Century FAL's -- pros and cons

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Just depends on the gun. I recently got one with the new US barrel, after stripping it, cleaning it, and then lubing it up I've run 140rds through it without a hiccup besides one jam that I attribute to the magazine. OTOH my FFL dealer had gotten one in earlier that was so bad he sent it back before I even got to hold it:confused: . Good luck finding one though, it seems they've dried up and I don't believe Century is making any more. My FAL is pretty accurate too, definetly battlerifle accurate anyways, and so much easier to clean than my PTR 91.
 
Thanks

I found one for $650. I really want an MBR in .308, and thought this may be too good to be true. it also has a weaver rail and a scope on it. It's priced to sell, and I wonder if it's crap or if he really needs some cash.

I want one sooo bad.

HG
 
$650 seems high to me, at least for a Century rifle. I picked one up last year that i'm quite proud of, myself. It shoots excellent groups at 100 yards, cleaned up real nice, and has been 100% reliable. It set me back a wopping $400.
 
If the scope and mount on it are halfway decent and the gun functions then I'd say $650 ain't bad. FAL's ain't getting any cheaper, even Century's. If you really want it then by all means shoot it first. Put at least two mags through it and check it's accuracy and reliability. Make sure you the gas regulator is set to full power when first shooting. I believe 1 is highest, 7 is least pressure, depending on ammo it should run in between these numbers. With the bolt open check the chamber for the two feed ramps. Some Century FAL's had a "unibrow" ramp, just one cut, and had feeding problems and I've read reports of this also not allowing full support of the chamber. As a previous poster posted, for real FAL experts go to www.falfiles.com .:)
 
I bought one a couple of years ago built on an Imbel receiver and it was a great gun for the money. I have also heard of other century guns that where very bad.
 
I bought a Century FAL over a year ago, and it has been a decent performer. Mine has been reliable with both inch and metric magazines. My only complaint was that there was no bold hold open device. I was able to improvise one and have been very satisfied with it since.

I have read on the internet where the Century FAL rifles are crap, but so far that has not been my experience.
 
The early Century Fal's had a problem with the barrel being under or over timed. The front sight would be canted off left or right, and could only be corrected by re-timing the barrel to 12:00. They had the same problem with the CETME's. I had a Century L1A1, and it was flawless, EXCEPT, the pin used to hold the fake muzzle brake started protruding into the barrel after about 200 rounds. The fix was to cut and crown the barrel to 18". The pic is of my son using it in a 3 gun match. Otherwise, the rifle was very nice. Traded it for an M1D less scope. I think I ended up with a better rifle (I still have my L1A1 kit build on an Entreprise type 3 reciever).
 

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Based on my experience with my Century R1A1 FAL, I'd go through the Fal Files with a fine toother comb and learn what to look for BEFORE buying one.

My R1A1 runs now, but I had to send it back to Century. When I got it, the hole in the receiver though which the gas piston passes was drilled off center. This cuased the piston to bind instead of dropping through freely. To their credit, without giving me any grief about it, Century accepted the rifle back for servicing and reamed out the hole so that the gun now functions fine. I only have about 50 or 75 rounds of SA Ball through it, but it had zero malfs. One of these days I'm going to put a low-powered scope on it.

IMO $650 is at least $100 too much for a Century FAL.
 
Halfgone,

Both are chambered in 7.62 nato, but with proper headspacing should fire .308 just fine. Inch vs. metric comes from what country the original rifle was built for. Some rifles were build using inch measurments, others using metric. This results in a tiny difference in specs, threading will be different and parts are not 100% interchangeable.
 
I had a Centurion STG58 on Imbel...It worked good after I got a bunch of new parts. I paid $450

The Century plastic handguard gets the crapiest ever made vote from me. Same with the 2 piece gas piston, and the buttstock that requires the recoil tube to be bent.
 
I'm sure that there are good Century FALs out there.

My best friend from my hometown owns one. Crap fit and finish. Crap butstock. Lelector lever keeps falling out. Will not cycle reliably. Jams at least once a mag.

Other than that, a pretty good rifle.

My DSA STG-58A has been flawless.
 
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