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FAL Rifle Advice?

milsurplus
One of the shops that I frequent and have been dealing with has 2 FAL's, a new Century FAL with israeli heavy barrel and wood furniture kit built by a gunshop and a new Springfield SAR 48 with israeli heavy barrel and wood furniture, the Springfield SAR 48 FAL I presume is the better FAL rifle?

Which FAL is metric and which is inch and doesn't one type take both magazines and one type takes only one; which type is recommended?

Also, how do I tell if the bolt was ground down to fit the locking shoulder signifying a bad build?

Thanks.
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • dcs shooters
    Both are most likley metric. Look at the front of the mag and see if it has a welded on lug-inch pattern, or stamped V shaped notch-metric.
    Some inch recievers will work with a metric mag for a while, until the stamped notch wears out.
    As to the better one of the two, it might be a toss up. If they feed OK, they are good.
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  • iwannausername
    The israeli will have been a kit build, a mix master.

    The SAR48 is a *real* FAL fully built on licensed equipment by a licensed manufacturer.

    Inch receivers can use metric mags but not vice versa. The Century is most likely metric cut - the SAR48 for sure is.
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  • mark christian
    Inch pattern magazine on the left and a metric on the right:
    [img][/img]FALL1A1mags.jpg

    The Springfield will be metric and the chances are about 99.9% that the Century Arms will also be metric. Hell, even the L1A1s sold by Century often used metric receivers (much to the surprise of the folks who bought them [:0]).
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  • ern98
    Buy the Springfield SAR48, it is a no brainer. The only ones that would be bette would be original Imbel or FN civilian/semiauto rifles. Kit built rifles are only as good as the smith who built them and really must be well tested before putting any money down.
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  • DRP-AZ
    Yep, the 48 is the better rifle.

    make sure it's not a 4800, which would've required US parts for 922r compliance.

    It's a common misconception that Inch OR Metric mags will work in an Inch pattern rifle. This is simply not the case.
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  • milsurplus
    Should an Australian made FAL L1A1 wooden grip fit on the SAR48 replacing the plastic grip?

    How are the A.R.M.S. #3 FN FAL Scope Mount Stands that replace the FAL dust covers, should it fit on the SAR48 as well?

    Thanks.
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  • iwannausername
    No, the L1A1 grip uses a "popsicle stick" coming off the lower receiver to attach the grip. The metric (plastic) one is more like an AR in that it has a bolt in it that goes up into the lower.

    The ARMS mount should work fine. There are a few other companies that make dust cover replacement mounts that are less than the ARMS, these slide on like the dust cover and then have a series of screws/bolts that have contact points to lock it to the upper.


    quote:Originally posted by milsurplus
    Should an Australian made FAL L1A1 wooden grip fit on the SAR48 replacing the plastic grip?

    How are the A.R.M.S. #3 FN FAL Scope Mount Stands that replace the FAL dust covers, should it fit on the SAR48 as well?

    Thanks.
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  • milsurplus
    So should an AR grip fit the SAR48 rifle then, has anyone tried that?

    EDIT

    Guess what I should have said, does anyone know where to get a u.s. made wood pistol grip for the FAL, or is there such a thing?

    Also somewhat off topic but was just curious, will FAL magazines fit and function properly in a Armalite AR10 rifle?

    Thanks.
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  • iwannausername
    No it won't - just the style of attachment is similar.

    There are several other aftermarket grips available though.

    Just keep in mind that if you start replacing original parts on the SAR48 that 922r compliance rears its ugly head... And the PG is one of the 17 parts...


    EDIT - you can get a US made pistol grip from ironwood designs or a few individual makers - some of the best is done by Blue Monster on falfiles.com



    quote:Originally posted by milsurplus
    So should an AR grip fit the SAR48 rifle then, has anyone tried that?
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  • drobs
    Is the Century built on an Imbel receiver? Century imported the last batch of Imbel receivers. Lots of builders out there like Ohio Rapid Fire built on those receivers.
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