No disrespect intended, but someone please explain to me the fascination with this rifle.  

The FN-FAL and its variants are very prolific due to it's widespread use. (60+ countries has used /is using it as their main battlerifle.)  That doesn't necessarily mean that it's the best.  

Most recently, kit building has really taken off, with the availability of various kits and US made receivers, one can have a nice blaster for $500 (if you get a Century).  

After shooting one, you might or might not like it, but you'll definitely see why we call the AR15 a mousegun. [smoke]

Excellent main battle rifle....proven in approx. 85 countries world wide, numerous conflicts.

Box fed.

It works.

20 round mags are $5.00 each.

You can build a superb example for $700.00.

7.62x 51mm is good and it's cheap.

Excellent ergonomics, good combat accuracy, reliable design, expert workmanship.

Easily one of the top 5 military long guns of all time.

i used to want an fn fal until i handled and fired one.was not to terribly impressed.i like the egornomics of the ar much better.i like my ar-15 even if its a mouse gun.the .223 is plenty for me and uncle sam.the examples i see at the gun store near me are of poor quality and way overpriced.for what you pay for a brand new factory made ar-15 say 7-900 bucks for that kind of money your gonna get an old pos thats put togerther with questonable skill.hesse and centurys at this one store go for 600 and 800 bucks and they are missmatched parts ,look like crap.i hear for a nice DSA your gonna shell out 1500 bucks or more.no thanks.

i like them both. i own both types of rifles, and they each have their place. i do tend to shoot the ar types more. but i usually haul both .223 and .308 out when i go shooting. out in the desert, the .308 really shows its ability to reach out. if you get a good fal like the dsa, you will be delighted. if you get a poor one like the century, you probably won't be happy. i have a fabrique national pre ban, and its nice. i put together a kit gun on an imbel reciever with a good stg58 parts kit, and dsa parts to make up the required american parts, and in all honesty it is every bit as good as the original fn.

Hi,

The rifle has a special place in my heart because I used to carry one in our Armed Forces.

At that time I cursed it because it was one heavy bugger to carry around on (long) patrols. Man, was I jealous of the troops carrying the Uzi (only during patrols, not on the firingline!) but than again it could always be worse (like the guy toting the MAG..)

Cheers,
RG.nl

I shot Paul's FAL, I really like it! It's a great rifle.
I have to have one.........

"The Free World´s Right Arm", that´s right used by dozens and dozens of countries. Very reliable, accurate and packs punch. The .308 has its plusses but for the average soldier the .223s do fine. The FAl type i have is a Australian Litgow made L1A1, cold forged steel all the main parts, barrel, bolt etc...

Our shop has sold over 100 of those here in Finland and 99.9 of the customers are very happy, recently we just picked one from the shelf and put a scope mount of our design on the side, the rifle shot about 1.1 - 1.4 MOA from 100 meters with training rounds , we just checked it had a clean looking barrel, no other specials before shooting it.

I have come to the heinous conclusion that if I had only one rifle, period, it would be a version of the FN-FAL.
If the caliber were'nt enough, the capacity would be with multiple hits...
Thank Goodness I don't have to make such a decision.

I think my fascination goes back to when I saw the movie "Wild Geese"  Performance and mag prices not withstanding, I just like the way they look.

bwilly where are you in NV?
The FAL is a great system. Reliable and accurate. I saw Steyer mags for $6 the other day.
At this point mags are $5-20.
I'm glad that I have DSA kit gun with the work done by Rich at Century Gun Works in Gardnerville NV.
Get one!

The FN-FAL is to NATO what the AK was to the Warsaw Pact.  We were one of the few NATO countries NOT using it I beleive.

I don't care about the .223 v .308 discussions since I don't plan on being (or care to be) hit by one!

It can be considered part of the MBR Holy Trinity: FAL/AK/AR (not necessarily in that order)

awp101[shotgun]

mds, i live out in lemmon valley, just out of reno. takes about 10 minutes to get to my favorite shooting spot up by the air race pylons outside of stead. i also like to go out to bedell flats, thats about 20 minutes away. nice and flat with shots clear out to a thousand yards. by the way, a buddy of mine has the dsa carbine lighweight version. super light. we havn't weighed it but i would guess that it is as light as a standard hb ar. with the dsa brake on it it doesn't really kick much more than an ar either.

I also have the DSA STG-58, and I was VERY impressed with its handling. The ballistics of the .308 speaks for itself. The weapon is VERY beautiful, functional AND most important RELIABLE....

As was previously said, IF I could only have one....FN all day long, NO question.....

BTW, When I woke up during our earthquake...I grabbed my FN and the satchel full of mags (Cheap AND New)....INSTINCT......

I have one built on a Hesse reciver and have had no problems so far, I tend to shoot it more than my AR or the M17s bullpup. Course I did just get the AR but I have had the M17 for a bit longer than the FAL. I just like the feel and the looks. I carried an M16 for a bit over 20 years and wanted a change.

Because it's so sexy!!

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Frankenfal -
DSA receiver
Argentine barrel
6 other american parts
The rest are Steyr

BTW - That black Argentine pre-ban 20 round magazine cost me less than 6 bucks.

tool, how long is the barrel and which brake did you go with?

The barrel is 21" and it is crowned.  That wasn't the prettiest option but it is very accurate and not so loud.

  I too have an F.N.

  Mine is the Canadian "C2" version. This particular piece of kit has the heavy barrel, and a really cool fold-up wood-sided bipod that becomes the forestock. (handguards to you American folks...)

  I also happen to have 8 30 round magazines to go with it.

  Yes, the ammo is heavy.
  Yes, it weighs as much as a small elephant.
  Yes, it kicks like a mule.
  Yes, the barrel heats up FAST.
  Yes, there is a total lack of sight picture on full-auto.
  Yes, it's about 4 yards long.
  Yes, the designers had no idea what a quick-change barrel was.



  Will I ever get rid of it?

           HELL NO!!!

I also have a DSA Kit gun, STG58a.  Its one of my favorites.  Its long, heavy and the recoil is heavier than the AR.  But you have the ability to reach out much further.  I have a SUIT Trilux on it like the Brits. Recoil is better than with the HK91A3. Now that sucker brings a new level of hurt! The A3 stock looks like it was designed to chew up your shoulder. But it looks so cool!  

Rich@CGW is making me a 18" Congo as we speak :D

I was suprised that it could function much like the AR10 models, but were cheaper.  Easy to clean, easy to get parts and acessories, sights easy to adjust, Mags cheap, ammo available.

One point that nobody has made yet, is that the FAL figured prominently in the early survivalist movement literature.  They were very expensive back then, and then became unavailable for a long time.  Now I can finally afford what I could not get as a ten year old back in '79.  Kind of like them old rich geezers buying classic cars, I suppose.

I recently obtained an STG58 kit gun, assembled
on an Imbel receiver. It is a class rifle, in my
opinion.  It fits me much better than the M14,
and is more fun to shoot.  The gas adjustment
nice, too.  Good used Steyr mags are five bucks.
The problem now is with the muzzle brakes that
a lot of us bought and are now under review by
the ATF. As for accuracy, I cannot really compare it to the M14, as the sights are true
"battle sights," and not as good as the M14's.
I would build another, if I could.  John

i have a preban argentine fal with a belgian congo barrel. pristine condition.  if i could do it all over again i would of bought a 7.62mm stoner or a steyr scout.  the ar10b looks cool too.  the fal is heavy and the foregrip is weird for me compared to a fal.  had a shop up in washington make me another fal which was a lemon.  he screwed up my argie also.  maybe this is why i don't warm up to them?

perhaps i should shoot it more and then i'd like it better.  right now it just sits

steve

would someone please fill me in on the dsa muzzle brake. i have one of them on my fal kit gun. the muzzle flash is absolutely blinding at dusk. i have a hard time believing that the a.t.f. could be so stupid as to make a 'judgement' on these brakes. as a muzzle brake, they work very well, as a 'flash suppressor' jeez, this thing should be called a 'flash enhancer'!!

steve, it could be that the people that 'worked' on your fal don't know what they are doing. the headspace on these rifles has quite a large range for 'go' and 'no go'. many gunsmiths tend to set them up for the tightest tolerances, and are for match ammo only. not a good idea. also, the pin used to set the headspace (i don't remember the proper term for it) will 'take a set' back a few thou. after a few hundred rounds. the question is: how many rounds have you fired thru yours since you have gotten it back? and, what type of ammo are you using? i question this because many of the kit guns that certain companys have assembled have NEVER had the headspace checked, just put together and test fired.(brave, or stupid people here) or (what do you want for six dollars an hour?) the tolerances are so wide that they can get away with this easily with a worn out p.o.s. that shoots fine. the occasional one in a thou that has too tight headspacing will: not eject properly, if at all, no matter what the gas setting is. check the gas setting like this: (this is opposite what the factory sez) shut the gas hole on top of the gas tube completely off with the knurled knob (no comment please), then load a magazine with one round, insert and fire. the empty should eject, and the bolt should lock open. if this does not happen, you got problems. the proper way to do this is to do the one round shot test with the knurled nob set with the gas hole open all the way, then close it until the bolt locks open on the mag, the go one or two klicks closed further for proper operation. this should be done everytime you shoot a different lot of ammo. i have a batch of hirtenberger ammo that was marked 'match' on the box. (hand written of course) i believe this sh#t was sold by paragon. it  will not function any of my fals well with the gas hole shut all the way.  ammo can be a real problem. right now i use the british radham green surplus, 1984 with the nato cross stamped on the brass, with no problem. (sorry chaps. to get so involved with the fnfal, one of my first loves, way before the ar types.) i hope this helps.
bwilly

bwiily

thanks for sucha detailed post.  only radway green also.  the post ban was a lemon - the inner gas tube sleeve had a crack in it so there was never enough pressure to properly cycle the weapon.  haven;t shot it since i sighted it in for y2k!  but i have pulled it back out to take another look at it and it is a nice gun.  stuck my compact acog with arms throw mount and it seems a better fit on this gun than on my abudabi 'm4' (another story!)

steve

yo steve. i do have a stg58 barrel with a short gas tube that has broken loose from the weld at the front, by the gas adjustment. could this be what you were discribing? i saw this and ordered a  like new steyre congo barrel from dsa before i ever assembled the kit. radway green?? yes, you are right. one of my best british friends' name ends with 'ham'. go figure. sorry
bwilly

USMCO3, the kit gun looks band new and is a great shooter.  DSA is a very reputable company and stand by their workmanship.  The rifle comes with a limited lifetime warranty.  The bore looks brand new.  The only problem has been the muzzle break legality.  They had a verbal OK from the ATF, and now the ATF wont give them a letter.  All the STG58s were recalled to get a break without the holes.  Mine is going back. The gunsthey have now are already fixed.  They come in a hard case.  $795 if you get your FFL to order it. $15 shipping.
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I never owned a Fal before but you guys got me fired up about this rifle so I went ahead and ordered a DSA FAL with a 21 inch medium contour stainless barrel.I wanted a long barrel .308 since I have a 16 in. AR10A4 carbine I think I'm ok with DSA? How about the barrel?
Thanks bobb