Are we really prepared to open the can-o-worms of stating barrel timing is a con? After all, the 'greatest battle implement ever blah-blah-blah' is critically dependent on barrel orientation during installation
"I haven't seen any advertised for a long time. I still have 2 unused receivers in my kit."
That's why the FAL receivers are expensive; there aren't many anymore, and the 80% are pretty darn hard to make right for most people (
that's where the barrel timing really comes into play as an issue). There's a reason parts kits for such a solid weapon are like 300$, new old stock condition
I have to imagine the costs of billet-machining new receivers, and the specialized labor involved in installing the barrels are practically the sole drivers for the FAL's consistently high price over the years. G3's have equally difficult parts (those forged trunnions aren't a garage-job to produce, nor chamber flutes), but drunk monkeys can slam them together with a hammer & angle grinder, and
usually produce something that works.
I've often wondered why a company producing FAL clones can't simply rework the design to be a press & pin affair, seeing as they are likely producing both barrels and receivers in the first place. It'd be more in line with producing a VZ58 at that point, which as we know are quite a bit more affordable as far as receivers. You wouldn't have to play around with locking shoulders as much, either, since you could adjust the barrel to fit whatever was in the gun to start with.
TCB
