The FAL (again)

[Guest Keinengel]

Ok, so this time I actually went ahead and got one. Its a Century Arms R1A1 with a "16 bbl, railed receiver cover and an AK style Muzzle Brake. It is an Inch receiver not a metric. I plan on shooting this beast over the weekend.

Anything I should know about this particular brand/model? I've heard that the quality is sort of hit or miss.

[peejman]

All you could ever want to know is here.... The FAL Files Forums

In a nutshell... yes, quality on those can be hit or miss. It's a battle rifle, not a tack driver. Is it a "new" Century built gun or a kit someone else built? My Imbel kit is (finally) nearing completion.

[Fourtyfive]

I have a DSA SA58 , love it.

[Magiccarpetrides]

The Centurys are actually pretty good rifles. Just make sure you fully understand the different gas setting and you should be good to go. I have had a few FAL's and they are a very robust weapon.

[1gewehr]

"Century Arms R1A1 with a "16 bbl, railed receiver cover and an AK style Muzzle Brake. It is an Inch receiver"

Some of the railed receiver covers are a bit flimsy. If you don't put too much weight on it, it won't be an issue (don't put a monster scope on it).

The Century 16" barrel rifles can be a bit finicky. Some do not have a the correct gas port size for the shorter barrel. That may require you to have the gas set to an extreme setting.

The inch receiver means that you can use either metric or inch magazines. All other parts are interchangeable. The inch magazines won't work in the metric receivers as the inch mags have a larger front lug.

I'm not sure what you mean by an "AK style Muzzle Brake". If it's an AK-74 muzzle brake, it's going to be a LOUD beast and will raise the dust from the prone position. The AK-74 brake also creates a pretty large fireball. If you want a flash-suppressor and less blast, look into the standard FAL 'combo device' (flash suppressor, grenade launcher, bayonet mount).

As said above, visit the FALFiles. Pretty much anything you could want to know is available there.

[Guest Keinengel]

I've browsed the FAL files as recommended and it has definatly answered a lot of questions of mine. @1gewehr, thanks for the heads up on the railed receiver. As it happens theres nothing but a cheapo tasco R/G dot on it. It is indeed an AK74 style brake. I guess I shouldn't shoot this at an indoor range then.

Thanks for all the info guys!

[peejman]

Flimsy railed receiver covers seem quite problematic. They have to be quite tight to hold zero, but they bind up the bolt/carrier when too tight. Check to make sure the iron sights are reasonably close to zero before using the red dot. Irons that are way off can be indicative of other problems.

[Tncobra]

R1A1 are tons better than the mix matched ones century used to sell that could be half metric or inch.