What should I do? FN-FAl

[Punch The Clown]

I am totally immersed in the M1. To me it is not only a beautiful firearm but a reminder of what America used to be. For years though I've been kicking around the idea of building an FAL as I always loved them. I remember when parts kits were everywhere for $200 or less. My only hangup is they are not American and with aftermarket or non-receivers not authentic. I want to build one but I also want to get another M1 project underway.What to do? Stu

PS-That's why I've been avoiding M14's.-Aftermarket receiver.

[paid4c4]

Stu, either build and you're a winner. I like about everything FN sells and the FN FAL are great fire arms. The Fusil Automatique Léger ("Light Automatic Rifle") or FAL is a self-loading, selective fire battle rifle produced by the Belgian armaments manufacturer Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN). During the Cold War it was adopted by many North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries, with the notable exception of the United States. It is one of the most widely used rifles in history, having been used by over 90 countries.[3] The FAL was predominantly chambered for the 7.62x51mm NATO round, and because of its prevalence and widespread use among the armed forces of many NATO countries during the Cold War it was nicknamed "The right arm of the Free World".[2]
I have one of FN's 57X28 semi auto pistols and it's one of the best shooting handguns I own. I've wanted to do a FAL build for a long time but haven't had the time, I may put that on the list. I'll be following your thread should you decide to build one. Good luck with either build.
Bill

[Orlando]

The FAL has always intrigued me but I just never knew enough about them to know what was a good one and what was a bad one

[MH53GUNNER]

I always wanted to purchase a FAL. Could not really figure out all the differences such as which parts work with the Metric vs. Inch etc.
Things like how to identify specific parts. For example I know that Metric mags will work in Inch receivers, but, inch mags will not work in the metric.

I tend to avoid anything made by Century Arms.

This said it would be neat to build one.

[cuppednlocked]

Back in the day I bought a numbers matching STG-58 kit. Had it assembled on an Imbel receiver. It was a nice weapon. Being in grad school at the time I was strapped for cash.

I ended up selling it and have been looking to replace it with another FAL but the receivers have gone WAAAAAAY up from the $149 I paid before. Not to mention the good Austrian STG or German G1 kits have dried up unless you are willing to pay big money (big money for me anyway). I'm not a fan of the Imbel kits, I really like the bipod and wood furniture of the STG or G1. If I could find a reasonable L1A1 kit with the barrel (pebble furniture) I would go that route without hesitation.

As far as I know the only difficulty in a build is finding the correct locking shoulder but I have not put one together myself so I may be way off.

There are US made receivers now that are getting good reviews, but like the US M1A receivers be prepared to spend some money. I think they retail for ~$450.

Check out falfiles.com if you have not looked already.

[Schriv]

I built myself, or had built for me 10 various FAL style rifles back in the 90's. I've still got three of them. Two of them are metrics, one is an Aussie inch pattern gun. My 50.63/Para clone was my pin gun for fun matches back in the day. Pins don't seem to shrug off 7.62 hits the way they did with 5.56 hits. :0)
Anyhow..they are relatively easy to put together, but headspacing can be a bit tricky at first. It is dependant on either the locking shoulder (various sizes), breaching washers (inch guns) or both. Other than that, they are dirt simple to assemble.
Nowadays, you can get both Australian and British pattern receivers for the inch kits, as well as type one, two and three receivers for the metric kits. DSA and Entreprise both make very good receivers. But as mentioned above, they can be pricey.

My STG-58 and Lithgo L1A1 rebuilds. I still have these.

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w248/kschriv/Stuff%20for%20sale/STG-58andL1a1.jpg

My 50.63 clone. Still have it.

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w248/kschriv/Stuff%20for%20sale/ParaFAL.jpg

This was a T-48 style mixmaster that I sold a couple of years ago:

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w248/kschriv/Stuff%20for%20sale/MetricFAL.jpg

This one of the inch guns I built and sold. British style SLR on an Armscorp inch pattern receiver. The 30 round Bren/L4 mag and SUIT scope didn't go with it and I still have them.

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w248/kschriv/Stuff%20for%20sale/SLRwithSUIT.jpg

[Orlando]

Nice Schriv!

Can someone elxplain the differnce between metric and Inch FAL ?? In laymans terms please :)

[llurpirate]

good looking rifles. I am getting the fever for sure. Just have to do some more research first. Thanks for the Pictures and Information

[Schriv]

Inch vs. Metric is pretty simple. Belgian made guns (the originals), all European made copies,Israeli made versions, South African R1's and South American made copies (Imbel) are made using metric scales of measurement. Screws, thread pitch etc. All North American made (Canadian C1, H&R T-48), British L1A1/SLR's and Australian L1A1's are made using the 'inch' system of measurement. The magazines locking lugs are different between the two styles. The Indians make a bastardized copy that mixes the two!!! They refused to pay royalties to any of the license holders and cloned them locally.
Anyhow..Other than things like barrel threads, flash suppressor threads, locking shoulders, fire control parts and magazines, the other parts will often intermix with little or no effort.
The receivers are externaly different in appearence between the two types, but internal dimmensions are the same.
My T-48 clone was a complete mixmaster. It was made using a Metric upper receiver/barrel, with an inch lower, Canadian stripper clip top cover. British handguards and a modified Austrian buttstock. A British 'sand cut' bolt was used to complete the beast.
I also built an Israeli Heavy Barrel LMG and Light barrel SLR. They have a distinct set of furniture, and a unique selector switch that set the Izzy's apart from all other styles. The Israeli gas pistons are different (longer) than everyone elses and should not be intermixed. I didn't have a digital camera back when those were built, so I have no pics of them.
Kit prices have gotten a bit expensive, but they can still be found. The plus side is that you don't have any trouble finding good receivers now. Beware, FAL's are like crack. There are so many different versions that you can go a bit crazy trying to build one of each. :o

[sandsnow]

Here are some pix to supplement schriv's excellent info

http://50ae.net/metric-vs-inch/

[cuppednlocked]

Schriv,

That Lithgow L1A1 is NICE!!! I love the wood furniture.

[Schriv]

That one is my favorite. I went with the pre-1968 wood furniture and parkerized finish. The later L1A1's had a black semi-gloss paint over park and round, laminated hand guards. The Aussie furniture is made of coachwood and they soak them in thinned creosote. It has a distinctive smell when you first open the safe.
I've still got a complete STG-58 kit down in my shop. I might have to pick up a new DSA receiver and build up another toy. I've been wrenching Garands together and need a change of pace.

[cuppednlocked]

I've still got a complete STG-58 kit down in my shop.

I'm really jealous now. I've only sold 3 guns in my lifetime. The STG-58 is the only one I wish I still had.

[Eli]

Get the Italian FAL (a/k/a BM59), they're better!

Eli

[Punch The Clown]

So I can hang around your forum, eh?

[Eli]

So I can hang around your forum, eh?

Of course! And spend more money with Tim since he does the receiver conversions:D

Eli