Semi 7.62/308?

[jonnyc]

I've think I've decided I want a semi in 7.62x51.
Off-hand I can think of: FAL, CETME, M1A, AR10, Century C308, Galil, VEPR, SCAR, and their variants. Any other budget-friendly suggestions?

[Wyosmith]

what is the top dollar of the budget

[precision_shooter]

A lot of the guns you listed are not considered "budget" friendly by most people.
A price range would be good to narrow down what "budget" friendly is for you.

[rickyrick]

I have an awesome looking FAL with high polish wood furniture. I never got to love to shoot it.
I dunno, I'll keep it because it's pretty, but was a kind of an expensive "MeH".

[ttarp]

PTR91, a little more refined rifle for a little more dough than the Century.

[HankC1]

Get the Pro Fab 308 AR upper/lower from AIMS, put one together at $700. I have FAL, M14, Vepr 308 and Zastava M77 308 RPK and a CETME at one time, all have their places but I have no regret on getting rid of the CETME. Not saying is a bad rifle, but part supply will be an issue. Get the PTR G3 instead if you consider that platform. If Zastava M77 still available, you may get one at $600, a wonderful 308 AK with adjustable gas system! I sold my 2 Vepr 308s and keep my M77.

[jonnyc]

Thanks all.
I had already rejected many of the ones I listed, for either price or lack-of-love after firing them. I think I'm going to investigate the M77 suggestion as I already love my Yugo AK and the cost angle.

[precision_shooter]

I really like my PTR91 which I bought as a 12" barreled pistol. Filed my paperwork with ATF and when it came back approved, converted it into a SBR G3K clone. But the cost of the gun, plus the new trigger pack to take the pull weight from 12lbs to 4 lbs, and the heavy buffer, stock, sling etc... it's not what I consider budget friendly. But it sure is a great weapon.
Mags are still dirt cheap. Just bought 12 more for $2.89 each after shipping charges were added in.

[Erno86]

I have one MAS-49/56 semi auto rifle that is re-chambered {Century conversion} for 308. Buy the original 7.5x54, 10 round detachable magazines, because the feed lips might have been sanded down a tad too much. My two magazines seem to function well without altering the size of the the feed lips. I bought mine from a fellow shooter on our range for $500.

It is still legal to purchase in Maryland...that has a side rail mount for a scope or red dot reflex sight. The original sniper scope is getting rarer to buy on GunBroker. I believe I have a S&K rail mount that is fitted so the dust cover and bolt can be removed without removing the side rail scope mount. The hammer must be cocked for bolt removal.

It has a muzzle brake/flash hider, grenade launcher/grenade launcher sight, gas valve check for shooting grenades, adjustable rear iron peep sight, with an adjustable front pin sight and a slip-on MAS recoil pad. I have a HI-LUX red dot reflex sight on the side rail mount, with a new cheek rest pad on the buttstock. I generally shoot 147 grain Wolf ammo, that uses mil-spec hard primers out of it. I suggest using no higher than 147 grain bullets out it.

"The MAS 49 or the MAS 49/56 has been known to burst fire {two or 3 rounds at a time} because of sensitive primer ammo. The original heavy steel firing pins on the MAS 49/MAS 49/56 can be replaced by commercial titanium firing pins" {I have a $80 titanium firing pin on mine} "which are much lighter an generally cures the problem of burst fire/slamfire on these weapons.

It is also possible to prevent these slam fires by shortening the firing pin by approximately 0.5mm, or by modifying the firing pin to accommodate a firing pin return spring"--- Not the bolt like it says in this following Wiki link.

My MAS 49/56 is fun to shoot...with moderate recoil and frontal ejection vectors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAS-49_rifle

[T. O'Heir]

You never know if anything from Century will actually work correctly or not. They're well known for assembling rifles out of parts bins with zero QC. Stuff they cobble together may or may not be safe to shoot. The assorted FAL's they cobbled together may have inch or metric parts too. Wouldn't touch any firearm Century had anything to do with myself.
"...budget-friendly..." Is a relative term.
I'd be thinking M1A for the least amount of government interference and reliability myself.

[f2shooter]

I've had the Century 308 as well. It seemed to have a lot of HK parts in it with others I couldn't tell. It was butt ugly but was reliable and shot fairly well for its type. Bottom line though is I will be saving enough until I can afford a proper HK 91. I've had two and regret to this day trading them off.

Rick H.

[Gunplummer]

Like Erno86, I have some 49/56 rifles. Some are the .308 conversions. I did not have a real problem with any of them as they came from Centry, other than the occasional double fire. You can spin the firing pin down a little in the front and put a small spring over that area. The 1944's originally had that set up in them. The ejection is pretty vicious (On the .308 conversion) and you should tame the gas system down a little. They will throw empty cases waaay out if you don't. The original scope set up sits too high for quick target acquisition, but that was done so the iron sights could still be used. They are good, solid, short rifles.

[Phoenix54c]

Speaking as someone who stepped into the M1A trap, be aware that buying the rifle is just the beginning of the sweat, tears and money you will shed.

Out of the box, the scout version (18") has been terribly inaccurate with standard NATO loads. Once you've spent the $500-1500 making it into something respectably accurate, get ready to drop $1.00 per round on the 168gr ammo it needs to achieve the legendary precision you've read about the M14/M1A platform.

If you have the money and patience it can be a fun adventure, otherwise you may want to try something else.

[rickyrick]

Sounding like the easiest route is a reputable AR10

[Model12Win]

G3:



It's the best thing to operate operationally with during operations.

[john in jax]

I have had really good luck/experiences with the DPMS line of .308 ARs.

Had one with a 24" stainless fluted bull bbl, that, right out of thr box, was hands down the most accurate rifle I have ever owned. All my DPMS .308 rifles have proven to be 100% reliable. They share a lot of common and affordable AR intervals and accessories making them easy to customize.

What do you want to do with it?

[COSteve]

Good enough for the US Military and good enough for me. Add NM rear aperture to the standard model (comes with a NM front sight already) and you have a decent shooter right out of the box.

[Erno86]

The shooter that I bought the MAS 49/56 from, has his 49/56 spring on the firing pin set-up --- You can get the spring from a top pushbutton ink pen. It's a good conversation starter...with the occasional shooter on our outdoor range, asking what kind of rifle it is.

[Gunplummer]

Yes it is. There are cheap firing pins all over the place for the spring conversion. I never understood why the excess of firing pins. I never ran into anybody that had a problem with them, or field reports of bad firing pins.

[Reloadron]

Among the mentioned rifles:

Off-hand I can think of: FAL, CETME, M1A, AR10, Century C308, Galil, VEPR, SCAR, and their variants. Any other budget-friendly suggestions?

I only have two of them and those are an AR 10 and a M1A both of which I enjoy shooting tremendously.

Pictured with the bi pods which are only props. Were I to add to my .308 Winchester semi-automatic rifles it would likely be a FAL. Always regretted not grabbing one during the early 90s.

This is one of those questions where personal taste in a rifle will play into things as many of those mentioned shoot about he same depending on quality of the rifle. My advice would be to find a rifle that both feels right and looks right to you and your personal taste. Always nice if you have friends with some you can try on. My pictured rifles go back well over 20 years, the M1A is a Springfield NM with GI parts and the AR 10 is a beefed up Armalite AR 10(T).

Ron

[Mobuck]

Considering the cost and questionable quality of many(most) of the mil-surp 7.62x51 rifles on the market, I'd suggest spending the $1200-1500 for an M1A or the $1100-1200 for one of the AR10 type rifles. At least then you know you've got something worthwhile rather than a castoff POS.

[Ignition Override]

Disregarding price: for ergonomics, balance, easy accuracy, decent recoil and very classic looks, the M1A. Superb sights.
Tried to like the G-3 and FAL types. Don't get me wrong, they are very cool guns, but didn't care for the ergos nearly as much.

Never tried out an AR-10. And as a possibly separate factor (for you?), adding accessories has little or no appeal for some of us.
Will a gun which you really enjoy justify a higher price than you had planned?

[highpower3006]

I either have, or have had, every rifle mentioned except for an AR10. Of the ones I currently own, I like my M14 the best. Hands down the best iron sights of the lot.

However, if I was looking for the one rifle that I could shoot with either iron sights or scoped, I would pick up an AR10. I don't know enough about them to say which one is the best one to get, but the ease of installing different sighting systems as well as being able to change uppers in seconds, makes it the the most versatile. I don't know the OP's budget, but I think a decent AR10 can be put together for somewhere between $1000-1500.

[jonnyc]

Hoping to spend under $1000.

[john in jax]

You should be able to find various flavors of the DPMS LR-308 for $1,000 or less. Shop online, gunshows and your LGS, make them get competitive.

I like the older DPMS rifles better and the bull bbls help mitigate recoil. The light, little AP4 configuration can leave you a little sore if you put a bunch of round thru it.