The L1A1 clones are commonly seen at gun shows, sometimes with pistol-grip stocks and flash hiders. Most of them are made up of surplus British parts on new semiauto-only actions. The price varies from less than $500 for a thumbhole version up to more than $1,000 for a pistol-grip version with flash hider.
One of the best receivers, and one of the first, is the Entreprise version. Rifles built on that action seem to be pretty good, but remember, all of today’s L1A1’s are made of used parts, and the overall quality of the rifle depends on the quality of its components. The original pistol grip of the L1A1 permits very easy access to the safety. This rifle will generally weigh less than a comparable M1A. Our test version weighs a half-pound less than our M14 custom, which itself is lighter than the average Springfield M1A.
The FAL rifle was just barely beat out by the M14 to become our nation’s battle rifle. Much of the rest of the world adopted the FAL as a standard rifle and used it until the .223 became common. FALs are still used in many corners of the world, and have a reputation second to none for strength and reliability. DS Arms in Illinois is currently manufacturing several types of FAL, one with a handy folding stock.
We recommend the common L1A1 version of the FAL, with its pistol-grip stock and with the L2A2 SUIT (Sight Unit, Infantry Trilux) scope if you can find one. Try to get one with the Entreprise receiver. Ours takes any old FAL magazine, either the $25 original British version or the common $5 metric. We really like the carrying handle, the adjustment for gas escape that permits the rifle to compensate for different ammo intensity and lets it lay its empties right next to you, and the handy low-power L2A2 scope with its inverted plastic post that lets you see a long-range target while holding over it. With a little practice, this scoped rifle is very fast to get into action. British troops were enthusiastic about the scope. If you don’t want it, the scope comes right off by simply pulling a lever, and the iron sights are always there. These are an aperture rear that has windage adjustment by opposing screws. Elevation is changed by sliding the rear sight up a ramp through a series of marked and detented steps. Cleaning is a breeze. The rifle breaks like a shotgun and the bolt comes out the back, so you can clean its chrome-lined barrel from the rear.
If you choose to mount a scope more permanently onto your FAL clone, there are several types that clamp to the receiver with a series of Allan screws, and which have an integral Weaver-type base. They give the very best and most rigid scope mount, but they cannot be easily or quickly removed, which is why we don’t like them on this rifle.
The iron sights on the FAL rifles are limited in their sight radius, because of the design of the rifle. Therefore, you can’t get the precise sight alignment that you can from the M1A/M14, which is another reason we like the SUIT or L2A2 scope on the British FAL.
