Finally Happy

So those who have been following the blog closely know I acquired a Romanian SKS for a good price, and by default it became my SHTF rifle. I must say I have a lot of love for the SKS it has good ergonomics and out to 100 yards its passably accurate. Also while its a fixed-magazine semi-auto it can be quickly reloaded using 10 round stripper clips.

Still its a communist rifle and it exemplifies the Soviet military mindset at being “Adequate” in every way. I yearned for more gun.

So I dropped a little more coin for a WASR-10

Long story short, after a few months I found that if I wanted to burn 7.62x39mm ammo, I was still bringing the SKS to the range. The WASR just wasn’t fun to shoot, and just didn’t sing to me, and I’ll say 90% of that was changing magazines on the gun. AK pattern guns just require some very unnatural movements to seat that magazine, and magazine changes are kinda the whole point to getting a detachable magazine gun, so I went and sold it.

You see, 7.62×39 was a compromise for me anyway. More powerful than 5.56x45mm which I just don’t have a lot of confidence with, and the ammo is easy to get. Still my true love is 7.62x51mm/.308 Win when it comes to muzzle energy, bullet size/weight, and availability.

So the guns I looked at were the AR-10, the PTR-91/H&K G3/CETME, M1A, FN FAL, and the FN SCAR-17.

Out of the box the SCAR-17 is the vastly superior gun in every way…but with its standard folding stock it is not Massachusetts legal. They also sell for about $3000, and guns and magazines are virtually unavailable, so that got ruled out. The AR-10 is a nice gun, but I’m not crazy about the AR platform, and the magazines are a nightmare to find in Massachusetts, and they’re super expensive when you do. The CETME platform is an ergonomic nightmare, eats brass, and is the ONLY gun here without a bolt hold-open. H&K? You suck and I hate you!

So that left the M1A and the FAL. They’re close enough for government work, but the FAL has better ergonomics, IMHO a more robust design, and magazines are easier to aquire. So it won, and I bought a Century L1A1 Sporter:

I got it for a smoking deal, and I overall liked the gun, plus the non-threaded, not muzzle-brake’d muzze was a huge selling point because of the Massachusetts AWB. Still it only took one trip to the range to work up the laundry list of issues with the gun. The big ones being A) no Sling mounts, and B) the Crappy Thumbhole stock was not only an eyesore, but it made it impossible to actuate the safety with a normal firing grip.

The issues complicated themselves more when the gun began to chronically short-stroke. I decided to give the gun to Commenter and Buddy Wally, along with a bucket of parts I got from hither and yon, and asked him to work his magic.

Well I got it back. Well it turns out what they say about Century is true. The gun was missing internal parts (namely the gas tube pins) and its halmark of quality was the drywall screw that holds the pistol grip on.

Well Wally un-fucked all that was fucked, installed the new parts, and also decided to give it a minor trigger job. The trigger was quite ugly on the gun, now its still heavy, but VERY clean.

It now functions like a champ, and after throwing a com-bloc AK sling on it:

I am so happy with it! This gun reminds me of the first time I picked up a 1911. It just makes SENSE. The controls are all where they need to be, and the gun points and shoots SO WELL. Also it puts a round I have 100% confidence in down range.

So I finally have the SHTF gun I always wanted.

Now if only we could repeal the Massachusetts Assault Weapons Ban so I could also get an 18″ Paratrooper

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0 Responses to Finally Happy

  1. Lissa says:

    “Well Wally un-fucked all that was fucked, installed the new parts, and also decided to give it a minor trigger job.”

    Now that’s a good friend to have 🙂

  2. McThag says:

    If Mr Saive had wanted the FAL to have an 18″ barrel he would have made them that way! Turn away from the heresy!

    Dieudonné Saive is the first disciple of John Moses Browning (PBUH). Do not go into the darkness! It’s bad enough you’re using the Godless Inch Heresy, don’t compound your cursed fate!

    Nice rifle, glad it’s been evilized to the fullest extent allowed behind the blue curtain.

    • Weerd Beard says:

      The lower is a vintage Burmingham Inch Lower, the rest of the gun is Metric, so it eats from inch mags.

      And Saive didn’t have a hand in the Paratrooper Carbines??? He was around then.

      • McThag says:

        I’m pretty sure he was involved. But I am taking the same tack that the 1911 purists take about the 1911A1 departures.

        My gun returns to me next week!

        • Weerd Beard says:

          Heh, all my 1911s have beavertails with the “Speed Bump”, big carry sights, lightweight triggers, magazines with polymer basepads that add +1 to the standard capacity etc. Honestly I don’t much LIKE the look or functionality of the M1911A1 in its pure form. They’re nice guns, and its what got me hooked on pistols, but its the 21st century, and Browning’s design holds up well…but needs a few updates before I stuff it in a holster.

          Now that being said, minus the flash hider and bayonet lug, this gun looks damn close to the guns that stormed the Falkland Islands, and I’m fine with that.

          BTW you need to post some pix of her when she gets back from Illinois. I was looking through your site and I couldn’t find a one! Some of us just don’t wet our britches when we see Eugene Stoner Pr0n! 😉

  3. Wally says:

    Hey anytime! I clicked on the headline and expected something quite different, but I am delighted that you are enjoying it!

  4. bluesun says:

    *Envy*

    What I’m looking at saving my pennies for next is either an AR10-style or a FAL. And then of course, way down the line, the other one that I didn’t get the first time.

  5. Jay G. says:

    Meh. I stand by my VEPR…

    (kidding! She looks great, Weerd!)

  6. alcade says:

    Yes, this is all very well and good… but where are the pics of you shooting in a bikini?

  7. Bubblehead Les says:

    I hate you, you lucky Bastard. ; )

    • Weerd Beard says:

      A lucky bastard would be if I had gotten this gun right out of the box in working condition and no need to fret over what might be wrong with it.

      As for the two-is-one philosophy, now the SKS is the backup.

      Not to mention there are many applications where my Mossberg 590 could be used in the place of the FAL.

  8. Bubblehead Les says:

    Of course, those of us who have SHTF Rifles ALWAYS have an Identical Copy, “Just in Case.” “2 is 1, 1 is 0”, after all. So, it looks like you NEED to Clone another one, and give it the same amount of Magazines and Ammo and Accessories….but if the VolksRepublik frowns on that, well, I SUPPOSE I can store it for you up here on the NorthCoast, and Function Check every so often.

  9. Thirdpower says:

    So did you sell all your AK mags?
    Never cared for the WASR’s. They feel different than the SAR’s like I have.

    But yeah, I love my SKS as well.

    • Weerd Beard says:

      Yep, just not a fan of the AK platform. My WASR appeared to be a decent example (should be, we unboxed about 5 before I settled on mine, and the new owner emailed me a few months later to tell me how happy he was with it). Just couldn’t get past the stupid mag changes. If I buy another black rifle it’ll be another FAL.

  10. Kristopher says:

    Not a bad choice.

    Yes, Century builds generally need to have the crack-addled monkey mistakes corrected.

    Good to see you can legally replace that awful butt-hole stock.

    • Weerd Beard says:

      Yep, Mitt Romney decided the Federal AWB was such a good idea that he made it Massachusetts state law. So pistol grip is one evil feature, from there you need to go with standard muzzle, or a permanently affixed brake. If I was to get a Paratrooper stock I would suddenly have the two evil features and the gun would be too dangerous to handle. Right now its PERFECTLY SAFE!

      Don’t vote for Romney!

  11. Pingback: SayUncle » New gun smell

  12. The Duck says:

    Very Cool

    I always regreted selling my Springfield model in 223

    • Weerd Beard says:

      Interesting. I never knew they made such a thing. I wonder what’s different from a standard .308 FAL. Its certainly not the FN FNC or the FN CAL which are kinda-sorta a .223 FAL, but there’s a bunch of stuff that I can see that aren’t standard FAL parts….interesting.

      Oh and it appears all the Springer FAL-types came with the same shitty thumbhole stock mine did.

  13. Congratulations on going with “the right arm of the free world”! You are going to love it.

    I had my FAL built from an Imbel (Brazilian) parts kit with a DSA receiver by Moses. I kid you not on the name of the builder! I think that is his screen name on FALFiles where he is very well known.

    Given that mine was built by Moses, I guess if I use it in a SHTF situation, it is guaranteed to deliver an Old Testament smiting. 🙂

    • Weerd Beard says:

      I already love it. I shot it for a few months in its crappy thumbhole stock form. Knew I was going to love the rifle…once I got it fixed.

      Now that its fixed I haven’t shot it nearly enough, but I know how I feel about it.

  14. John Hardin says:

    Welcome aboard, Weer’d!

    Drop by here if you haven’t already: http://www.falfiles.com/forums/index.php

    @JohnR: Moses is working on producing polymer FAL mags. Everyone is waiting impatiently for them to be available.

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