Century Arms L1A1 legal?

[Ratman12]

I have a chance to buy L1A1 sporter for cheeep from a friend out of state.. reviewing the roster/list flow chart I don't see it listed.

The gun is marked L1A1 Sporter Cal .308 C A I - St Alto Vt.. there is no FN logo anywhere I can see on it..

The rifle has a thumbhole stock ( which I will change out asap) and no muzzle device, I know I would need a fixed 10 rounder and mag lock

Am I good to go, if I jump through all the FFl hoops?

[4 Brigada]

If it's a good deal, buy it . Not on the list

[-hanko]

A qualified "buy it"...

I have a chance to buy L1A1 sporter for cheeep from a friend out of state.. reviewing the roster/list flow chart I don't see it listed.

The gun is marked L1A1 Sporter Cal .308 C A I - St Alto Vt.. there is no FN logo anywhere I can see on it..

The rifle has a thumbhole stock ( which I will change out asap) and no muzzle device, I know I would need a fixed 10 rounder and mag lock

Am I good to go, if I jump through all the FFl hoops?

It's legal and you do have to run the FFL hoop thing.

Does your friend say the gun will empty a full mag or 2 with no burps or hiccups?? Asking because CAI guns can sometimes be hit-or-miss rifles.

If it runs well, get it. How much is "cheep"??

-hanko

[Ratman12]

$400 US greenbacks.... next question is what Bullet button works on an inch pattern rifle... and nope one pull = one round... don't even want to think about going full auto on a 308

[madmike]

$400 US greenbacks.... next question is what Bullet button works on an inch pattern rifle... and nope one pull = one round... don't even want to think about going full auto on a 308

I think he's asking if it will fire reliably without malfunction through a full magazine. It seams common for rifles from Century to have reliability problems.

[4 Brigada]

next question is what Bullet button works on an inch pattern rifle...

Well that is going to be a small problem, the L1A1 magazine release will not work with any of the current "bullet buttons". Easy fix just replace it with a metric magazine release and youre good to go.

[MrPlink]

Go featureless with a fin grip.

[Ratman12]

I am liking the idea of going featureless, which leads to the question who makes or where can I find a fin grip that will fit, or is it a universal fit on a stock pistol grip?..

Although I really like the classic look of the L1A1 with some nice wood furniture and a bipod and if I can find a Trilux for it, I would be a very happy camper.. will post some photos of before and after,, be patient it'll be a few weeks before I get my new toy

Guess I am buying a .308 gas/piston gun..

[13204u]

Is this an older century build? I have seen some L1A1 RAWs that had the thumbhole stock on them from the late 90's that were built by century.

[Ratman12]

Yes, he got it in the mid 90s,,I have no idea what RAW means?
Any info on these rifles, quality? Any suggested mods?
Thanks for all the input !!

[Capt. Speirs]

Isn't the L1A1 non metric receiver, if so, good luck finding mags.

[ke6guj]

Isn't the L1A1 non metric receiver, if so, good luck finding mags.

Century used inch parts kits and assmebled them on receivers that were machined to use metric mags. At least mine is set up that way.

[-hanko]

$400 US greenbacks.... next question is what Bullet button works on an inch pattern rifle... and nope one pull = one round... don't even want to think about going full auto on a 308

OK...I'll restate the question. Will it shoot x rounds with x trigger pulls with no failures to feed, extract, or eject. Getting one that's FA is not what you want, but it's not nearly as easy to get an FAL converted to FA as it would be with an AR.

Your homework is to lurk on the FAL Files for an hour or 2, pick up the general CAI vibe. You'll understand the question. Those that run well keep doing so, but there are a ton of lemons out there.

$400 is a steeeeel if she works. If she doesn't, you could easily drop that much into fixing here.

Hop on it.

-hanko

[Ratman12]

OK...I'll restate the question. Will it shoot x rounds with x trigger pulls with no failures to feed, extract, or eject. Getting one that's FA is not what you want, but it's not nearly as easy to get an FAL converted to FA as it would be with an AR.
,, I shot it about 2 years ago and we put 150 rounds through it ( aprox) no problem,, He has a M1a (also) and we were plinking empty shotgun shells out to 120 yards or so..

Hope I dont have drop too much cash to get her running right,, thanks for the advice

[diddler]

I got a similar deal on a Century R1A1 a few years back, it has the "uni-brow" dealie which is not ideal, occasionally there are jams because of it. Still, it's one of my favorite toys. Swapped out most of the cruddy plastic furniture for an Aussie stock and Israeli front grip, it is a manly, rugged rifle. Run out of ammo and club your enemies to death.



Most of the shooting issues I've had with it were eventually traced to the crappy Indian surplus ammo that was thrown in with the rifle. Fantastic deal though, I'd highly recommend getting this one for yourself. Or at LEAST turn the deal over to one of us! I'm sure there would be plenty of takers.

Personally, I've run mine with a scope rail top partial cover modified to allow the use of stripper clips for top loading. Mag was locked into place by drilling/tapping a small hole in the mag release and putting in a small set screw. I haven't looked into it too deeply but I believe you can in fact swap out the Inch mag release parts for the Metric stuff then use a bullet-button type setup . Something I'll be looking into for the future.