What would be a decent gun show price for a CAI L1A1 and accessories?

Buying...$350-400, but don't waste your money. Selling...get rid of it for whatever you can and buy a better FAL...several on the EE board here.

Ikor, I'm still in school, so that 1000 dollar plus DSA fal will have to wait. The only choices I have are CAI. their L1A1,CETME, and G3 to be precise. I want a 308 MBR for $500 or less.

Get a kit from Tapco and build one your self!! You will get a better gun that way.

your other option is to tell these guys to shut up and buy the L1A1.  I have one, as does my roommate, and mine has never given me so much as a hiccup.. My roommates gas piston was out of spec and Century replaced it.  Both have thousands of rounds through ours...  Can't beat $400 for the rifle and $5 military contract mags.

Current runs of Cetmes are very hit and miss.  I got mine from the early production run, cast stainless receiver, excellent wood, great fit and finish...  But I prefer my beater L1A1.

i have a r1a1 800 plus rounds no trouble.handgaurds open up when hot.beside`s that great gun for $459.plus tax

OK...I know how much it sucks to be broke, and I realize that some guys have gotten lucky with the CAI FALs, but the other side of that coin is that when money is hard to come by, the last thing you need to do is to spend precious resources on a dice-roll, which is what the CAI guns basically are. What happens if the CAI gun you bring home turns out to be a giant turd?

If you can get a knowledgable FAL guy to go with you to a show, etc. where there are several of these guns, you may very possibly find one worth the money, and more power to you for getting a decent rifle at a good price. My suggestion would be to haunt the EE boards here and over at FALFiles. This is actually a good time of year to buy, and you may well find a better rifle built-up by someone knowledgable for your $400-500 cash.

Another possibility is the build-it-yourself-with-a-little-help route. Dan's Sporting Goods...http://www.falparts.com/...is honest and reputable and sells grade III kits for $129 that are excellent. FAC sells non-gear Imbel receivers for $189, and Tapco sells U.S. parts cheap. Put out a call for FAL builders in your general area...I'll bet there are several...and buddy-up to build your own rifle. In the process, you'll learn the rifle forwards and backwards, make some friends, and end up with a much better rifle IMO. True, this won't solve the "I wanna shoot it NOW" syndrone, but it is one answer to your problem.

Good Luck whatever you do, and HiramRanger is right-on about the CETMEs.

alrite, are there any websites besides here and FALfiles with large groups of people familiar with the rifle? I may need help looking at examples for sale, is there a checklist anywhere of things to look out for? I have a feeling my dad won't approve of me building my own until I m out of the house, both because of legal issues and the fear of a catastrophic failure of the weapon resulting in injury.(This came up when I asked him if I could build an AR)

I have a stg58 and an l1a1 and both were century builds. I have not had a problem out of either one and they have had 800 rounds or more thru them. Just clean them out really good when you get them.