# 308. "battle rifles"



## carman (Aug 11, 2010)

Does anyone have any firsthand experience with the saiga 308?

I am looking to get a battle rifle in 308. but dont wanna spend $1000 on a DPMS

I have been looking at the cheap century G3/Cetme clones, but it seems they may be too problematic, so im looking at maybe getting a saiga

My main thing is i want a 308. hi cap (20rds) and under $700, I also have been looking at .223 cheap Galil century clones, but like all century products, can be hit or miss, Ive been thru the AR and standard AK phase so those two dont intrest me, has anyone on here converted their saigas? I can deal with lack of pistol grip, but it would be nice to have

let me know if you have or shot the 308, thanks!


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## chevelle427 (Feb 6, 2011)

G3/Cetme clones I HAD ONE TOO BUT I HAD NO TROUBLE OUT OF IT, cheep mags now it is rough on the brass.

mine was an older one that was when century had a good reputation for quality guns, when they moved to the other plant is when they went for mass production and there name starting getting tarnished

i was in it for $900 with all the other stuff that came with it and i sold it for $950 a few years later and bought a dpms lr308

i was looking at the saigas also and still am. *there was one at the Appleseed shoot we went to he had no problems out of it(loud as hell) but my daughter (13) at the time scored better with her 10/22,* again it is a battle rifle like sk' and ak's keep it in a 9in paper plate at 100yd should BE good enough for battle i guess.
ubers had one 5 months back for $400 something i went to get it and someone beat me to it.
i would still buy one and i have a dpms *(THAT I DO LIKE A LOT)*


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## NASTY (Jun 5, 2011)

I have owned the Saiga in .308 and my only complaint was the trigger. Have the conversion done and replace the trigger!


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

Only downside to the Saiga 308 is the expensive mags.


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## FlFrayedKnot (Feb 15, 2009)

No experience with the Saigas, but PM'ed you with an alternative.


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## Skippy (Sep 18, 2008)

The undisputed king of .308 Black "battle" rifles is the FAL/L1A1 (SLR to us British Army Vets), the FAL is the metric version, the SLR, the Imperial version, the FAL's were made by Argentina, South Africa (still used) and used by over 90 countries, The Imperial's were made and used by England, Australia, Canada, India and Pakistan if memory serves.

I carried one during the Falklands war, originally had wood architecture, then was converted to Plastic for weight saving.

I've seen them from $500 for a FAL to $1400 for a British/Australian, sold my L1A1 SLR on here a few years ago.

Here is a Century arms FAL.











Hope this helps.

Skippy


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## carman (Aug 11, 2010)

Love the fal, is there a big difference between that and the south african R series guns?

I dont have big money to spend so it seems i am limited to century builds


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## Gravity3694 (May 10, 2011)

I would probably just save for a DPMS LR-308. The AR-10 platform is much easier to mount optics on, inherently more accurate, far more accessories options and easier to accurize.

The FAL would still be my choice if I wanted a KISS simple battle rifle. I have an M1A right now, but I mostly chose it for nostalgia reasons. The M1A isn't exactly as great as it's claimed to be either. For the time the FAL,M14 and G3 came out they were great choices, but the revival and perfection of the AR-10 platform beats all of them.


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## SAWMAN (May 24, 2010)

*In The Past.......*

.......I have owned a HK91 and a FN/FAL(inch). Both were great guns.....EXCEPT ---> the HK sent the brass out into ya-ya land,never to be seen again. It was somewhat hard to reload for since it had a fluted chamber and would absolutely EAT brass. It had a few parts that made the assy/disassy somewhat "tricky".

The FN/FAL's gas piston seemed to be always dirty. A carbon scraper was mandentory. But then I am a biggie on CLEAN. As dirty as it got it(or the HK91) never failed to work properly.

If you decide on a FN lemme know, I believe that I might have a few pieces of "associated equipment" laying around someplace. ----SAWMAN


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## Skippy (Sep 18, 2008)

carman said:


> Love the fal, is there a big difference between that and the south african R series guns?
> 
> I dont have big money to spend so it seems i am limited to century builds


From my limited experience, I understand the "R" version (Rhodesian Army) have been well and truly abused, poorly maintained, and therefore well worn out, as they have been, and still are, carried on a regular basis and only released to the market when they are no longer serviceable, based on their value in that country.

Century, who probably by the "kits" for pennies on the dollar, can afford to "recondition" them, as they charge a hefty premium when finished.

Anything under $1000 will probably be a kit gun, the Century does seem to be hit or miss, however, everything is tunable, and parts are readily available

Try and get a DSA reciever with the diamond cut bolt carrier, that or a Hesse, these seem to be able to produce the best accuracy and reliability.

I did a search on gunbroker, and there are auctions starting at around $500 and going into the $4000, quite a spread for sure, good luck with your search.

When I was in the British army, we used to be able to convert our semi's to full auto for a short period of time, with just a wooden match stick (it wore out quick), was fun at the range, although we did get in trouble a few times :thumbup:

Skippy


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## NASTY (Jun 5, 2011)

NASTY said:


> I have owned the Saiga in .308 and my only complaint was the trigger. Have the conversion done and replace the trigger!


I also own the DPMS LR308. Hard to beat it. I am a huge fan of anything in .308 though!


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## saku39 (May 11, 2010)

Dang skippy, match stick auto sear? haha that sounds....fun


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## Skippy (Sep 18, 2008)

saku39 said:


> Dang skippy, match stick auto sear? haha that sounds....fun


Sort of, however, it empties a 20 rnd magazine on one pull of the trigger, whether you want to or not. 

I haven't done it over here, too many rules and regulations, freedom my ass.

Skippy


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## carman (Aug 11, 2010)

I wish i could find a good deal on a golani, the FALs are just a little too out of reach pricewise for me, Im so bored with the standard AK/AR platforms, but at the same time, i hate to get into something that i have no knowhow to fix

arghh the choices, id prefer to buy something used to save some cash


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## floorguy (Jul 22, 2011)

Rock river arms 308 ar platform hard to beat.


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

This is what you're really looking for. Lasted 1/2 hr on the FAL forum before finding a new home.
Did you hit what you were aiming for while that SLR was on auto Skippy?? :yes:


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

carman said:


> I wish i could find a good deal on a golani, the FALs are just a little too out of reach pricewise for me, Im so bored with the standard AK/AR platforms, but at the same time, i hate to get into something that i have no knowhow to fix
> 
> arghh the choices, id prefer to buy something used to save some cash


You know a galil is about as close as you can get to being an AK but not an AK right? If you are tired of the AK platform, you dont want a galil.

Dont know your price range but if you want to get out of the AR/AK groove, check out Kel Tecs RFB, now THAT is something different.


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## GoneCoastal (May 1, 2008)

I got a project for you here. IMI receiver with mostly NOS parts. Build any Galil version you want from SAR, AR or ARM. Not cheap though. 
If you want a FAL anything under 1k will be a kit build. The most affordable factory built gun would most likely be a Springfield imported SAR 4800 which came in as a sporter but still a factory Imbel produced rifle. The preban SAR48 is the same gun but about $500 more when they surface.
Most of the old STG kits were 90% or better, the used kits turned into beautiful rifles w/o needing to be refinished.


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## ccg2814 (Aug 22, 2009)

*Aussie L1A1*

This was an original Aussie L1A1 unissued kit built on a Imbel receiver.


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