AvtomatKalashnikova
02-08-2002, 04:30 AM
http://www.centuryarms.com/store/media/ri657.jpg
I didnt' notice this awesome "Review" forum til today. This is the perfect place for my review of Century L1A1. As you know the NATO needed a main battle rifle after WWII, FN Belgium came out with the FAL. This rifle was so good it took over European countries by storm. Later on the British needed their own .308 rifle, so they made some minor alternations to the FAL, it became known as the L1A1. The main difference is the Inch measurement of the receiver which required Inch magazines, a folddown charging handle, and bigger front sight ears. The entire commonwealth, and alot of South Eastern Asian and African countries eventually adopted the FAL/L1A1 as their main weapon system til the 80s, with many more still seeing active duty world wide today. I've seen CNN footage of FAL in action in Congo, Somalia, and just recently in India between the border with Pakistan.
I bought it from AIM as a present for myself Xmas 2001.
Even though AIM's not carrying them any longer, lots of other places are still selling them, FAC, J&G sales, SOG, etc, all for around $400. IMO this is the best semi-auto rifle for the buck outside of Romanian AK. It's solidly built using excellent parts, and Hesse is no longer involved. ;) Lots of people build their own L1A1/FAL out of parts kit and receiver, but if you dont' have the proper tools, or experience, it'd cost far more than buying one straight from Century. See below for the cost related to building one yourself:
http://www.cruffler.com/trivia-April01-tools.html
To see my initial review, read the stuff below, but first here's an update. I've opened up the rifle, field stripped it, and cleaned it head to toe. It was dirty inside, but not overly so, mainly dirty oily crap. CLP works wonders in cleaning out the old, and lubricating the parts. Surprisingly it's easier to take down than an AK!!! I found out the gas piston is a 1 piece design, so Century has gotten rid of their old 2 piece piston that caused so many breakage and problems in their earlier L1A1. The charging handle got abit looser after the cleaning but not much. Maybe that's just the way L1A1 are. I've been spoiled by AK springs. I had a chance to fire it with Portugese .308 NATO surplus. There's no problem whatso ever with the rifle after 70rd. It's accurate to 50yd iron sight, but I was shooting at some cans, so no MoA measurement. I still can't get used to the flip up peepsight, but it worked okay for a firsttimer. These 7.62x51mm bullets are ALOT bigger than AK 7.62x39mm, at least it feels that way. They also seem to hit harder, with more recoil too. I've only fired my SAR2 so far, so the difference is very obvious.
My final evaluation is this:
Do I like this rifle? Absolutely. It's as far from AK as SMG vs HMG. There's definitely alot of fun just looking at the L1A1 and thinking about the "right hand of Freedom". Would I fire this rifle alot? Probably not. The ammo's almost twice as expensive as AK 7.62, and the extra recoil doesn't make it more fun. For plinking and range fun, I'll stick to 7.62 and 5.45mm AK (but of course:D). But as a "display" gun, it can't be better! Especially so if you repaint the plastic furniture with Aluma-Hyde II or something. I will do this as soon as it gets warm enough. Overall, the L1A1 just looks more robust, menacing and fearsome than AK or AR! Definitely something you can proudly display at home. If you own any sort of military semi-auto rifles, you have to add the L1A1/FN FAL to complete your collection. :)
---------------------Original Review Post-------------------------------------
Just got it from AIM Surplus' one day sale, $379.95 + $12 shipping, not too shabby for a big battle rifle. The rifle came in a cardboard box, with extra cardboard around the receiver. The box arrived in excellent condition, thankgod for UPS. There are no accessories, just one 20rd mag other than the rifle itself. The magazine itself was a little beat up, I may have to pick up another one day.
Like Harlan @ FAC said, it's made on Century's own receiver built by a subcontractor. There's been alot of controversy regarding Century's earlier L1A1 rebuilt using Hesse's receiver, therefore CIA finally decided to do their own. The receiver looks as good as any I've seen. Very robust piece of metal that adds to the tough look to the rifle itself. Machining looks well done, no sharp edges or sloppy cuts. The receiver's marked Century Arms, Georgia VT, R1A1 Sporter 308 Cal." The most interesting is serial# CA0003X, now if that's not a low serial I don't know what it is. I sure hope there arent' going to be any problems, as it's a first run rifle.
The rifle looks very "new", no signs of a "parts gun". They either reblued some VG+ to Excellent parts, or used the parts that were never used. The new receiver matched up with the barrel, lower extraordinarily well. The condition of the metal parts is EXCELLENT! The bored's clean, even my FFL guy was amazed. The lower is marked AD62XXXX.....obviously built in '62. I found out that year meant the UK were building for Malaya. They must not had to fight very much there, since there's little sign of useage. On the tip of the barrel is a 12 hole muzzle brake pinned on tightly. I assume that's the aftermarket piece Century put on in place of the flash hider. It looks straight, and I hope it'd help with 308 recoil.
It does seem my whole gun's based on INCH pattern L1A1, parts and receiver. There's the inch mag knotch, and the fold-down charging handle and big ears protecting the front sight. There's one problem I discovered with the front sight "big ears". The one on the right side is slightly bent inward! I assume it occured during shipping or storage in Century or AIM. Apparently the rifle rests on this "right" ear when it lays right on the fold down carrying handle. I've tried with a plier but it's too hard to budge one bit. I might have to use a brass hammer. The charging handle also seem "very tight" like mentioned by some posters here. I haven't had a chance to clean the inside out, so I hope this would resolve itself later on.
But the worst about this rifle would be the "cheap" plastic furniture. The handguard has some molding flash left off, and the two halves aren't mating perfectly. Hopefully I can go over it with Xacto knive to make things smoother. Same thing with the pistol grip and butt stock. The pistol grip itself was alright, but the there's a piece of metal tang running down the front of the grip, except it stays on top of the grip, rather than flush with the grip. Butt stock must be aftermarket too, because there's no swivel for the sling to attach to (although there's front sling hook on the barrel). I might have to drill and buy my own.
Overall I'm extremely pleased with the rifle, at least it far exceeded my expectations for a "rebuilt". I haven't had a chance to fire it, but after cycling and dry firing it, I'm confident it'll perform well. If not for the sale at AIM Surplus, I wouldn't have bought the L1A1 by Century, but this has changed my opinion most definitely. Century's own L1A1 inch receiver looks very well made, I won't hesitate recommending any of my friends getting a Century L1A1 rebuilt, especially if you can find one using the new receiver, and under $400!
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I didnt' notice this awesome "Review" forum til today. This is the perfect place for my review of Century L1A1. As you know the NATO needed a main battle rifle after WWII, FN Belgium came out with the FAL. This rifle was so good it took over European countries by storm. Later on the British needed their own .308 rifle, so they made some minor alternations to the FAL, it became known as the L1A1. The main difference is the Inch measurement of the receiver which required Inch magazines, a folddown charging handle, and bigger front sight ears. The entire commonwealth, and alot of South Eastern Asian and African countries eventually adopted the FAL/L1A1 as their main weapon system til the 80s, with many more still seeing active duty world wide today. I've seen CNN footage of FAL in action in Congo, Somalia, and just recently in India between the border with Pakistan.
I bought it from AIM as a present for myself Xmas 2001.
Even though AIM's not carrying them any longer, lots of other places are still selling them, FAC, J&G sales, SOG, etc, all for around $400. IMO this is the best semi-auto rifle for the buck outside of Romanian AK. It's solidly built using excellent parts, and Hesse is no longer involved. ;) Lots of people build their own L1A1/FAL out of parts kit and receiver, but if you dont' have the proper tools, or experience, it'd cost far more than buying one straight from Century. See below for the cost related to building one yourself:
http://www.cruffler.com/trivia-April01-tools.html
To see my initial review, read the stuff below, but first here's an update. I've opened up the rifle, field stripped it, and cleaned it head to toe. It was dirty inside, but not overly so, mainly dirty oily crap. CLP works wonders in cleaning out the old, and lubricating the parts. Surprisingly it's easier to take down than an AK!!! I found out the gas piston is a 1 piece design, so Century has gotten rid of their old 2 piece piston that caused so many breakage and problems in their earlier L1A1. The charging handle got abit looser after the cleaning but not much. Maybe that's just the way L1A1 are. I've been spoiled by AK springs. I had a chance to fire it with Portugese .308 NATO surplus. There's no problem whatso ever with the rifle after 70rd. It's accurate to 50yd iron sight, but I was shooting at some cans, so no MoA measurement. I still can't get used to the flip up peepsight, but it worked okay for a firsttimer. These 7.62x51mm bullets are ALOT bigger than AK 7.62x39mm, at least it feels that way. They also seem to hit harder, with more recoil too. I've only fired my SAR2 so far, so the difference is very obvious.
My final evaluation is this:
Do I like this rifle? Absolutely. It's as far from AK as SMG vs HMG. There's definitely alot of fun just looking at the L1A1 and thinking about the "right hand of Freedom". Would I fire this rifle alot? Probably not. The ammo's almost twice as expensive as AK 7.62, and the extra recoil doesn't make it more fun. For plinking and range fun, I'll stick to 7.62 and 5.45mm AK (but of course:D). But as a "display" gun, it can't be better! Especially so if you repaint the plastic furniture with Aluma-Hyde II or something. I will do this as soon as it gets warm enough. Overall, the L1A1 just looks more robust, menacing and fearsome than AK or AR! Definitely something you can proudly display at home. If you own any sort of military semi-auto rifles, you have to add the L1A1/FN FAL to complete your collection. :)
---------------------Original Review Post-------------------------------------
Just got it from AIM Surplus' one day sale, $379.95 + $12 shipping, not too shabby for a big battle rifle. The rifle came in a cardboard box, with extra cardboard around the receiver. The box arrived in excellent condition, thankgod for UPS. There are no accessories, just one 20rd mag other than the rifle itself. The magazine itself was a little beat up, I may have to pick up another one day.
Like Harlan @ FAC said, it's made on Century's own receiver built by a subcontractor. There's been alot of controversy regarding Century's earlier L1A1 rebuilt using Hesse's receiver, therefore CIA finally decided to do their own. The receiver looks as good as any I've seen. Very robust piece of metal that adds to the tough look to the rifle itself. Machining looks well done, no sharp edges or sloppy cuts. The receiver's marked Century Arms, Georgia VT, R1A1 Sporter 308 Cal." The most interesting is serial# CA0003X, now if that's not a low serial I don't know what it is. I sure hope there arent' going to be any problems, as it's a first run rifle.
The rifle looks very "new", no signs of a "parts gun". They either reblued some VG+ to Excellent parts, or used the parts that were never used. The new receiver matched up with the barrel, lower extraordinarily well. The condition of the metal parts is EXCELLENT! The bored's clean, even my FFL guy was amazed. The lower is marked AD62XXXX.....obviously built in '62. I found out that year meant the UK were building for Malaya. They must not had to fight very much there, since there's little sign of useage. On the tip of the barrel is a 12 hole muzzle brake pinned on tightly. I assume that's the aftermarket piece Century put on in place of the flash hider. It looks straight, and I hope it'd help with 308 recoil.
It does seem my whole gun's based on INCH pattern L1A1, parts and receiver. There's the inch mag knotch, and the fold-down charging handle and big ears protecting the front sight. There's one problem I discovered with the front sight "big ears". The one on the right side is slightly bent inward! I assume it occured during shipping or storage in Century or AIM. Apparently the rifle rests on this "right" ear when it lays right on the fold down carrying handle. I've tried with a plier but it's too hard to budge one bit. I might have to use a brass hammer. The charging handle also seem "very tight" like mentioned by some posters here. I haven't had a chance to clean the inside out, so I hope this would resolve itself later on.
But the worst about this rifle would be the "cheap" plastic furniture. The handguard has some molding flash left off, and the two halves aren't mating perfectly. Hopefully I can go over it with Xacto knive to make things smoother. Same thing with the pistol grip and butt stock. The pistol grip itself was alright, but the there's a piece of metal tang running down the front of the grip, except it stays on top of the grip, rather than flush with the grip. Butt stock must be aftermarket too, because there's no swivel for the sling to attach to (although there's front sling hook on the barrel). I might have to drill and buy my own.
Overall I'm extremely pleased with the rifle, at least it far exceeded my expectations for a "rebuilt". I haven't had a chance to fire it, but after cycling and dry firing it, I'm confident it'll perform well. If not for the sale at AIM Surplus, I wouldn't have bought the L1A1 by Century, but this has changed my opinion most definitely. Century's own L1A1 inch receiver looks very well made, I won't hesitate recommending any of my friends getting a Century L1A1 rebuilt, especially if you can find one using the new receiver, and under $400!
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