Owners reviews wanted. .308 and .223 SA's.

[MosinM38]

Okay.

Been asked before, but I was wanting actual "In person" reviews. From guys who have either owned, or have a friend (Not a friend's friend's brother in law) who have owned one of the below guns. I have looked and there is alot of "Well I heard" and "It's a known fact" out there.

Mainly just 3 things.
#1. Reliability.
#2. Accuracy.
#3. What you liked/disliked about them.

Basically any of the following:
.308:
M1A
FN-FAL.
DSA FAL (Sorta differant than a normal FAL?)
PTR91
Siaga/EAA
AR-10
Cetme
The CIA Cetme

.223
CIA Galil.
AR-180B
CIA HK93 clone
SLR-106

Anything of similar type.

A gunshow is a few months away, and I am accumulating the monetary means for one. I got a mini-14, and it shoots accurate, feels good,etc. I'd just like something else.

I just got another deer rifle, got a line on a revolver, so I'm in the semi-auto mood again

What would be the "Easiest" gun to mount optics on? I know some are a PITA to do, at least more than others.

Much thanks

 

[ranger dave]

Ar 180 b & fn fal

The ar 180 is everthing the ar 15 wishes it could be i have over 5k rounds down rangr with no malf at all

 

[seekers]

ar-10

I've owned my AR-10 about 10 years. It's a model A-4S which is a full size rifle model with a Stainless Steel barrel. I have had one malfunction in that time do to Wolf ammo. The stainless is a huge plus! Nice all weather gun and much easier to clean. Armalite has been making these semi-auto's since the 1950's with great results, just see how popular the AR-15's are. Remember these are "battle rifles" they are made to tolerances of about 2" +/- MOA (Expect +) You have to get a "T" target model and use "Match" ammo for them to say you'll get 1" MOA.

Easy scope mounting: One piece mount and rings with +20 MOA about $90. Can take off and return to exact zero if you just mark spot on rail. Very easy, my sons 10-22 was harder.

The only drawbacks to the AR-10's was the magazine shortage late 1990's to early 2000's. Armalite was using surplus M-14 mags to convert for their mags which made them very expensive ($80-100 ea) and there was a huge shortage. This was during the Clinton Assault Weapon Ban. Now the ban is over, they make their own and there is a surplus and cost $40-$45 for new 20-25 rounders.

 

[Csspecs]

I have a Saiga (not EAA its RAA now) .308

I can't say a whole lot about the stock rifle, I converted mine to pistol grip soon after I bought it and it has a tweeked Tapco G2 trigger group now.

Only deal breaker is the mags due to the cost over something that uses surplus mags, Best price is 41.00 plus shipping for surefire mags or 45.00 for the metal ones that I make

Mine eats most ammo fine with my mags, but the factory mag my rifle came with did not feed FMJ for anything (seems to be uncommon but mine did it).

I liked that I could buy the rifle and a couple cases of ammo (at the time) compared to an FAL.

 

[navajo]

review

M-1A. Owned seven over the years. One malfunction in I don't know how many rounds. Case did not fully extract but enough showing to get a finger nail under the rim. No idea why that happened.

FAL. NIB DSA. Zero luck. SA and Aussie surplus, could not get through a mag with out a malfunction. Called DSA and was told it might take a few rounds to wear in. For that much money it should work right out of the box.
Sold it.


Armalite AR 10. Owned three. Carbine short stroked one time. One NIB mag had too much phosphate in the mag body. Took about ten seconds to fix by running the follower down and up. Extremely accurate.

 

[MosinM38]

Thanks!!! I appreciate the info.

One thing I didn't realize was there were 20 round aftermarket magazines for the Saiga!!! HUGE plus. (Of course I would add a pistol grip and new trigger group too )

 

[44 AMP]

Every gun is an individual

But some generalities do apply.

I've owned the same M1A (rack grade) for 25 years. The only reason it has ever failed to fire was because it was out of ammo, or I didn't pull the trigger. And its more accurate than I am. What more could you want?

Fired a few hundred rounds with a friends AR-10. The full size, full stock flattop. 3x9 scope. Some feeding trouble due to the mags. He had about a dozen mags, and one could see three different "generations". Ringing the 250yds gong was so easy it was boring. Very accurate rifle.

 

[greyson97]

my friend has a .223 Galil. It wont shoot steel wolf cased ammo reliably. But He leans towards dry while I lean towards wet when shooting our rifles. He says brass works as expected

 

[gun nut]

I have a couple imbel fals. Work great with no problems. Marginal sights not the best setup for optics. Ptr 91 works great super cheap magazines better sights. I believe also better setup for optics. Several popular makes of ar 15s. No problems with any. Good sights many options for optics and mounting.

 

[mskdgunman]

My Century Arms Cetme - Apparently I got a good one which was very reliable. The iron sights sucked, mags were cheap and easy to come by. Never really got a chance to try it for accuracy due to the sights. I had a scope on it for a while and it would shoot around 2 to 3 inches with surplus ammo at 100. Hard to mount a scope on and have it be comfortable (at least to me). I also had a hard time getting used to the HK charging handle which, to me, was not practical espicially in the event you need to clear a jam in a hurry.

My AR-10 carbine has been reliable so far (probably only 800 rounds through it) with everything from Wolf to crappy surplus ammo. Mags are expensive and were hard to find. I haven't priced them lately as I have 12 so I don't know if they've come down. Accuracy, with me shooting from a bench at 100 yards is around 2 inches on a good day. I like the way it handles in that it's controls are identical to the AR-15 so transition is a no brainer. The flat tops are easy to scope

Springfield M1A and Socom: Both very reliable with factory mags. The only trouble I ever had was when I was tempted to try the off brand mags. Spend the money and get the real ones. Both are more accurate then I'll ever be but the Socom is in reality more of a CQB gun. The stock front sight is wide and easy to see but far from perfect for precision shooting. I suppose that it could be replaced with a NM sight if you so desire. I've never tried it with an optic but mounts are easy to come by. Like the mags, spring for a good mount. I've tried the cheap knock offs and never had any luck with them. Great guns overall. Now I just need the Scout to round out the collection

I had an FN (don't remember the manufacturer) that just would not function. I couldn't get through a whole magazine without having to beat the charging handle to get the bolt open. Tried changing mags, bolt and some other parts before giving up. It's a shame because I liked the way the weapon felt and handled. I probably just got a lemon but would be hard pressed to buy one again unless I could shoot it (a bunch) first. I'm not sure what kind of optics mounting options there are for them. I never got that far.

I've got a Galil which was built on a parts kit which was crappy in the accuracy department when I got it shooting more of a pattern then a group with lots of keyholes. After 4 cans of copper remover and several hours, it'll now shoot at least minute of bad guy at 100 yards but it's nothing to write home about. Others may have better luck. Overall, I like it and am working to improve it. The sights on mine suck and mags can be hard to come by but I've never had it stop working no matter what I fed it including Wolf. Hard to mount a scope on unless it's a forward mounted "scout" type set up

 

[m.p.driver]

Currently own just about every rifle on your list except for the Saiga.What do you want the rifle for?Blowing off rounds or target shooting.If just popping caps then go with the cheapest to buy cheapest to feed.If the chance to get into high power matches then go the route of a AR-15 or the M1a1.A civilization goes to hell rifle,you cant go wrong with a Cetme or FAL or even a AKS.Every rifle you'll hear praise and horror stories about.

 

[MosinM38]

It has a few roles.

Although it will spend it's life (hopefully) in a plinking gun, I was wanting it as a reliable SHTF rifle (As much as I sorta dislike that phrasing).

I guess I was wanting the one best suited to:
Reliable Optics mounting.
Accuracy enough to stay under the 2.5" at 100 yards mark, under 2" if possible.
And reliability.

The accuracy part sorta leaves out the Saiga, most of the FAL's, etc.

Biggest problem is, I don't know if that is what the guns are CAPABLE of, as most people shooting them, use cheap ball ammo, very little match, or reloaded softpoints.

That's why I figured maybe if there are some owners around, maybe more chances of seeing what some quality ammo will do


Mainly because I learned a big thing. I got my Mini-14, and people said "Oh they're terrible in-accurate, get a AR-15"....Yeah..with cheap FMJ rounds and company, it DOES group bad, 3" or so (5" with wolf). Use good quality ammo? 1.5" is an average.....


Like MSKDGunman. He got "2-3" with surplus ammo". Maybe a good match bullet would drop it to under 2"?

So far it looks like maybe the AR-10/M1A is the way I'm swinging