Questions for my new FAL

N

Nightcrawler

New member
Okay, I just picked up my STG-58 FAL from federal arms. It's got a 20.5" barrel, no muzzle brake (I'm going to buy a bolt-on one one of these days) and is built on an Imbel receiver. I have yet to fire it, and it's my first .308 rifle. I have some questions.

-While there is a manual bolt lock, pulling the charging handle back with an empty magazine in the well doesn't lock the bolt back, unless you press up on said manual lock. I'm pretty sure this means the bolt won't lock back after the last round is fired. Am I wrong?

-I have the gas-regulator set on 7. What should I set it on for best operation?

Thank you.
 
Hello. With an empty magazine in place, pulling the bolt back SHOULD make it lock back. A problem's present either with that magazine or the hold open. To adjust the gas port for the load you shoot, open it all the way up and close it just to the point that your gun properly operates such that you apply as little force as possible to the gas system. With a newer gun, you may be able to shoot with the gas vent opened all the way or nearly so. Best.
 
From what I have read over on the Fal Files http://www.fnfal.com , I believe that the rifles that Federal Arms sells are actually assembled by Century (look for a stamp of CAI on the reciever). Most of the Century rifles for some strange reason have had the bolt hold open pin ground off, you can push it in far enough to catch, but it won't do it by itself. The entire part is cheap and easy to replace, and some people have just replaced the pin with a piece of rod, or even drill bit. Check out that site for anything you could ever want to know about the FAL and the many variants, including downloadable material on proper care and feeding (including gas regulator adjustment)
bergie
 
The bolt will not lock back in your gun, the good news is you can buy a bolt catch from a metric patern gun for under $20 from http://www.dsarms.com and install it your self( real easy, only one screw) and make it hold open.
 
As said above, the bolt hold open device is cheap and easy to replace. I've heard that Century grinds the pin down because there's some sort of conflict with their cheapy US-made followers (plastic follower, maybe?).

My FAL runs nicely around 4-5 on the gas adjustment sleeve. Like you probably know, you need the hold open device functioning to really get it right.
 
Century does not grind the pins down. They were removed in service. For some, the bolt hold-open is not a desireable feature. The AK-47 and HK-91 also lack them. On the AK-47, it was an economy. On the FAL, it is an advantage.

Consider the mechanism of the FAL. The Bolt Hold-open device, if engaged, requires one of two procedures to charge the rifle. One is to pull the charging handle fully to the rear and release. The second is to fiddle with the tiny bolt release. From a training standpoint, it is the same procedure as clearing a malfunction. Instead of having two procedures, why not have one? In the heat of a firefight, it is easy to forget whether you've just changed the mag or have a malfunction. It is a serious waste of time to FIRST fiddle with the mag release and THEN use the procedure you should have used in the first place. I'd prefer a bolt handle that's fixed to the bolt myself because reloading with that folding handle is a cumbersome procedure.

From a tactical point of view, I'd rather pull the bolt back most of the time. The tiny bolt release is not as easy to manipulate as the "smack-to-close" M-16 hold-open. My FAL is an L1A1 parts gun that lacks the hold-open pin. I don't mind much... then again, I didn't mind the HK-91 either.
 
As far as I know, only the commonwealth contries disabled the hold open device, so if this rifle was built from a parts kit, the hold open device was disabled somehow.

I consider the hold open device to be highly desireable as you can feel it when the gun runs dry and can avoid the "click" of an empty gun.
 
My CAI Parts Gun was built from an Inch Pattern gun. I believe that the bolt hold-open was retianed from the original kit. I don't think a missing bolt hold-open is that much a liability. I'd rather have one if given the choice but I'm not going out of my way to get one. The biggest beef I have with mine being missing is when firing single-fire at DCM Matches. OUCH! Pulling that damn charging handle over and over again really sucks.
 
Your FN should function perfectly with a 5 setting.If it doesn't check the dia of the gas hole in the barrel.There was a change made in the dia.It went from .095 to .115.there are allso some areas to seal on the gas system.I would sugest that you get the American Gunsmithing Instutes FN FAL vidio.Its a very good tape and give you all the differences between weapons plus complete tear down and lube.Allso go to the fal site listed above or to arizonaresponsesystems.com.I think that is the right URL.THey are allso linked to the FN FAL site listed above.They have a very good gunsmithing book on line.
I have built a number of FNs so have had some experence.If I can help in any way fell free to email me .
 
there were three types of holdopen fitted to British L1A1 SLR rifles. One had a short pin in it which served no useful purpose, one had a hole in it that could accept a suitable pin if you made one, and one was solid. The solid one was more common. All holding open had to be done manually.
I remember being charged with "conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline" for adding a pin to mine.
 
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