Goodbye AR, Hello FAL!

G

George Hill

Staff Alumnus
I did it.
My last AR is no more. I traded it off for an FAL from one of our newest TFL Members. Very Large LEO member...
Anyways - The FAL is quite a different weapon system and I have already gotten into its internals and examined it. Interesting design that seems rugged and very solid. I suspect it could be made to be quite an excellent shooter.
The difference between .223 and .308 is very large. Packing it around the gunshow was an enjoyable chore. Getting past all the guys asking if it was for sale was also a chore.
I had some good offers - but none substantial enough to interest me.
I found FNFAL.com that is full of some good information... so I will be studying there a lot for awhile.

Anyone here have any tips and tricks and good info on the FAL?

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I mean, if I went around saying I was an Emperor because some
moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, people would put me away!
 
Welcome to the world of The Free World's Right Arms. No more Mattel eh? :) After reading the Falfiles go get gunplumber's notebook and video. The notebook is shareware and well worth the price, in my opinion. I also bought the video, not professional quality but lots of information. Also well worth the price. There are so many things to do with the FAL. I'm currently in the middle of shortening a barrel down on one of mine. Been taking off about an inch at a time and am down to 18 inches. Would like to get it down to 16.25 but gas problems loom then. now you'll want to buy at least one StG58 kit, for spare parts if nothing else.
Remember there are metric parts, inch parts, Israeli parts and POS Indian parts. Assemblies can mix ( metric upper onto inch lower, for example) but individual parts don't mix.
Have fun with your (first) FAL.
 
I had posted this inquiry on another FAL thread, but wanted to see if you guys would respond more quickly.

Can you link me with DSA's website? Are they really the best people to buy from? Finally, are FN-FAL's easily scoped, and what would be the best method of doing so?

Thanks!
 
rbbrew,
DSA is at www.dsainc.com. Most of the scope mounts on the market are mounted on the dust shield over the bolt carrier. One TFLer made a sidemount for his FAL that looks really promising and I've seen one other sidemount somewhere on the net.

George,
Forgot to mention gunplumbers addy, www.arizonaresponsesystems.com
 
Thanks for the link, fal308. Unfortunately it goes to Data Systems Analysts, Inc., providing "Technology Solutions in today's World," or something to that effect. :)

Can we try again? I will do a search later on today if I don't hear back from you.

Thanks again!
 
YES! FALs are easy to scope. I strongly reccomend the heavy mount from DSA, although I am interested in seeing the mount from Enterprise that is the same width as the rec. The DSA mount is slightly wider.
Accuracy with my DSA is phenomenal 3/4"@102yrds w/scope), especially when you consider that it is a standard barrel. It is #326 off the line, and the quality is the best I have seen. The match guns are supposed to shoot inside 1/4"@100yrds consistently, and I believe it. I love shooting mine against the guys with the bolt-guns.....my semi shoots almost as well as their bolt guns (They shoot consistent 1/2").
And yes, if I had the money, I'd upgrade or buy another.
 
Got to show off the babies!

izzyhb.jpg

stg.jpg
 
Sorry about the wrong url. Was mixing DPMS and DSA together. DPMS is supposed to be coming out with an FAL receiver this spring also. Proof (to me) that the FAL market is alive and well when more mfgrs are turning out parts for this 50 + year old design. :cool:
 
It shoots very well with the good ammo.
I have the muzzle crowned."Post Ban" "Kicks like my Sako 308 sporter without the brake!"
This pic shows it with the male thread Smith brake.
I have the coupler drilled and tapped with a
#6 setscrew and counter sank the underside of the barrel.Another mod I did to the coupler was to get rid of the index pin that holds the coupler to the barrel slot.I replaced it by putting a small nut on one side and using an Allen screw to secure it.
only one Allen wrench is all I need to remove/replace the coupler.It looks real clean,and does not shoot off!
I'll post a pic.
I came up with the idea because I wanted the best of both worlds.


[This message has been edited by PEA SHOOTER (edited February 08, 2000).]
 
Congratulations, Kodi, err, George! So, what kind did you get? What make of receiver? What barrel length? Details, Man! We need details!!!!!

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Mossyrock
Curmudgeon In Training
 
Hello, Mr. Hill. I have a couple of the licensed Argentine-made FALs and have been most satisfied with these pre-ban rifles. I can also vouch for the DSA SA scope mount. It does not move unlike a couple of more expensive ones I've tried. My guns prefer the 150 gr bullets for accuracy and will usually do under an inch or so until they really heat up. Even then the groups do not quite double in size! The FAL is a proven design and while heavy, it is a workhorse. Mine are not for sale. Best and enjoy your rifle.
 
Enjoy Indeed... I look forward to shooting it for the first time this weekend.
Studying the history of the rifle has been fun.
I can see some accuracy issues that could keep the rifle from printing tights groups, but are easy to fix.
One is the Scope - It needs to mounted a little further forward. This will let me get the proper eye relief. The distance from the Eye to the Lens is critical to good consistant shooting. That distance is different for everyone and changes with different scopes.
The other item is the sling. It attaches to the barrel. The problem with that is that when you hook your arm in the sling to brace for a shot - it changes the harmonics and effects the normal barrel whip. Your also pulling the point of impact off the point of aim - effectively ruining your zero.
This scope mount looks about as solid as you can get. I dont think its going to move.
Its a B-Square unit - and while I know the fellow at FAL FILES said B-squares are not optimal - it looks just fine to me.
My new rifle is actually an L1A1 made by Imbel out of Brazil. This is interesting because from what I have gathered, Imbel makes Metric Pattern FALs - Yet mine is stamped L1A1 and is an Inch Pattern. I cant find anything about an Inch Pattern Imbel - interesting.
I have some good quality Hornady ammo - Hornady has been the ammo of choice for me for as long as I can remember. I am hoping that this gun will like the Hornady as well. If my rifles dont like Hornady loads then the other brand they generally go for would be Winchesters premium grade stuff.

I dug out my old .308 balistic data and have been soaking in 7.62mm vibes all week. Gotta get over .223 as I am now dealing with a whole new ballistic curve. From what I can tell the FAL type rifle likes heavier bullets - so hearing it be said that a FAL likes lighter loads means I just have some more trial and error to go through untill I find the right load... I may not just be able to snag some 168 grain federal match ammo and expect above par results.

I was able to return the cases of .223 I had left - thats expensive stuff... I will need those funds for tuning this new black beast and bending it to my will.
Not that I am complaining - heck - This is the best thing about getting a new rifle!
:D

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I mean, if I went around saying I was an Emperor because some
moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, people would put me away!
 
George, I don't think Imbel ever made an inch pattern gun. It sounds like what you have is a Century L1A1 Sporter. These were parts guns built using L1A1 part sets and an Imbel metric upper (a few years ago, the metric parts kits were much harder to get than the inch kits). Century rethreaded the receiver for the inch barrel and modified it to accept an L1A1 folding cocking handle. What you end up with is an inch pattern FAL that accepts the much less expensive (and more plentiful) metric mags. All of the Century Sporters I've seen were post-ban with a thumbhole stock. No flashhider, no bayo-lug. It should be an acceptable shooter.

Check out the FAQ at http://fnfal.com/falfiles/faq.html for more information.

Another discussion we had here a few weeks ago brought out that someone had seen one of these with a mixture of inch pattern front sights with a metric patter rear sight and were almost impossible to get a short range zero on. Sounds like something Century would have done.

[This message has been edited by pbash (edited February 09, 2000).]
 
Last one I shot was class III, and the sun glinting off the shower of brass that day created a golden rainbow; the grass shone with Berdan cases that afternoon, and the rifle held its groups. What a fun, fun rifle. (That particular model was a light MG, though.)

L.P.
 
See guys... This is why TFL is the best on the internet.
A week ago I didn't know much about this rifle at all - and now, through information gathered from here, I am confident in my knowledge and understanding and have been guided to even more specific detailed information. Priceless.

We shall see how it actually shoots on the 12th!

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I mean, if I went around saying I was an Emperor because some
moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, people would put me away!
 
After reading all of these FAL threads over the last couple of weeks, I really want one now. The only other FAL I have ever shot was a real piece of junk parts gun. After hearing all of the reviews from folks here, and drooling over the guns on the DS arms page, I think that I'm going to save up for a while (years) and get me one.

Also, if anybody is interested, I talked with somebody name Robin at DS arms via E-mail. Their heavy scope mount still allows the use of iron sights if see through rings are used.
 
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