Following up my previous thread, in order to make this thing more practical and handy, should I have the barrel cut down to an 18"?

I've read that the 21" barrel does nothing in terms of ballistics or accuracy and that 18" is still long enough to keep the noise and flash controlled.  Only loss would be originality, but then again, it is a non-matching kit.

What about reliability? Is the gas system too long relative to the shorter barrel length out in front if you chop 3”?

Steyr made shorter barrels for them that I think are 16”. But the gas port was moved rearward and I seem to recall some blurbs on the internet about reliability in the shorter barrels suffering.

That said, I have a 16” DSA that groups like a shotgun but has been quite reliable. But I haven’t compared the gas system with my short Steyr barrel.

I read somewhere that a Stolle flash hider won't fit on a barrel shorter than 19"

Also, I wouldn't mess with a good StG barrel.

Yes.

That's what I did (utilizing an Imbel chrome lined barrel). I prefer it to a 21" barrel.

You'll lose (at most) a couple hundred fps from losing 3" of barrel, but that's no big deal. It really depends on the barrel (and ammo).

Seemingly identical barrels of the same length can still produce differing velocities due to minor internal differences in the bore.

It's true that accuracy (precision, technically) will not be negatively affected by shortening a barrel (assuming it's crowned concentrically etc.)

You may need to enlarge the gas port (or rather, you may want to enlarge the gas port so you've still got a wider adjustment range of additional gas for adverse conditions).

Chances are it will need a bit more gas to function reliably with the shorter barrel, and if you provide that additional gas using only the regulator, you might not have many "extra clicks" left over.

DSA developed the short gas system.
16" barrels had already been used previously with a standard gas system. Generally that is fine, but moving the gas port aft allows greater flexibility in the system with regard to multiple ammunition loads (and the resulting differences in gas system pressure generated by each unique load).

It basically normalizes things so the regulator adjustment is less critical with the 16" barrel. If you only use one or 2 ammunition types, this is probably irrelevant for you, but the shorter gas system does weigh less.

My para utilizes a standard gas system, and I haven't found the need to adjust it when switching between various NATO surplus FMJ and Wolf FMJ.

There's a sweet spot where it cycles a good range of options. (This sweet spot would be narrower if the barrel were 16").

You will be fine.  I have an Imbel 18" barrel and the gas port is the same as my 21" Imbel barrel.   The gas systems were all the same length on metric FALs until DSA and others started marketing the short gas system on very short 11" and 13" barrels.  I have a 16" built with a short system and a 13" SBR.  The 16" was destined to be cut shorter as an SBR, but I find it works so well, I can't get myself to put the chop to it.

You will run into more things that impact functioning on a FAL other than an 18" barrel.

You will lose 75 to 100 fps, which is generally less than the difference between some surplus ammo makes.

Don't sweat it.

I had a FAL built by DSA from one of the German kits they offered many years ago, I had them substitute an Argentine barrel (they were selling them at the time) because I wanted the chrome lining, I had them cut it to 18" & it runs fine, their tech told me 18" barrels run fine & he was correct, he said 16" needed gas port work to function. This was back in 2001-2002.

I’m going to have to go dig my extra Steyr barrel out of my parts box. Ida sworn it had a charter gas system on it. But I’ve been wrong before.

Did Steyr use a larger gas port on the shorter barrels from the factory?

Not sure about Steyr. (Did they even make short barrels?)

I'm wanting to say that FN did on their Paras. I think I found all the diameters when I built mine in gunsmithing school, but that was back in 2007 and I don't remember.

From ARIZONA RESPONSE SYSTEMS
FN FAL AND L1A1 HOME GUNSMITHING
a workbook by T. Mark "Gunplumber" Graham

I have a short Steyr barrel. Or it was shortened and then refinished so much so that I can’t tell.

I’ll dig it out for a pic if I can remember to.

Don’t ruin an original Steyr barrel. If you really want a shorter barrel, I’ll trade you a DSA chopped original STG barrel for your 21”

Attached File

So then are we of the opinion that Steyr didn’t make short barrels but DSA chopped a bunch of Steyr barrels in house?

If so, did they do a good job?

I hate to rebarrel my DSA 16” if they butchered the chop job on the unmounted Steyr barrel I have as bad as they did the barrel that is already on it. I don’t know who the manufacture is but it isn’t marked like my Steyr barrel.

I believe they did not.

Looks like Steyr only produced standard 21" barrels for their StG 58. I could find no references to a Steyr-produced para or short barrel.

They did. DSA purchased a large number of Steyr barrels (along with other parts and tooling) and they're known to have sold many in shortened form (including on complete rifles).

I've heard they did, but I've never personally examined one of DSA's shortened Steyr barrels.

DSA definitely had a better reputation years ago than they do now. I'm not sure exactly why.

Some of it has to do with LMT previously supplying their (extremely high quality) receivers, but that ended long ago. That doesn't mean all their later/current receivers are faulty, but it has lead to complaints.
I'm unable to give you any feedback regarding their barrels that isn't 10+ years old. Back then the feedback was good.

A tad over 16" in wood with L1A1 flash hider.

The Austrians never made para, carbine or otherwise shortened FALs. Any short barrel with Austrian marks is a chop job.

DSA built STG58 kits on thier recievers. The serial number was followed by the letter A,B or C. A had a 21 inch barrel so it was uncut. B was 18 inches and C measured 16 inches.
,
Im not certian, but was told that they only cut damaged barrels, barrels with no matching parts kits or unserialed replacment barrels

I had one cut down to 17.5" (why that instead of 16.5", I don't even remember).  It has no muzzle device.  Recoil and noise are perfectly manageable.  That shorter barrel plus some lighter weight parts (aluminum lower, buttstock and handguards selected for light weight, etc.), and it's actually a pretty handy rifle.  It weighs 7.5 pounds empty.

I have a Century mixmaster that I cut down to 18” many years ago and have never had a problem.

Or chop your 21” STG to 16”.

Attached File

My first FAL was  16" with a DSA brake. Constantly set car alarms off in the parking lot at the range

I wouldn't cut down a Steyr made 21"

The barrels are known for accuracy and are very well made but from reading on the FAL files, something happens to the accuracy and it degrades when people got their hands on it and started cutting it down.

I have an Stg58 on a DSA type 1 receiver and have owned it for over 24 years with no issues and it has performed wonderfully doing an average 1 to 2 MOA using quality ammo to shitty ammo.


Look for an Imbel or Argentine but so far from my readings and observations with the FAL files....I don't see many getting any improvements cutting them down.

that's just my opinion but good luck if you do.

Not trying to high jack the topic, but were ALL Austrian StG-58 barrels stamped with a small stamped with Steyr emblem?

I bought a used “Austrian StG-58 barrel” and I didn’t see any markings other that finish wear pattern common with usage with the Austrian flash hider/wire cutter  muzzle device.

I can't say if they were ALL stamped, but the many many that I handled had the steyr emblem you mention on the barrel along with Kal 7.62 stamped right before it.

I wouldn't cut down a Styer barrel.

Buy a new DSA 16" or 18" barrel instead.
You can get a chrome lined barrel from them now I understand.

I cut one of my Chilean kit barrels back to 18". It's what the FAL should have been. I love it in this configuration.

My stg got chopped to 16", gas port opened up, no issues over thousands of rounds.

Cut the stolle down to muzzle brake length before swapping it out.

Don't hate, this is when my stg kit cost $300, and my imbel was $200.  Imbel recs were $200.

My 5 Imbel kits were on the FALFiles group buy for $99 each and recivers for $189

Know how I know AARP is sending you letters?  

Someone probably burned you on that deal. If the proofs weren't obviously ground off, then chances are it was a 922r/US or other barrel used to assemble a STG that was subsequently disassembled, and assumed to be Austrian/Steyr

There are also unscrupulous sellers out there selling parts kits and not disclosing they're mixmasters, or otherwise concealing that fact.

How did you know?

Hey, it hasn't been that long, 20 Years ago we were neck deep in cheap  surplus 7.62 NATO Gun's, Parts kits, Mags & Ammo!

What magazine is this?

Moses mag. He made them for awhile. I have 4 or 5. They work really well. He got very ill and stopped for some time.
Hopefully had starts back up with them. Or Magpul would start producing them. There is a market.

Moses also took a lot of customers money and did not deliver a product or make them whole.

This. Be nice to the FAL. They aren't many left except DSA's....

I had a matching kit and had the Steyr barrel chopped down....something I now regret doing with a good barrel.  Of course that was a $200 kit then and a $150 receiver or whatever they were going for...  

Probably the best barrels ever made for an FAL- don’t waste them.

The guy who built that gun did such a crummy job installing the locking shoulder (put a small dent in my Imbel upper, probably used a hammer) that I got the tools to do it myself for all of my builds after that.  So in the long run his shit quality did me a favor.  And it is a great FAL still, runs well.

I knew he had fallen ill.  I didn't realize that he got into the production stage on them before that happened.