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Enterprise Arms, How do they stack up?
NOTPARS
Member Posts: 2,081 ✭✭✭✭✭
I was wondering how the Enterprise Arms FAL rifles stack up against the PTR91 and DSA58 as far as reliability. Combat not bench rest accuracy is all that is required.
Comments
The FN reps on fnforums.net recommend DSA as the best new FAL you can buy in the US today.
Entreprise is ok, but has had some issues in the past - still better than Century.
DCI just started making receivers again, they are shipping now, very good stuff too.
proper designation for these rifles (FN, FAL) so please forgive my ignorance. What scared me off from the DSA was the msrp in the various gun magazines. Yeah, I know, we get what we pay for. Anyway, I really like the DSA58.
If you want a FAL, I'd either grab a recent production Century and plan on maybe having to do some work on it, or create an account on falfiles.com and check their market place. I've seen some really good builds on good receivers for sale there lately at good prices. Like a para build on an Imbel receiver (licensed manufacturer) unfired for 1500.
I would avoid FAC, WAC (williams), Olympic (they made an aluminum FAL receiver that tends to blow up, like WAC). Avoid Hesse/Blackthorn/Vulcan like the plague. Century can be hit or miss, but even the miss ones are easy to fix. DCI (Dan Coonan) are good, DSA of course. And then the various licensed manufacturers, most common will be Imbel.
Also decide if you want inch (L1A1, commonwealth, etc) or metric (STG, G1, etc). I prefer the metric for a few reasons - bolt hold open on last shot (replace inch BHO with metric and inch guns will do this too), the pistol grip ergonomics, and cheap mags. Inch mags are expensive, but inch guns can use metric mags - they may be wobbly, etc. but they will mostly work. Some Century inch builds are cut for a metric mag...
Anything with a thumbhole stock is almost certainly an inch gun, and while you can put proper furniture on, the TH stock usually is attached by grinding off the pistol grip mount on the lower receiver, which means a new lower receiver to put a proper pistol grip and stock on.
Until the election, you could get a good shooter by building a parts kit on a receiver, just like an AR. However, due to panic buying, prices have gone up and you can often get a complete gun for about what the parts are worth - and it will be assembled (some special tools needed), tested, etc.
And on FALs, the upper receiver is the gun part, not the lower.
HTH