I need some feed back on my day at the range with my FAL on sunday

J

Jamie Young

New member
I finally shot my rifle on sunday and decided to shoot up all the ammo I had. I spent 5hrs shooting 100yds 200yds and 400yds. I had 4 Jams and after 400rds I had to open up the gas one number. I realized after I bought the ammo that Chilean Ammo is one of the worst out there to shoot and most of my problems were ammo related. I have a 3-12x Sightron scope on my FAL and a DSA mount with Weaver rings. I shot from 2MOA to 6MOA at 100yds. Once I got out to 400yds I could see giant blasts of dirt and wood fly up all around my target. I felt like I was sending artillery downrange more than I felt like a Gunner. The Scope mount seems to be solid and the scope didn't seem to budge but accuracy was not what I expected at 100yds. I did heat the barrel up a few times but I have never heard of 2MOA to 6MOA from an FAL or M1A? All guns heat up but is this normal? I fully understand the rifle needs to be broken in and I need to shoot some better stuff out of my gun and It does need to be greased.
 
I think you have it figured out. Try some decent ammo rather than the infamous Chilean.


The FAL is a battle rifle and 2 MOA is within reason.

TT
 
I was expecting at worst about 3MOA but I couldn't hit paper past 200yds. It was nice and Dry out and I blew the right side of the wooden post down with my first 400yds shot LOL!! It shot up a huge dirt cloud. Well it will be another two weeks before I get up there again :( I don't have time for reloading but I'll try some 168gr next time. What about the barrel heat up? This is almost in the Mini 14 category and I've never heard anyone bitch about an M1A or FAL that shot 6MOA with a Hot barrel?
 
were you using the stock bi-pod to shoot from? if so from what i have read tha bi-pod being attached to the barrel once the barrel heats causes the rounds to string out.
my fn maintains fairly tight groups up to 400yds. but that is also due to the fact that i am unable to find a place to shoot past that range.
i have harris bi-pod attached to the handguards instead of that clunky stock one.
my poi i notice varies depending on the ammo used. i went from 1/8" low with cavim to 4.5" high with some portugese stuff. go figure!
this was shot the same day from a moderate temp barrel. i now use the fnm? stuff. trying to find a good mil-spec ammo that responds well in all my .308's
but if i can drop 10rds rapid fire(for me) into COM @ 100yds i am happy
 
I can vouch for the accuracy and consistancy of the Portugese FNM surplus. I've shot hundreds of rounds of it through at least seven different types of MBRs and it is always reliable and accurate.

As for your FAL,you don't say what kind of rifle you have or who made it or built it. The accuracy you describe is sub-standard for a pre-'89 ban or a post-ban such as a DSA rifle, but if it is a post-ban parts gun there's the posibility that the barrel used to build the rifle might just be worn out. What kind of FAL do you have?
 
Its a DSA STG58 Type II.
The ammo is crap case closed, but I don't quite understand what Stringing out bullets means? How does mounting a bipod effect where the bullets go?
 
Stringing out refers to your point of impact shifting in a given direction...usually meaning it gets progressively worse.

The bipod can affect this because it is clamped to the barrel. More knowing souls than I can explain why- I think it has something to do with barrel harmonics or some such (remember, this isn't rocket science, but it IS ballistics).

IIRC they said that the bipod will cause the shots to string out as the barrel heats up. To me, that means that as the barrel gets hoter it is able to flex more (or at least, it flexes differently), and having the bipod (and hence, the barrel) supporting part of the weight of the rifle while it is getting hotter causes it to flex and send your shots to a different POI. I think. Something like that.

Either that or it merely offends the Rifle Gods and they will require you to atone by sacrificing a goat on the range. Take yer pick.

Mike ;)
 
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