Don't rush into anything. If I waited a month I could have gotten a ruger GSR in stainless for the same price as the blued

Would be very interested in yaking with anyone who can find a reasonably priced FAL and of good quality. The M1A is a very good battle rifle that takes a beating and gives the shooter great results.

Would love I see some pics of the FAL and M1A

I have owned pretty much everything in the .308/x51mm class. I always come back to the FAL. The M1A is nice but ergo wise the FAL is a better fit for me. The FAL won't win any matches for accuracy but it will run ammo that chokes a M14 style. Never cared for the HK/Cetme series because they trash the brass beyond belief. If you look on ARF or FAL Files you can find FAL's for good prices. IIRC, AIM has some DSA rifles for 1200 right now--or they did.

Pics you say

Great deals pop up still pop up on The Fal Files market place ...

L1A1F1 on the right (FH is not fitted in that pic), it is wearing British plastics and a Hythe rear sight as well.



One from teh swine hunting days of old...



Some brand new L1A1s (belonging to the Govt) still in use here ...







I also know my way around a G3 and owned both M1As and M14s back pre 1996 here and the SLR is still my favourite....

Thanks for posting pics, guys. I think I've made my decision, but it looks like that will be the easiest part. I have lots of reading to do.

Andy, very nice, I have always viewed the FAL with high regard but seems they are running few and pricing jumping through the ceiling. I will check your selected listing and keep a watchful eye for good deals.

Andy, you have now peaked my interest on the FAL. What is the best receiver and when looking at the rifle, what should stand out as quality?

when i was looking for semi auto .308 some years ago i ended up getting a m1a scout squad. it's a very nice rifle and i seriously doubt i will ever take full advantage of what the rifle is capable of. even so my choice coudve have gone to any one of the alternatives on any given day. i like the FAL design and even though i'm not an AR fan it's hard to ignore the AR10. if I ha to choose again knowing whag i know now i would have to serioulsly consider the s&w m&p10 and even the idea of spending twice as much and getting a scar17. it's not that i would gain much of anything over the m1a but moreso that both of these rifle really seem to offer me more of what i want right out of the box. but really it seems to be hard to go wrong unless you get a lemon.

one thing i would look at if I was buying again on a budget is option of doing a layaway. if i'm not hard up for a rifle then trying to find the right one on a budget may limit my purchase to what i can immediately afford instead of what i really wanted. if you want a $1500 rifle and only have $1200 it may be worth it to put the money you have down and use layaway terms to pay out $300. i have a couple of dealers here who have suggested their terms are an initial payment of a certain percentage and any payment amount each month after until it's paid off. well thats much better than paying on a credit card I guess.

and my choices today would be a s&w mp10 or to go full tilt and fund a scar17.


good luck to you!

Give me a little and I will type out a little on factory and kit built FAL type rifles. The only receivers I say NO to are Hesse, Century, Williams and Olympic, the last two are very rare. And when I say Century, I am referring to their own manufactured receivers, not the Imbel and Argentinean receivers they also imported.

Not Andy, but here in the States look for an older DSA receiver, Imbel, Argentine FMP, FN, Conan or one of the coveted L1A1 that Century brought in as a police rifle unmolested. Stay away from Century "unibrow" cast, Hesse, Williams, Entreprise (unless you can really check it out) or any other make. Some preach forged only but the Type III was meant to replace the for a reason, and since semi is what we shoot it will handle it just fine.

A bunch of really good information here, thanks guys. Of the good receivers listed I've seen Imbel the most, so that's what I'll probably end up with.

Anything else you guys can think of please don't hesitate to add it here.