FAL- worth it?

[Sharp669]

private sale- FAL with a belgian barrel, german receiver in .308 cal. Seller states its from century- listed for 800$. It sounds like it was reimported with a kit. Are the belgian barrels any good? is this worth it? Should I take it to a range and fire some shots or take it to a smith to make sure its decent?

another private listed for a FAL $1550 Imbel reciever, 18 inch bbl, "congo style" ( whatever that is). It was refinished by AXExperts. This seems high to me considering you could get a basic DSA FAL for about 1500-1600.

Are imbel receivers all forged? are the belgian ones?

What is a congo style FAL?

 

[The Wiry Irishman]

What is a congo style FAL?

There are a couple here.

Basically a full-length FAL with a folding stock. There's probably more knowledgable people that will come along and give you a better definition, though.

 

[Sharp669]

Thanks, TWI.

Has anyone taken a look at those DSA austrian FAL clones? How are they compared to the SA58? What do you gain from the higher priced SA58?

 

[Bwana John]

german receiver

Seller states its from century

Find out what kind of upper receiver, it aint "German".
The lower might have come from a G1, but it is the upper that is important to dertemine worth.

 

[Sharp669]

My mistake. I called the guy back. Its a belgian barrel with a century receiver and 9-20rd mags.

 

[Vaarok]

Decent price on the first, second seems high.

 

[Sharp669]

Are the Century recievers decent or crap? would I be better off getting a DSA Austrian STG for a few hundred more?

 

[goon]

IMO, you would be better off spending a few hundred more on a DSA STG-58. There is a guy on Fal Files who has one for sale for around $1K.
I think his name is M193.
I don't know him but I did contact him about his rifle about a month ago. I wound up buying from someone else.
Also, check with gumplumber. Sometimes he has a couple.
And send a PM to silverlance on here. When I was looking for a FAL I think he had one for sale.

 

[W.E.G.]

If you can take it to the range for 40 rounds test fire, and you still like it, that price is fine.

 

[Gator]

FAL $1550 Imbel reciever, 18 inch bbl, "congo style"

That is really not bad. A DSA "Congo" is $2100. I'd take that one over a Century at any price!

 

[Darthbauer]

Ive shot one and wasnt a fan so I would have to say no. Im not saying its cap on toast, just not my cup of tea is all. It was heavy and just akward to shoot. That might be because the one I was shooting had a granade launcher on it.

 

[Slvr Surfr]

If you go DSA you won't be disappointed! The STG series is an excellent bang for buck. My Austrian Stg kit must have been a carried little, stored a lot kind of kit. The barrel on my rifle was like new.

 

[Sharp669]

Thanks everyone for the assistance! I think I am going to pass on both of those. The century might be good but I think you often get what you pay for and they have a spotty history. The DSA STG is a few hundred over a grand and probably a better rifle than the IMBEL rebuild for 1550. If I were to spend that much, I would just get a new DSA.

just out of curiousity, Are Imbel receivers forged?

I called DSA- The STG gets a new barrel and receiver from DSA with some austrian parts so thats a good deal. The new DSA SA58 does carry a lifetime warranty with all new parts, is my understanding, which would explain the price differential.

 

[Gator]

Are Imbel receivers forged?

Yes

 

[Daryl Licht]

May not be very High Road of me to say this, but feel compelled to.

Eight bills is a lot of money for something from Century, their rep for builds has not historically been the best. The STG from DSA, or maybe the Entreprise at around 1k would be far more likely to pry money from my pocket.

Maybe CAI has shaped up over the past couple of years? If they have, please set me straight. My experience with one of their CETME builds has been unsatisfactory.

The Imbel receiver is good, my FAL was built with an Imbel type 3 and a G1 kit.