I just shot a 223 FAL that was built by Meeper.  I never placed much faith in this conversion, since on the face of it, seemed pointless.  Once I shot it, I liked it.  A lot.

It had a fluted Colt barrel mated to a Dan Coonan reciever and I was amazed at how light and how close it was in weight to my RR HBAR midlength AR which I was test firing today.  

This FAL uses AR mags via an adaptor that seats in the FAL magwell.  The adaptor can be removed from the magwell using a release mechanism machined into the the FAL upper magwell.

I fired a mag of Wolf through it in the off-hand and was surprised at how well it stayed on target during follow up shots.  It now has me rethinking the whole AR gas piston setup, as I believe this rig is a far more robust setup.   It would probably be a sweet setup using a DSA railed front stock with an ARMS scope rail cover and Aimpoint with ARMS 22M68 ring.

The only drawback would be the inability to co-witness the irons.

I also like the compatability with all my AR gear.

No pics since I forgot to put a memory card in my digital camera.

arrrrr, no pics..   Sound pretty neat.  I've always wanted a 556 FAL ( not that FNC monstrosity either).

There nothing quite like a 15lb 5.56.

Quoted: There nothing quite like a 15lb 5.56.

Especially when you can get a quad rail for it to hang another 8 lbs of
optics, flashlights, grips, and flip sights on it.

I'd still ike to see a pic anyway...

KyARGuy

Quoted: I'd still ike to see a pic anyway... KyARGuy

So would I.

If you don't mind me asking, any idea how much the conversion cost?  (not sure if it was your FAL or someone elses)

I've got a FAL converted to .45 that has never worked right.  It's a very light setup using a Williams Arms CE aluminum receiver and a DSA lightweight lower.  I've been thinking of having Meeper work his magic over it and either convert it to .223 or some other caliber.

You guys must've missed the reference to weight here:

It had a fluted Colt barrel mated to a Dan Coonan reciever and I was amazed at how light and how close it was in weight to my RR HBAR midlength AR which I was test firing today.

The barrel is a turned down Colt barrel and the balance was very good.  I have several FALs, and this thing is a lot lighter.  I had my 16 FAL w/mag inserted nearby.

It felt about 1/3 heavier.

The rifle is not mine, and I'll probably get to see it again.  I don't know how much the conversion cost.

XeroSygnal, those Williams aluminum receivers have a habit of going kaboom, but perhaps with .45 vs 762x51, it may not be an issue.  You may want to do some inquiries over at the FalFiles on this.

It's a cool rifle no doubt.


But in 5.56, there is never a need for anything but an AR.

I'm a huge FAL fan though and I'd certainly buy a 5.56 FAL if it took AR mags and I had a heap of extra cash to do nothing with.

I'm working on a FAL conversion right now too....but mine is not in the 5.56. Another thing Meeper has a system where you can have quick change barrels and he's done a lot of different conversions.  

Once I have it finished I'll post about it.

Ant

Omar, thanks for the reply.  I'm a regular lurker over at FAL Files as well.  As I understand it, the early WAC receivers weren't much good for anything.  They corrected some issues and started calling the new receivers "Combat Elite".  I understand the WAC CE version still isn't strong enough for 7.62 but will handle lighter conversions with no problems.

How much does a .223 FAL conversion or quick barrel change conversion run?

Any news of a 6.8mm conversion?

I'm a big fan of the FAL but I've never had much use for one in 5.56. The same is true for the HK 93 ( a great gun in 7.62 as the HK91) both are too heavy in comparison to the AR15.

For my needs, a 5.56 FAL that retained the weight of its big brother would be one of those "neat to have" guns, the kind you get after all other needs are filled and you just want something cool and out of the norm.

But get the weight inline or even less than an equivalant sized AR, and that makes for a much more practical option.

Quoted: XeroSygnal, those Williams aluminum receivers have a habit of going kaboom, but perhaps with .45 vs 762x51, it may not be an issue.  You may want to do some inquiries over at the FalFiles on this.

After watching the debacle over at FAL files while it was fresh, and remembering the pics of the recievers, there is no way in hell I would put one of the Williams recievers up next to my brain.

Unless I was dead set on playing Russian roulettle.