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Given that most of the folks who will be reading your posts are American civilians, rather than government-small-arms-procurement-specialists (either foreign or domestic, past or present ;>), allow me to offer a few opinions.

Problems with the FAL that I have observed in troop service are...

The needs of American gun owners are somewhat different than those of professional military organizations of any type, as I'm sure you would admit.

;>)

1. Extractor breakages.

I've been a member of the FAL 'community' for about 15 years. Most of the folks I've been in contact with own FALs they've built themselves, using well-worn surplus FAL parts kits. I've never - not even once - heard of a broken extractor, even from folks that run thousands of rounds through their FALs. If you did suffer a broken extractor, parts are cheap: I've got an L1A1 bolt/carrier assembly that headspaces the same as my Israeli bolt & bolt carrier - and I only paid $20 for the lot. Why keep a spare extractor when you can have a spare bolt/carrier assembly?

2. Ejector breakages.

Ditto - I've never seen or heard of one, and FAL parts are cheap.

3. Sights. The metric FAL requires a tool for sight adjustment.

Everyone I know just buys the tool, dials in the sight for whatever ammo they purchased (in 1,000-round bulk lots ;>), and leaves the sights alone. No problem.

4. Stocks and handguards

I prefer the Israeli wood furniture: if the wood handguards break (something I've never heard of happening ;>), you still have the steel 'grills' underneath - no different functionally than the G-1 forearms. If you're worried about breaking the wood and burning your pinkies, get a 'chicken mitt.' Or use plastic furniture. If the wood buttstock breaks (something else I've never, ever heard of happening ;>), "just take your shirt off, tie a bandanna around your head, and shoot from the hip!"

In summary (and in addition ;>), the FAL is easy to build at home; it is cheaper than much of the competion; it is just as reliable as much of the competition; FAL parts are cheaper & more readily available than most of the competition; and FAL magazines are cheaper than most of the competition. For the price of ONE M1A, for example, you can probably build or buy TWO FALs. For the price of only FOUR new M1A (M-14) military surplus magazines, you can buy FOUR new FAL mags - PLUS 1,000 rounds of 7.62 NATO ammo.

If you've got money to burn & want a nice target gun, consider the M1A or SR-25/AR-10. If you're willing to gamble on the "angry beavers" at Century (and some folks do win ;>), get a CETME. If you want an affordable, reliable, 7.62 battle rifle (with a forged-steel, FN-licensed receiver, instead of folded sheet metal ;>), look for an IMBEL-receivered FAL...

"FAL - The Free World's Right Arm"

(My opinion - your mileage may vary. Flame away... ;>)

I've been wanting to try building one, parts kits are reasonable and receivers not too bad either.

I have an L1A1 on an IMbel receiver, love it, got rid of the plastic and have it with an izzy hand guard and original wood grip and stock, now if I can just get the Izzy bolt and charging handle and a trilux I'll be fixed up.

Hard to take the time from all those Mosins, and lately Mausers too have eaten up my resources.

Even worse, the dang K-31 I just got looks great,perfect bore sweet trigger, got a scout mount and ler scope mounted just have to get to the range, so many guns so little time.

It's a curse I tell ya.

Here's my Izzy Mauser with a scout mount Leatherwood 2x7x32 LER during hunting season. A SOG UFIXUm but it had a great bore and cleaned up nice.

www.Cruffler.com
www.milsurpshooter.com

Your replies are perfectly OK -- for a personally owned weapon, owned by someone who cares for his tools. As you point out "the needs of American gun owners are different from those of military orgs".

The average military weapon is handled by generation after generation of soldiers. However well trained they are, Joe (or José) Snuffy doesn't treat the weapon like some guy who laid out two weeks' take-home pay for it -- or built it on his own workbench. A GI thinks nothing at all about using his weapon to break his fall, to pry open boxes, etc.

Believe me, I have seen hundreds of FALs with broken extractors and ejectors. And it's also true that a lot of these nations bought the tool -- when the bought the FALs (in some cases, that would be 1958). In fifty years one sight tool per company's worth of weapons usually goes adrift.

The cheapness of FAL parts from SARCO or whomever is small consolation in embargoed Rhodesia, isolated Suriname, or penniless Bolivia.

The "spare bolt carrier group" is how the broken extractor is usually resolved in the field, but because these poor nations have few if any spares, the "spare" comes from another weapon that is downed for cannibalisation.

You probably won't believe this, but in most of the armies of the world, even an infantry soldier never fires a rifle round again after basic training, unless he sees combat. (Even in the well-funded US Army, training ammo for most soldiers has been restricted to enough to pass the qualification tables annually -- about 40 rounds per soldier. The new Chief of Staff intends to fix this).

For a private owner, I will agree that the FAL is a superior weapon to the others you cite. It handles much better than the M14 series, and is less awkward to carry (and I have carried both of them on week-long patrols). I also like it better than the G3/HK91, which I guess is a dead issue for private purchasers with the AWB in place. I have seen some pretty crummy parts-kit FALs though, so a novice should probably make sure he is dealing with a reputable smith or firm (or he winds up like the CETME people or the guys that bought Norinco cast-receiver "M1As" - hosed).

For most people, shooting humans is kind of theoretical and so they buy what they like. For practical purposes they would probably be better served with a nice 10-22 which they'd shoot a lot more, and a shotgun for home defence against random acts of goblinry. But people want what they want, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Better to have it and never need it to ever need it and not have it, right?

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F