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CAI Receiver Whoas
Just got a "kit" with two lowers (Aussie and NZ
), what appears to be an early CAI Inch Receiver (wide mag cut) and all of the parts to complete it. Had it assembled by a local gun smith who does FAL's (he even had all of the pins to test for HS before he chose a locking shoulder). I provided him with an inch mag to test fire it with. He did the assembly and test fire, but could not get the inch mag to fit in the mag well so used a metric. I heard that the CAI receivers are known to be fussy about mags. I had an Inch CAI with a Hesse receiver before that worked fine with inch mags but didn't like the metric mags well. Now I find that this one just likes metric's. I can see that the lug on the front of the i mag is probably what is holding up the use of those mags, so I was wondering if in-letting a space as wide as the mag lug and as deep as the shoulder (looks to be about .10" above the lug and .05" below the lug) has been done by anyone. If so, with what success? Thanks, Bruce.
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Last edited by bacarnal; 01-16-2019 at 03:41 PM.
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01-16-2019 03:39 PM
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Hello Bruce,
yes it has been done, just be careful that you do not break thru the front wall of the receiver mag well. On a real metric FAL the front of the mag well is often cut away more on the exterior than a comparable inch pattern.
On a US aftermarket receiver, one cannot say...
It's something that should be done slowly with a lot of patience, and several mags to try.
As a note, DO NOT cut the bottom of the latch pocket as (I am told) it is in the same position in Inch and Metric receivers.
Last edited by Lee Enfield; 01-16-2019 at 04:18 PM.
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Or, just use the Fal mags, after all if it isn't broken, why fix it?
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Thanks for the advice, Lee Enfield. Measuring the mag well, I have plenty of room to work with. And, as you suggested,slow and easy does it.
mrclark303, the first reason I am contemplating doing it is that the "kit" came with 7 inch mags. I have since picked up one more for a descent price. Second, I like to tinker with things to make them function as designed. If something doesn't work right with the parts it's supposed to use, I get an itch to see that it does.
Thanks all for the replies. Cheers, Bruce.
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Contributing Member

Originally Posted by
bacarnal
Thanks for the advice, Lee Enfield. Measuring the mag well, I have plenty of room to work with. And, as you suggested,slow and easy does it.
mrclark303, the first reason I am contemplating doing it is that the "kit" came with 7 inch mags. I have since picked up one more for a descent price. Second, I like to tinker with things to make them function as designed. If something doesn't work right with the parts it's supposed to use, I get an itch to see that it does.
Thanks all for the replies. Cheers, Bruce.
Fair play Bruce, I know what you mean, it's the sort of thing that would probably niggle me too.
I was just thinking that if the rifle functions well with Fal mags, then leave it be.
You could argue that the after market receiver is using the magazines it's designed for. Only anoraks like us would know the difference at the range anyway.
But, back to point one, if I were in your shoes, I would likely do the same, to ensure the rifle was an inch pattern clone, as close as possible.
Part of the great pleasure of our hobby is putting your own stamp on things after all.
Best of luck with it and do let us know how you get on.
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Attachment 98432Attachment 98433Attachment 98434
Well, took the leap today and inletted the mag well. As dumb luck would have it, my test mag was the tightest fitting one, and I kept it snug. Worked out well. The last is of it polished up a bit then cold blued. Cheers, Bruce.
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How about an overview once it's assembled and done?
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Right now she's out to get the lower and cover Cerecoated to a close color of the receiver since nobody around here parkerizes and I really didn't want to spend the time parking it myself. On some things getting downright lazy in my old age. I can hand function the bolt on dummy rounds, and after some light polishing, she functions smoothly. I'll send pix after I do the full assembly and test fire. Cheers, Bruce.
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Just got her back from Ceracoating. Had the lower done in a dark grey and the cover done in black. Except for the pitting by the safety I should have taken care of, she (to me) turned out pretty good. I steamed as many dents out of the wood as possible (and to still keep a used look) then re-finished with Howard's cherry and several coats of BLO
. I left the rack number on the stock since I thought it looked good there. Cheers, Bruce.
Attachment 98653Attachment 98656Attachment 98655Attachment 98654
Last edited by bacarnal; 02-02-2019 at 05:32 PM.
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Any problems with it running ,a lot of the CIA built receivers had feeding issues etc. ?
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