Guy at work brings in this DSA gun, Cerakoted in Rhodie Camp, apparently a factory gun.

It had this odd hole in the receiver side, what gives? Does this have a purpose or was it too heavy for the previous owner?


https://imgur.com/a/AoG4Xpj

Sanitation hole. Cut in to remove previous marking.

They start talking about it at 4:00

https://www.forgottenweapons.com/rhodesian-fal-with-larry-vickers/

Peter G Kokalis wrote about this, many years ago, when he found some in Central America

here's your pic

Just a DSA receivered clone of a type of rifle where they wanted to make it slightly less obvious where it was made.

Also their camo job looks nothing like typical Rhody camo.  If you go to the trouble to cut a hole in the receiver, maybe do a more authentic paint job?

thanks for making the pic live, couldn't make it happen from my phone.

So the hole was cut to make it seem even more real?

And I agree, the camo leaves a lot to be desired.

Early rifle shipments from South Africa to Rhodesia contained rifles that had the South African crest on the receiver, along with some other markings around the rifle. Once these left South African service, the crest was drilled out completely and the other markings drilled just deep enough to remove them. Later R1 rifle shipments bound for Rhodesia left Lyttleton Engineering Works without South African markings, so there was no need to deface or remove markings. Most R1s in Rhodesian service DID NOT have the "sanitation" cut. Note that it was common knowledge where Rhodesia was getting its weapons from. Defacing the markings was simply and SADF administrative protocol as the rifles left service.

Someone cut the drilled the receiver to clone an early rifle, but I agree: that camo job does not look representative.

No R1s had the cutout because the South Africans never engraved their arms on the R1s. Only the FNs had them. Some managed to avoid having their markings defaced, though. I suspect some other national arms got cut out on FNs from other sourcrs.

The hole on that of the receiver maybe a Rhodesian FAL to removed the country of origin.  Paint was a common camouflage pattern to break up black finish in the field. Several Youtube videos are available to show those characteristics.

Incorrect. Per Firearms Developed in Southern Africa 1949-2000 by Chas Lotter, the FN-produced M2 pattern FAL was adopted as the R1 (as were subsequent, non FN-produced variants). No such distinction between "M2" and "R1" was made in-service by the SADF or RSF.

And, yes, I should have been clearer: LIW-produced R1s did not have the crest; only those produced by FN did.

Interesting.  Peter Wells has posted SADF documents that designate the various FALs differently, with the LIW ones being the R1.  IIRC, the ones with no muzzle device were the M1 and the ones with it from FN were just called FN rifles.  

Of course, when most people speak of the R1 regardless they are speaking of the LIW-made rifles.

I seem to recall rifles made for Cuba had a crest there....and subsequently drilled like that when Cuba sold them elsewhere