Was given a couple rifles...

[Leaveammoforme]

My blood bro and a I were given a M1A SOCOM and an Imbel receivered FAL (Good day, BTW). We flipped a coin, I got the Socom and he the FAL. Neither of us has owned one of these rifles before. We both have been reading up on them.

I have read that Springfield stopped (or ran out) using USGI parts and that I should keep an eye on the extractor.

We were told the FAL was an 'Inch' gun and the "A, R, S" selector marks seemed to confirm this. After my brother looked it over some, he says it has a metric mag well. I just assume it's a frankenfal.

I'm not going to load up pics to be honest to my word that was given. We have stripped them down and they appear good to go but we have not fired them yet.

My question is:

Is there anything that anyone is aware of that we should watch out for on these rifles? Any parts we should buy by the bucket?

[foxtrotx1]

My blood bro and a I were given a M1A SOCOM and an Imbel receivered FAL (Good day, BTW). We flipped a coin, I got the Socom and he the FAL. Neither of us has owned one of these rifles before. We both have been reading up on them.

I have read that Springfield stopped (or ran out) using USGI parts and that I should keep an eye on the extractor.

We were told the FAL was an 'Inch' gun and the "A, R, S" selector marks seemed to confirm this. After my brother looked it over some, he says it has a metric mag well. I just assume it's a frankenfal.

I'm not going to load up pics to be honest to my word that was given. We have stripped them down and they appear good to go but we have not fired them yet.

My question is:

Is there anything that anyone is aware of that we should watch out for on these rifles? Any parts we should buy by the bucket?

Springer stopped using USGI parts a while back. You can find some on rifles into the early 2000's, but realistically, unless it's older than 10 years, not likely. For mags, Use only Checkmate Ind. for the M1A. Mounting optics is a bitch and a money sink, but it's doable.

If i'm reading correctly, you were given free rifles and told not to upload photos online? Seems sketch.

Enjoy them, M1A are soft shooters.

[Andrewsky]

Those rifles are known to be highly unreliable, but only if you take them on to the internet.

Buy ammo, mags, and cleaning/disassembly tools first before you worry about the quality of the parts.:

[MH64]

When it comes to "FAL" rifles, pics will help alot.

Imbels are metric. And you can have a mix of metric and inch parts on a rifle.

Did I mention that pics would help...

[Leaveammoforme]

Thanks for the info thus far. I personally would like to throw up pictures of the FAL to get it narrowed down quicker but it is against the givers wishes. We did not inherit these rifles but they came to us from a very trusted source as a gift. The rifles aren't stolen or illegal. I'm just gonna have to go from personal pics and compare to what is already on the web to identify the FAL and its guts.

I don't plan on adding an optic to the M1A at this time. If it shoots less than the internet claim of 3-4 MOA, I may invest in a good mount and a different stock. As it sits I have 0 dollars in this gun so a $2-300 mount and a $800 chassis wouldn't hurt my feelings if the accuracy justifies it.

[CrazyFingers]

I personally would like to throw up pictures of the FAL to get it narrowed down quicker but it is against the givers wishes.

Then it's not a gift, it's a long-term loan. By definition, a gift is given with no strings attached, and the item becomes your property. If it is really your gun now, then do whatever you want with it.
Frankly, someone "giving" me a firearm and then requiring as a condition of the transfer that I never post pictures of it would ring some pretty loud alarms and lead me to reply "thanks, but no thanks."

[Leaveammoforme]

Then it's not a gift, it's a long-term loan. By definition, a gift is given with no strings attached, and the item becomes your property. If it is really your gun now, then do whatever you want with it.
Frankly, someone "giving" me a firearm and then requiring as a condition of the transfer that I never post pictures of it would ring some pretty loud alarms and lead me to reply "thanks, but no thanks."

Geez...forget it guys.
We will research the FAL the old fashioned way. Thanks for info.

[Peshawar]

For the Springer, try to track down a USGI extractor. That's the most likely part to fail (unless it was already replaced with a USGI one, which is common).

[CornCod]

The proof of the pudding is in the eating; shoot the rifles and see how they work. Sometimes frankenguns actually work!

[MistWolf]

Then it's not a gift, it's a long-term loan. By definition, a gift is given with no strings attached, and the item becomes your property. If it is really your gun now, then do whatever you want with it.
Frankly, someone "giving" me a firearm and then requiring as a condition of the transfer that I never post pictures of it would ring some pretty loud alarms and lead me to reply "thanks, but no thanks."

Oh fer cryin' out loud, give it a rest!

Inch patterns were semi auto only and had two position selectors


A R S marked lowers are metric. This is a photo of a South African R1


Your brother's rifle taking metric mags is a plus as metric mags are easier to find. When a FAL runs, it runs good, frankenFAL or not. Get springs for your spares kit and stock up on mags while you can. For the best FAL info on the net, http://www.falfiles.com/forums/index.php

As far as the SOCOM goes, get springs. That's pretty much true for any self loading rifle. http://teamm14.com/forum.php is the best source of info about M14s out there.

Congratulations on the new rifles!