rds through it.  It had an easily fixed problem (gas plug was leaking) BUT it took time to diagnose and could have been more costly. Also be aware that Century R1A1's are often mutts, so be sure you know what you're getting. Mine is an Aussie Inch kit with an Inch cut reciever. A neighbor's is an Inch upper with a metric lower. Others that I've seen are all metric. Not necessarily a problem for a shooter but it can mean things need to be tweaked to play nice together and can make buying parts/accessories interesting.

HTH,
Mike

Quoted: Quoted: The recent CAI FAL's seem to work without problems. They are definately a parts "rifle" as CAI uses what they have in hand to build them. $599 is a fair price for a "new" one. Typically the bolt bolt hold open pin will be missing so you will have to plan on another $45 to a gunsmith to fix. Check the bore closely. You will need a DSA or ARMS cover if you want to mount a scope. You can go $1000 ish to DSA for a StG 58 if you want a higher quality rig. Don't spend $45.00 to fix the bolt hold open. What you do instead is find a pin that fits tight in the hole that's located in the bolt hold open, hammer it in and then grind it down a little and that's it. The follower in the mag is what catches the pin to hold the bolt open and this should be very self explanatory if you look at it closely. There are some instructions floating around on this easy do-it-yourself job somewhere, maybe it's on Falfiles. Here's a link from the Falifiles on fixing the bolt hold open: www.falfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=132773&highlight=bolt+hold+open

Or just order the part from TAPCO, and swap out....at least TAPCO used to have them, haven't seen a catalog in a while....