Don't own one, but I want one! Especially with the wood furniture, haha. That's a beauty you've got there though!

 

I think the Israeli spec ones have that wood furniture. You can get it as an aftermarket parts I think.

If you don't order them new from DSA they are a PITA to find on the second-hand market alas.

I see a few Century ones floating about on Arms List though...

 

DSA are the main source for accessories - their rail dust cover is the best one out there. It is really solid when installed and optics mounted on the same half of the gun as the barrel make most FALs into about 1.5MOA guns (pretty similar to an M1A really - but with more modern ergonomics - LHS cocking handle and safety catch, pistol grip and better mags).

You probably won't need many parts - they don't break much.

Keep the slots in the upper receiver and the corresponding tabs on the bottom of the breach block slide/carrier oiled. Run your gas piston dry - oil there only makes the carbon stick.

The adjustable gas system is great. You can tune it without tools to work with pretty much any ammo and when it gets dirty/hot, you can click the regulator down one number at a time to compensate and keep it running.

Great rifles - and things shot with 7.62x51 stay shot....

 

i have an SA 58 as well, great rifle, i got the 18" barrel though

 

Consider joining the falfiles.com all info you may need as well as parts and custom builders. I bought my rhodesian parts clone and made extensive use of the site learning adjust gas system and such.

 

Nice score!!
I was looking at one in '87 but was talked out of it by someone riding the sks-train. (the sks is so much cheaper, etc....) Stupid me.

 

Well, since the dark days of 1988 when center-fire semi-auto rifles were restricted the elusive FN FAL was out of reach, no longer!

Look what Watch Ryder buzzed in from the nearby FFL:

SA 58 FN FAL!

The Right Arm of the Free World descends, one of the Kings of the Battle Rifle calibers is now for your perusal...

From what I've learned so far the magazines are expensive compared to the PTR but the ergonomics are much nicer, more finesse with the versatile adjustable gas-settings.

Does anyone on here own one of these wonder rifles? DSA is probably who I will get my parts from, but do others go down this avenue.

Congrats!! A FAL is a fine rifle.

20 round GI metric magazines range from $25-60 at the stores I frequent.


I still have a FAL that I built at the turn of the century, back when a Chilean parts kit was $99, an Imbel GL receiver was $200, and a new Argentine CL barrel was $115. Magazines were $6, and 200 round battlepacks of 7.62x51mm NATO were $25.

Mine also has a FSE trigger group and Penguin furniture.

I once did a mag dump on a self propelled lawnmower at a decent range. Rounds impacted the fuel tank, atomized the fuel, blew off the head & cylinder, igniting the fuel, which in turn ignited the crank case oil.

That mower burned for several minutes as the FAL shredded it like tissue paper.

A battle rifle is very formidable. It's just that now they've become expensive to feed.

 

So what yer saying is that my M1A isn't king anymore?

 

Have you ever shot a FAL?

Or a G3?

Or an SR25?

 

Does anyone on here own one of these wonder rifles? DSA is probably who I will get my parts from, but do others go down this avenue.

I have one, too, 18" barrel -- or at least I did until the boat accident. I wish I could find good, inexpensive mags for it, but the DSA magazines seem about as cheap as it gets. I've been looking at the ones from mosesmag.com, but haven't bitten, yet.

I'm about done with an LR308 build; then I'll have to decide what exactly to do with the FAL.

 

Watch Ryder is Britain now allowing these for import and sale?

 

Only if you send it to a section 5 dealer who will 'castrate' it be 'straight-pull' only. Then you can buy it if you have a section 1 certificate and use it at 'approved' ranges...

 

Just so you know a "folding stock" (Para parts) isnt just the stock. It requires a proprietary bolt carrier, Springs, lower, etc.

A poor copy of the originals from DSA will run you about $500

Congrats on the FAL. I own "a few" myself

 

Thanks, what a shame about the price on conversion!

Another time for that I guess. I'll drop some coin on that in another time I guess.

 

Always wanted one. Very nice, rifle.

 

FN FAL is King to me.:thumb: dont get me wrong M1A is king too.. But FN FAL is in a class of its own, I might be a bit biased too :

 

I built my original Austrian parts kit (Don't ask!) on an Imbel (Gear logo) receiver back in the early 90's. That thing is a beast! It's heavy to carry, the front hand guard gets really hot if you dump a few mags thru it and...and.....and
I LOVE IT!!!
That's my baby! It's not super accurate...not like 1/16 moa at a gazillion yards but it's a battle rifle. I regularly hit 1 1/2 foot diameter steel plates at a 1000 yards. That's not to shabby with a battle rifle. I did notice that using the built in bipod had a very bad effect on long range accuracy. It ate anything that I've ever fed it and the adjustable gas system makes tuning for different ammo a breeze. Once properly tuned, you can feel the difference on recoil and see the nice clean trajectory of the empty brass kicking out. Recoil is more of a shove than a kick.

For improvements/mods, I would suggest a set of fiber hand guards, not metal ones. They'll still get hot but not as fast. On mine, I decided to keep the oem metal ones but installed a heat shield inside of them. That keeps them from getting hot at all. For the scope mount, I used a DSA one but added some locking screws to the side rails. I also dimpled the inside of it where it grabs the receiver. For real accuracy with a scope, forget about removing. reinstalling the scope mount and holding zero. I tried that and it doesn't work very well so I just Locktited it in place. I don't remove it for cleaning. The bolt and carrier come right out the back and a rag fits down inside to clean the insides. I also added a leather cheek pad to raise my eye line for the scope.

They're wonderful rifles and I love mine!

 

I really like the FN FAL, it just fits me. Thinking hard about buying one but read they had a big problem with brass cases, they dented the rim of cases so they could not be reloaded. Can someone tell me if this is true? Not being able to reload brass is a deal killer for me.

 

Not true if you set the gas right.

 

Well said Macker!

How easy is it to change the extractor angle? Adding a soft piece? Did you just expoxy the soft stuff on?

 

No, the ejector angle is not hard to alter. With the receiver top off and the bottom open: Look down into the area just behind the mag opening....The little plate sticking up and pointing forward... to the left of the bolt catch bore is the ejector....look closely and you can see that it's angled....the right side is more forward than the left....on the point of the right side...there should be a tiny flat spot....that's the spot to alter. It's where the butt of the shell casing actually hits.

Try cleaning it up with a file first. If that doesn't work, file it more of an angle BUT THE ANGLE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS ONLY ABOUT 5 DEGREES.
It's just barely an angle..just enough for clearance. Sometimes it even ends up as being flat...a zero angle. The actual point that hits the shell casing butt can be moved by adjusting the angle. Moving it to the right makes the impact on the shell casing butt more towards the center making the ejected casing fly more forward. Moving it left will make the casing fly more right and spin more too. On my STG58, it took about 15 minutes of work and most of that was spent in dis/reassembly. Now it will kick the empties out to about 1:30 (clock direction) and drop them all in a neat pile.

For the softy cushion, I have seen people use the "furry" part of stick on velcro. Just cut it to shape, peel it off and stick it on. It worked fine on theirs and is removable.

 

Word to the wise, you can get almost anything you need from DSA, but they usually take forever to get your order. If you want it for next year order it now.

 

Why does it take so long?

 

Yeah, the FAL is lefty friendly. It's not ideal, but still good.

It's heft is a bit of work. I use any improvised brace/bench I can scrounge.

 

Well the Scar, imho is ONE of the kings, not THE king. The Scar busts up glass, 16" barrel the only option? Does not have integrated bipod as standard and lacks adjustable gas-moves.

Nice fuzzy features, but no cheaper than a DSA. In fact aren't Scars over $2000!!!?

Scar is a king, but not THE king.

 

So far the 16" is the only option from the factory, but aftermarket barrels are said to be available. But why worry about another barrel when the one that it comes with can shoot sub-MOAs? I personally like the shorter barrels as it makes it more convenient when carrying it.

As for the integrated bipod, my DSA SA58 carbine didn't come with a bipod, and yes I purchase it new. The SCAR comes with a picatinny rail so that you can add whatever bipod you wish. I have a GG&G combat tactical that works just fine on mine and it's quick to install/uninstall. I can also add a AFG or horizontal grip, light/laser, etc... that use such rail. Can you say the same about a factory FAL or one of it's many clones?

While the SCAR doesn't have the range of adjustments for the gas. It really doesn't need it seem that standardization of ammo quality is the norm now not the exception like when the FAL was being developed and field. There is just two adjustment; standard and silenced. I could not find in the field test in Afghanistan reports of cycling issues due to gas system problems.

As for cost, yes it very expensive. I shopped around for almost a year before I found mine NIB for $2485 on GunBroker.com (that also included shipping). I've seen these rifle go generally around $2700 to $3200.

 

If I ever decide to replace my favorite battle rifle, I would choose the FAL - not the SCAR 17.

 

What is your fav. battle rifle dare I ask? A G3 perhaps?

 

M14, M1As, RFB! Nice selection!

You are spoilt for choice, now broaden it out with some G3s and FN FALs!

 

All 5 are civilian semi-auto M14s.

 

What do you mean two different designers? Both are FNH?

Ammo isn't that bad, I get it for 50 cents a round.

 

An original Steyr FAL no alterations.It's damn heavy

 

I bought my FN FAL(s) pre ban and are the primary reason that when I formed my prep group that I specified 7.62x51 as the only "group supported" rifle. Members must have either a FN FAL or LAR so we have some interchangeable parts and magazines. If a member wants a mighty .22 AR platform, they are on their own for parts and ammo.

 

Sorry, not much experience with FN FALs. What is the difference between a current model and a pre-ban one?