Just picked up my first FAL yesterday, it was a custom order placed with DSA on 2NOV04 and delivered to my FFL on 6JAN05:


DSA SA58C PARA

Since I will be shooting NATO surplus ammo almost exclusively, I went ahead and ordered the rifle with the NATO chamber:



I haven't shot it just yet but the weekend is almost here!

I want to thank my dealer for all the work he put into ordering this rifle for me and all his hard work at keeping up with DSA on the build and delivery times. Mark Thompson was an excellent dealer to work with and had excellent service and pricing. Mark was very understanding and patient with me and all my questions during the entire transaction. His communication and updates with me over the course of the many weeks/months it took DSA to make the rifle was terrific - I got weekly updates from him with out asking for them and he always followed up on any questions I had in a very quick time frame - typically the same day in almost every case (unless DSA was dragging their feet) I highly recommend Mark to anyone who is interested:

Mark J Thompson
(ARFCOM member: MT_Pockets)
Thompson Arms & Accessory
[email protected]

beautiful rifle...congrats!
whish mine (NOT DSA) could be that short

Nice rifle

Why was it a custom order, just because of the chamber ?

Did your dealer get you a break on the MRP ?

Yes, it was a custom order because of the para lower and the chamber. DSA does not stock/offer the para lowers "off the shelf" pre made but you can order one that way if you want.

Yes, my dealer made me a very nice deal on the rifle by a very fair margin.

Very nice rifle indeed!

Beautiful!  Welcome to the club!

Clean and lube her before you take her out the first time.  Also, the gas ports on these must be MASSIVE....mine won't short stroke even with the regulator on 7 (wide open).

Thanks for all the nice words guys. As you can tell by the date I ordered it (2NOV04) I was a bit worried about the election going the other way

My rifle came in with the gas port on "5" and some obvious brass marks from being test fired. I think I will leave it there for now and once its all broken in I will run it up to 7 and work it back properly to see where it likes it best.

I also picked up about 10 Styer mags and 10 new springs. Took a little more than an hour to clean them all up and swap the springs out. Holy cow some of those used springs were very compressed when compared to the new ones....sure glad I went to the trouble of swapping out the springs!

here's mine:  

Definitely do the strip n lube before you shoot.  Mine quit at about 80 rounds right out of the box...once it was cleaned and lubed with TW25b there's no stopping it.  I have about 800 rounds through it since its last cleaning, with no malfs.

Quietshooter - How did you remove the combo device? Specifically what tool did you use?

I couldnt find any of my tools that would fit the flats on the combo device...I suspect that it may require a spanner wrench to fit the notch on the 6 o'clock position of the combo device.

The combo device wasnt soldered on was it? I cant imagine that it would be but...you never know!

No, it isn't soldered on, but it is LH threaded and you will have to file a wrench to fit the flats.  I wound up just grabbing mine with a pipe wrench and tearing it up a bit to get it off.  I like the Steyr short a lot better than the combo device - less blast.  It is loctited, so heating with a propane torch would help.

Quoted: Just picked up my first FAL yesterday, it was a custom order placed with DSA on 2NOV04 and delivered to my FFL on 6JAN05: members.arstechnica.com/x/r_o_m_a_d/SA58CPARA_RS.jpg DSA SA58C PARA Since I will be shooting NATO surplus ammo almost exclusively, I went ahead and ordered the rifle with the NATO chamber: members.arstechnica.com/x/r_o_m_a_d/SA58CPARA_NATO.jpg I haven't shot it just yet but the weekend is almost here! I want to thank my dealer for all the work he put into ordering this rifle for me and all his hard work at keeping up with DSA on the build and delivery times. Mark Thompson was an excellent dealer to work with and had excellent service and pricing. Mark was very understanding and patient with me and all my questions during the entire transaction. His communication and updates with me over the course of the many weeks/months it took DSA to make the rifle was terrific - I got weekly updates from him with out asking for them and he always followed up on any questions I had in a very quick time frame - typically the same day in almost every case (unless DSA was dragging their feet) I highly recommend Mark to anyone who is interested: Mark J Thompson (ARFCOM member: MT_Pockets) Thompson Arms & Accessory [email protected]

Verry nice looking FAL, let us know how it shoots.

don't mean to hijack the thread but i wanted to add to your comment about Thompson Arms.

I am currently building an AR through Mark and I'm getting the exact same treatment as stated above.  He is a dealer like no other that i have dealt with.  My build has changed so much over the last 2 months and Mark has been extremely helpfull in getting me what i need and answered any questions i had.   If Mark could get by on professionalism and helpfullness alone he would be a rich man.    I live in minnesota and will be doing future business with him all the way out in washington.

Does anyone know what the size of the gas ports are on the 16" DSAs?

Quoted: Does anyone know what the size of the gas ports are on the 16" DSAs?

No, but I would imagine it'd be around .110" to .120".... My carbine's barrel is 16 and 5/8", and the port ended up at .120" - runs like a champ at 4, with new springs all around...

Those Para Carbines sure got the "look"...  I thought my STG-58 Carbine clone was "IT" until I saw one of those Para Carbines - damn NY BULLSHIT!!!


   - georgestrings

That is along the idea of what I want for my FAL, when I order mine in March.  What did that bad boy set you back.

Matt Carper

To remove the combo device find a bolt that will thred into the BFA threads, use a nut to lock it it to the combo device, twist like you are trying to tighten the bolt.

Quoted: Just picked up my first FAL yesterday...

Heck of a nice FAL for your first!  That thing is AWESOME.

Well, made it out to the local range this Saturday for some break-in shooting. I was only able to get 100 rounds down range but it shot beautifully! no failures or stoppages of any kind at all using Austrian NATO surplus 7.62....I would have shot more but I was asked to leave since I was shooting FMJ

Of course they told me I could buy some soft points at the range shop if I wanted to continue to shoot with their ammo. Their ammo was $1.00 a round so I called it quits for the day. I will just have to wait until I can get out to the lease in Abilene to keep shooting.

Quoted: Well, made it out to the local range this Saturday for some break-in shooting. I was only able to get 100 rounds down range but it shot beautifully! no failures or stoppages of any kind at all using Austrian NATO surplus 7.62....I would have shot more but I was asked to leave since I was shooting FMJ

What part of TX, ROMAD?

I was shooting at Alpine in FTW

nice rig

One last update (for now..)

Had a heck of a time getting the combo device off. It took a lot of heat and my propane unit wouldn't cut it. I made a quick trip over to Sledgehammer Arms and he was able to coax the thread locker loose and remove the combo device without damage. I have no idea what DSA uses on the threads but its a heck of a lot stronger than lock-tite blue thats for sure. Old Sledgehammer is one heck of a nice guy and was all to happy to drop everything and help me with my simple problem. I will be going back to him should I need any future assistance thats for sure.

While I was at it I went a head and removed the carry handle and installed a steel gap filler. I like having the option of the carry handle but in reality I will never use it. I think it looks better now.



Cant wait for the SAW pistol grip to come in someday (c'mon DSA speed it the hell up!) I also have a GG&G Front QD Sling Thing on the way as well - never did care for that barrel mounted sling mount, so its gone now too

In my opinion this is the best handling and sweetest shooting .308 autoloader I have ever owned including SAR-8 and M1A. Already sold the M1A and I think the SAR-8 is going to go soon now...

Very nice indeed.