Gopher a 45
New member
Okay, I admit it. .223 just doesn't do it for me anymore. Don't get me wrong, I like my AR, but I just want to try something a little...bigger.
Anyway, I was leafing through the latest Shotgun News and saw some apparently good deals on FALs and HK G3s and some expensive deals on AR-10s. I was wondering if these good deals are really all that good (i.e. what's the catch?)
I'm trying to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each choice and was wondering if someone who knows better than me could help out. The pros and cons I see are so far...
AR-10 pros: I'm familiar with the layout cause it's like the AR-15. Pretty good accuracy I hear. Can swap uppers like the AR-15 (but they're danged expensive!)
AR-10 cons: The rifle is expensive! Only Armalite seems to make it, so parts/service will be hard to come by and costly. I've heard not-so-good things about reliability. Mags are horribly expensive. It's the same pain in the butt to clean that the AR-15 is.
Cons win here.
FAL pros: Cheap. Many producers make it and parts for it. Mags are pretty cheap. It's easy to clean. Accurate(?) Reliable. Seems to be the lightest of the three.
FAL cons: I know next to nothing about it. What's this inch vs. metric refer to and are there interchangability problems between each? What's the catch with the cheap price and how beat-up should I expect the rifle and bore to be for around $600-650?
G3 pros: Again, cheap. Seems to be a lot of surplus parts and such for it. Even Bushmaster sells accessories for this. It's an HK, so I would expect the quality to be pretty good (but I don't know for sure). A lot of them seem to have nice furniture on them and the US-made receivers are cut for scopes already.
G3 cons: I know little about this one also. Seems to be heavy and cumbersome overall. Mags are more expensive than FAL's, but not as bad as AR-10's. Questionable reliability with the aluminum receivers. Again, why so cheap and how beat-up will the rifle and bore be for $600-650?
So I guess I need help deciding between the last two. Any help is appreciated.
P.S. what's the deal with that ad in the back for "pre-1981 drop-in auto sears" anyway? Seems fishy to me since there's no address for the company. Does BATF go trolling for suckers in Shotgun News now?
Anyway, I was leafing through the latest Shotgun News and saw some apparently good deals on FALs and HK G3s and some expensive deals on AR-10s. I was wondering if these good deals are really all that good (i.e. what's the catch?)
I'm trying to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each choice and was wondering if someone who knows better than me could help out. The pros and cons I see are so far...
AR-10 pros: I'm familiar with the layout cause it's like the AR-15. Pretty good accuracy I hear. Can swap uppers like the AR-15 (but they're danged expensive!)
AR-10 cons: The rifle is expensive! Only Armalite seems to make it, so parts/service will be hard to come by and costly. I've heard not-so-good things about reliability. Mags are horribly expensive. It's the same pain in the butt to clean that the AR-15 is.
Cons win here.
FAL pros: Cheap. Many producers make it and parts for it. Mags are pretty cheap. It's easy to clean. Accurate(?) Reliable. Seems to be the lightest of the three.
FAL cons: I know next to nothing about it. What's this inch vs. metric refer to and are there interchangability problems between each? What's the catch with the cheap price and how beat-up should I expect the rifle and bore to be for around $600-650?
G3 pros: Again, cheap. Seems to be a lot of surplus parts and such for it. Even Bushmaster sells accessories for this. It's an HK, so I would expect the quality to be pretty good (but I don't know for sure). A lot of them seem to have nice furniture on them and the US-made receivers are cut for scopes already.
G3 cons: I know little about this one also. Seems to be heavy and cumbersome overall. Mags are more expensive than FAL's, but not as bad as AR-10's. Questionable reliability with the aluminum receivers. Again, why so cheap and how beat-up will the rifle and bore be for $600-650?
So I guess I need help deciding between the last two. Any help is appreciated.
P.S. what's the deal with that ad in the back for "pre-1981 drop-in auto sears" anyway? Seems fishy to me since there's no address for the company. Does BATF go trolling for suckers in Shotgun News now?