Glad to be able to post here and cant wait to take er out!

DSA Para FAL 16 inch with MRO, brand new and just cleaned

Please give us a range report as soon as you can.

I'm really interested to know how the newer DSA FALs run.

Great looking Para !!

Thanks for posting !!

Thanks!  Will do, im heading to range next week during vacation.  Hopefully by then I have my mass order of FN mags since I have heard 90% of issues are with the DSA mags.

I think you will love it.  They are lots of fun to shoot!

Actually my son is planning to purchase a .308 semi auto and so far he is
torn between an Armalite AR10 or a DSA Para FAL.

We have lots of FAL experience due to my always having at least one FAL on hand.

However we mostly like to shoot and run drills with our various 5.56 ARs.
So the AR10 will better fit the type of shooting we enjoy.
AR10 will be a better fit for optics too, as well as long range accuracy.

That being said, my concern with any AR in .308 is going to be reliability.
If the new DSA FAL is GTG from day one then it should be more reliable than the AR10
just as a result of it's operating system.

I'm hoping it runs alright, there are definitely mixed reviews out there.

That looks nice. I'm sorta jealous. Although FAL is way down on my list right now.

What did it cost you?

It was right about $1,600

Nice stick! My last build looked just like ithe.

The only issue I have had with my recent DSA mags is the bolt hold open engages on the 19th round leaving 1 in the mag. I have yet to even look at the reason so I can address it. 

Look forward to tangent report.

Double tap.

So I took it out to the range today.  And honestly mixed results.  I took the first rounds to get the gas setting right per manual and after that had mixed feeding issues.  The good news is that it was damned accurate and fun to shoot.  The recoil was downright pleasant compared to SCAR 17s which was already negligible.  Noticeably less than an m1a or hk91.  Grouping was well within an inch at 100 yards.  

Now for the bad,  first off is I believe it to be magazine related.   I had 2 different types of issues distinct to the two types of mags I used.  The DSA mags would function 100% reliably IF the initial seating worked,  problem was the 2 mags I have the first round tended to pop out once rocked into rifle.  I could reproduce the issue without closing bolt, it just would pop out of the top when inserted.  Next up was 3 mags I received from Numrich that were sold as "FN"  but came in cosmoline and a little piece of paper in hebrew which leads me to think they are isreali which are known to be good quality.   On these, the round never popped out of the top, but several feeding issues were experienced.  The springs were noticeably weaker than the DSA mags so I have to think they are worn out and need a refit.  In any case,  I am leaning towards the magazines being the issue. One other note is that the isreali mags were solid in the rifle where the DSA mags had some wiggle, leading credence to the latest and greatest news that DSA mags still suck.

I am going to order different mags to give them a try, moses mag and steyr mags specifically.  If that fixes the issues than great.  If it does not I would have to think the receiver is out of spec and back to DSA she goes.  

Sorry for the wall of text but wanted to be thorough,  also adding this link from FALfiles for relevancy:  http://www.falfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=398345

What is happening with the mags is if you load an odd number of rounds, that puts the first round on the right side of the mag.   When you rock it in, the pin on the BHO hits the rear of the cartridge and it flips up at sharp angle if not completely out of the mag.
Mine does it with my Izzy mag too.   I think it's the shape of the pin.   I have yet to mess with mine to figure it out.

Bingo!  

So my issue seems similar,   only it happens with the DSA mags.   The Izzy mags sit too low and its probably why they are having feeding issues.  In the DSA mags the follower rides higher but the round when on the left pops up as shown.   What do now? ha

hmmm, that is strange. I am hitting the range tomorrow and will try to replicate this issue using my DSA mags and report back.

That would be awesome if you can let me know!  I bought 3 more DSA mags from AIM and a Moses Mag to rule out the ones I have as the cause.  Also probably gonna call DSA on Tuesday to see what they have to say.   Could have been a bad batch of receivers.

couldn't get my mags to replicate your issue. Mine always leave 1 in the mag and lock the bolt back early, otherwise function perfect. I tried it with even and odd rounds. My rifle is an Argie kit built on a Coonan, so that may be the difference, I dunno.

I appreciate your checking.   For an update I left the DSA mags fully loaded since Friday to try and get the spring a little broken in and sure enough it doesnt happen anymore.  I need to take them to the range to be sure and will update for everyone interested.  My train of thought right now though is that the newer DSA SA58s prefer DSA mags.  But the mags put the rounds a little too high so that the release trips the first round.   If you break it in it seems to solve the issue.

Like I said i will update next saturday from the range,  but as I didnt have any FTF with the DSA mags assuming they load correctly,  I am sticking with the mags as the issue and not the rifle until proving otherwise.  

*Edited to add, at first it would trip the left and the right round when loaded to 19 and 20.  Now it seems to not.

Thanks!

Matt

Just as a final note to this,  i have been alternating between 7 DSA mags,  on a clip higher gas setting it worked through 300 rounds without incident.  The israeli mags no go.   DSA seems to like DSA mags....  Im considering this closed and happy with my rifle now.

You may also encounter issues with the 16" barrel.  If a barrel is much under 17" function becomes a hit or miss thing and it absolutely requires the opening of the gas port, something that some people fail to do in the process of cutting down the barrels.  If a barrel was produced here in the U.S. at that length, then AFAIK the gas port should be gtg, although function is still not guaranteed.

And yes, DSA mags are unreliable, although supposedly their 30-rounders work fine.


ETA: I didn't realize how old your post was.  Glad to hear that it runs well.

I just wanted to come back to this to set the record straight.    Once I upped the gas setting one notch, the DSA FAL was 100% reliable thru 300 rounds as long as I was using my DSA 20 rounders.  It hates the IWI mags which seem to have weaker springs despite being new.   I have been blasting away with no issues now.

Hope this helps someone considering the purchase.   If you get a new DSA stick with DSA mags, mine really really seems to like them better.  In FAL kit patterns these mags stink but DSA seems made for them.

What?

What I meant was,  in my friends kit built FAL (he got the kit around 2003, I believe G1) the DSA mags work like crap but they love the IWI mags.   In my DSA the opposite is true,  hates the IWI mags but doesnt fail on high gas with DSA mags.

Thank you for clearing that up.