What is a 308 fal
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The Real Hawkeye
member
They are military rifles originally manufactured by Fabrique Nationale in Belgium. They are one of the finest such rifles in 7.62 NATO ever designed. They are available in forms such as the STG-58. Just punch that into a search engine and enjoy the ride.
Here's where you can get one. http://www.dsarms.com/
Here's where you can get one. http://www.dsarms.com/
DMK
Member
They are something like a cross between an M14 and an AK47. (well, not really) 
www.falfiles.com <--- Home of the FAL
www.falfiles.com <--- Home of the FAL
Thefabulousfink
Member
[Obi-Wan]An elegant weapon for a more civilized age.[/Obi-Wan]
...Or at least the '50s, '60s, and '70s (and '80s in some parts). It has been called "The right arm of the free world." It was carried by almost every NATO or allied contry at one time or another. The Inch verson was carried by the UK and the Commonwealth (sp?) Nations. It was handed out to many African and South American forces durring the many proxy wars of the Cold War. It is slightly less iconic than the AK47, but just as widely distributed around the globe.
P.S. It is also said to rival the AK in reliability and accuracy.
...Or at least the '50s, '60s, and '70s (and '80s in some parts). It has been called "The right arm of the free world." It was carried by almost every NATO or allied contry at one time or another. The Inch verson was carried by the UK and the Commonwealth (sp?) Nations. It was handed out to many African and South American forces durring the many proxy wars of the Cold War. It is slightly less iconic than the AK47, but just as widely distributed around the globe.
P.S. It is also said to rival the AK in reliability and accuracy.
Ooooh. He's picking a fight!P.S. It is also said to rival the AK in reliability and accuracy.
Reliability? Yeah, pretty close.
Accuracy? Got the AK beat by a long shot.
Now, where does the AK have the FAL beat? Weight, rapidity of handling, raw economics (they're dirt cheap).
To answer the original question, the FAL was the rifle that the rest of the world was using when we were using the M14 or M16 and the Soviets and their puppets were using the AK-47. Yes, that's an oversimplification, but hey. FALs (Fusil Automatic Leger, or "light automatic rifle") shoot a full-power rifle round (7.62 NATO, AKA .308 Winchester), and are big, heavy, rugged, reliable weapons. They are combat accurate (read: accurate enough). Originally, they were designed to be full-auto, but most nations disabled the FA capability due to the difficulty of accurately employing a full-auto shoulder-fired weapon (the M14 had the same problem: light gun + full-power round + full auto = good way to waste ammo to no good end). They're perfectly good weapons in semi-auto mode.
They get the job done.
Mike
mmike87
Member
Perhaps - but I'll take mine from DSA.
I love my FAL. I bought it in 1986 after my H&K 91 was stolen and found it a bit more elegant and ergonomic that the HK. Mine was brought home by a returning soldier who had purchased it while stationed in Germany so it has no import marks. Then in 2003 (yup, 17 years later) the cops called and said they had recovered the stolen HK. I kept both.
Limeyfellow
Member
They really are a joy to be loved by all.
One day I would like to see some of the early British prototype fals in 7mm/.280, compact and low recoil that would have made an awesome firearm.
One day I would like to see some of the early British prototype fals in 7mm/.280, compact and low recoil that would have made an awesome firearm.
chaingunner
Member
anybody know if FALs are legal in CA? I'm talking about semiauto only FALs, not the models with selector switches..
No offense, but do you even know what you are talking about???
And yes, FALs (in a fixed mag, stripper clip top cover configuration or Pistol Grip-less) are legal to own in CA.
Many CA residents own them. DSA and Enterprise will happily sell you their CA compliant FALs for double the markup of a regular FAL.
One cool thing to note about the FALs is the adjustable gas system...lets you set how much gas gets through to cycle the action.
Want proof of the FALs reliability?
Old Dirty! An experiment on Falfiles.com
Want proof of the FALs reliability?
Old Dirty! An experiment on Falfiles.com
chaingunner, Is any gun still legal in CA? The only military style semi-auto rifles not specifically banned by the AWB of 1989 were the M1 Carbine and the M1A1. I do not know why these two were excluded but the FAL was specifically listed. And of course all of the magazines over 10 round capacity were banned.
My heart goes out to those trapped in CA. Not a good place if you believe the Second Amendment actually means something.
My heart goes out to those trapped in CA. Not a good place if you believe the Second Amendment actually means something.
Bwana John
Member
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- Sep 10, 2004
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I would say that that is a FAL with tight headspace.
Where do you get one? Build it yourself, have a "FAL mechanic" build it for you or pay for one off the shelf.
http://world.guns.ru/assault/as24f-e.htm http://remtek.com/arms/fn/fal/ http://falfiles.com
Caliber : 7,62mm NATO (7.62x51)
Action: Gas operated, tilting breechblock, select-fire or semi-auto only
Length: 1100 mm (990 / 736 mm for "Para" model)
Barrel length: 533 mm (431 mm for "Para" model)
Weight: 4.45 kg empty (3.77 kg empty for "Para" models)
Magazine capacity: 20 rounds (30 rounds for heavy barreled SAW versions)
Rate of fire: 650-700 rounds per minute
The FN FAL (Fusil Automatique Leger - Light Automatic Rifle) is one of the most famous and widespread military rifle designs of the XX century. Developed by the Belgian Fabrique Nationale company, it was used by some 70 or even more countries, and was manufactured in at least 10 countries. At the present time the service days of the most FAL rifles are gone, but it is still used in some parts of the world. The history of the FAL began circa 1946, when FN began to develop a new assault rifle, chambered for German 7.92x33mm Kurz intermediate cartridge. The design team was lead by Dieudonne Saive, who at the same time worked at the battle rifle, chambered for "old time" full-power rifle cartridges, which latter became the SAFN-49. It is not thus surprising that both rifles are mechanically quite similar. In the late 1940s Belgians joined the Britain and selected a British .280 (7x43mm) intermediate cartridge for further development. In 1950 both Belgian FAL prototype and British EM-2 bullpup assault rifles were tested by US Army. The FAL prototype greatly impressed the Americans, but the idea of the intermediate cartridge was at that moment incomprehensible for them, and USA insisted on adoption of their full-power T65 cartridge as a NATO standard in 1953-1954. Preparing for this adoption, FN redesigned their rifle for the newest T65 / 7.62x51mm NATO ammunition, and first 7.62mm FALs were ready in 1953. Belgium was not the the first country to adopt their own rifle in 1956. Probably the first one was a Canada, adopting their slightly modified version of FAL as C1 in 1955. Canadians set to produce C1 and heavy barreled C2 squad automatic rifles at their own Canadian Arsenal factory. Britain followed the suit and adopted the FAL in 1957 as an L1A1 SLR (Self-loading rifle), often issued with 4X SUIT optical scopes. Britain also produced their own rifles at the RSAF Enfield and BSA factories. Austria adopted the FAL in 1958 as a Stg.58 and manufactured their rifles at Steyr arms factory. Various versions of FAL were also adopted by the Brazil, Turkey, Australia, Israel, South Africa, West Germany and many other countries. The success of the FAL could be even greater if Belgians would sell the license to W.Germany, which really liked to produce the FAL as a G1 rifle, but Belgians rejected the request. Germany purchased the license for Spanish CETME rifle and as a result of this H&K G3 rifle became probably the most notable rival to FAL.
During the time, FAL was built in numerous versions, with different furniture, sights, barrel lengths etc. There are, however, four basic configurations of FAL rifle: FAL 50.00, or simply FAL, with fixed buttstock and standard barrel; FAL 50.63 or FAL "Para", with folding skeleton butt and short barrel; FAL 50.64 with folding skeleton butt of "Para" model and standard length barrel; and the FAL 50.41, also known as FAL Hbar or FALO - a heavy barreled model which was intended primary as a light support weapon. There are also two major patterns of FALs around the globe: "metric" and "inch" FALs. As the names implied, these were built in countries with metric or imperial (inch) measure systems. These patterns are slightly different in some dimensions, and magazines of metric and inch pattern sometimes could not be interchanged. Most "inch" pattern FALs were made in British Commonwealth countries (UK, Canada, Australia) and have had folding cocking handles and were mostly limited to semi-automatic fire only (except for Hbar versions like C2). Most "metric" pattern rifles had non-folding cocking handles and may or may not have select-fire capability, but as with other light select-fire weapons chambered for 7.62x51mm NATO round, the controllability of the full auto fire is disappointing and shots spread in burst is extremely wide. But, regardless of this, the FAL is one of the best so known "battle rifles", reliable, comfortable and accurate. It is somewhat sensitive to fine sand and dust but otherwise is a great weapon.
The only countries still producing the FAL rifles until the present time are the Brazil and, most surprisingly, the USA. Brazil adopted the FAL under the name LAR and manufactured it at the IMBEL facilities. The USA produced a small amount of FALs as the T-48 at H&R factory in early 1950s for Army trials, but at the present time a number of private US Companies is manufacturing various versions of FAL rifles using either surplus parts kits or newly manufactured parts. Most of these rifles are limited to semi-auto only and are available for civilian users. Probably most notable US manufacturer of FAL modifications is the DS Arms company, which produced its rifles under the name of DSA-58.
The FN FAL is a gas operated, selective fire or semi-automatic only, magazine fed rifle. It uses short piston stroke gas system with gas piston located above the barrel and having its own return spring. After the shot is fired, the gas piston makes a quick tap to the bolt carrier and then returns back, and the rest of the reloading cycle is commenced by the inertia of bolt group. The gas system is fitted with gas regulator so it could be easily adjusted for various environment conditions, or cut off completely so rifle grenades could be safely launched from the barrel. The locking system uses bolt carrier with separate bolt that locks the barrel by tipping its rear part into the recess in the receiver floor. The receivers initially were machined from the forged steel blocks, and in 1973 FN began to manufacture investment cast receivers to decrease production costs. Many manufactures, however, stuck to the machined receivers. The trigger housing with pistol grip is hinged to the receiver behind the magazine well and could be swung down to open action for maintenance and disassembly. The recoil spring is housed in the butt of the rifle in fixed butt configurations or in the receiver cover in folding butt configurations, so the folding butt versions require a slightly different bolt carrier, receiver cover and a recoils spring. The cocking handle is located at the left side of the receiver and does not move when gun is fired. It could be folding or non-folding, depending on the country of origin. The safety - fire selector switch is located at the trigger housing, above the triggerguard. It can have two (on semi-automatic) or three (on select-fire rifles) positions. The firing mechanism is hammer fired and use single sear for both semi-automatic or full automatic fire. Barrel is equipped with long flash hider which also serves as a rifle grenade launcher. Design of flash hider may differs slightly from country to country. The furniture of the FAL also can differ - it could be made from wood, plastic of various colors or metal (folding buttstocks, metallic handguards on some models). Some models, such as Austrian Stg.58 or Brazilian LAR were fitted with light bipods as a standard. Almost all heavy barrel versions also were fitted with bipods of various design. Sights usually are of hooded post front and adjustable diopter rear types, but can differ in details and markings. Almost all FAL rifles are equipped with sling swivels and most of rifles are fitted with bayonet lugs.
http://world.guns.ru/assault/as24f-e.htm http://remtek.com/arms/fn/fal/ http://falfiles.com
Caliber : 7,62mm NATO (7.62x51)
Action: Gas operated, tilting breechblock, select-fire or semi-auto only
Length: 1100 mm (990 / 736 mm for "Para" model)
Barrel length: 533 mm (431 mm for "Para" model)
Weight: 4.45 kg empty (3.77 kg empty for "Para" models)
Magazine capacity: 20 rounds (30 rounds for heavy barreled SAW versions)
Rate of fire: 650-700 rounds per minute
The FN FAL (Fusil Automatique Leger - Light Automatic Rifle) is one of the most famous and widespread military rifle designs of the XX century. Developed by the Belgian Fabrique Nationale company, it was used by some 70 or even more countries, and was manufactured in at least 10 countries. At the present time the service days of the most FAL rifles are gone, but it is still used in some parts of the world. The history of the FAL began circa 1946, when FN began to develop a new assault rifle, chambered for German 7.92x33mm Kurz intermediate cartridge. The design team was lead by Dieudonne Saive, who at the same time worked at the battle rifle, chambered for "old time" full-power rifle cartridges, which latter became the SAFN-49. It is not thus surprising that both rifles are mechanically quite similar. In the late 1940s Belgians joined the Britain and selected a British .280 (7x43mm) intermediate cartridge for further development. In 1950 both Belgian FAL prototype and British EM-2 bullpup assault rifles were tested by US Army. The FAL prototype greatly impressed the Americans, but the idea of the intermediate cartridge was at that moment incomprehensible for them, and USA insisted on adoption of their full-power T65 cartridge as a NATO standard in 1953-1954. Preparing for this adoption, FN redesigned their rifle for the newest T65 / 7.62x51mm NATO ammunition, and first 7.62mm FALs were ready in 1953. Belgium was not the the first country to adopt their own rifle in 1956. Probably the first one was a Canada, adopting their slightly modified version of FAL as C1 in 1955. Canadians set to produce C1 and heavy barreled C2 squad automatic rifles at their own Canadian Arsenal factory. Britain followed the suit and adopted the FAL in 1957 as an L1A1 SLR (Self-loading rifle), often issued with 4X SUIT optical scopes. Britain also produced their own rifles at the RSAF Enfield and BSA factories. Austria adopted the FAL in 1958 as a Stg.58 and manufactured their rifles at Steyr arms factory. Various versions of FAL were also adopted by the Brazil, Turkey, Australia, Israel, South Africa, West Germany and many other countries. The success of the FAL could be even greater if Belgians would sell the license to W.Germany, which really liked to produce the FAL as a G1 rifle, but Belgians rejected the request. Germany purchased the license for Spanish CETME rifle and as a result of this H&K G3 rifle became probably the most notable rival to FAL.
During the time, FAL was built in numerous versions, with different furniture, sights, barrel lengths etc. There are, however, four basic configurations of FAL rifle: FAL 50.00, or simply FAL, with fixed buttstock and standard barrel; FAL 50.63 or FAL "Para", with folding skeleton butt and short barrel; FAL 50.64 with folding skeleton butt of "Para" model and standard length barrel; and the FAL 50.41, also known as FAL Hbar or FALO - a heavy barreled model which was intended primary as a light support weapon. There are also two major patterns of FALs around the globe: "metric" and "inch" FALs. As the names implied, these were built in countries with metric or imperial (inch) measure systems. These patterns are slightly different in some dimensions, and magazines of metric and inch pattern sometimes could not be interchanged. Most "inch" pattern FALs were made in British Commonwealth countries (UK, Canada, Australia) and have had folding cocking handles and were mostly limited to semi-automatic fire only (except for Hbar versions like C2). Most "metric" pattern rifles had non-folding cocking handles and may or may not have select-fire capability, but as with other light select-fire weapons chambered for 7.62x51mm NATO round, the controllability of the full auto fire is disappointing and shots spread in burst is extremely wide. But, regardless of this, the FAL is one of the best so known "battle rifles", reliable, comfortable and accurate. It is somewhat sensitive to fine sand and dust but otherwise is a great weapon.
The only countries still producing the FAL rifles until the present time are the Brazil and, most surprisingly, the USA. Brazil adopted the FAL under the name LAR and manufactured it at the IMBEL facilities. The USA produced a small amount of FALs as the T-48 at H&R factory in early 1950s for Army trials, but at the present time a number of private US Companies is manufacturing various versions of FAL rifles using either surplus parts kits or newly manufactured parts. Most of these rifles are limited to semi-auto only and are available for civilian users. Probably most notable US manufacturer of FAL modifications is the DS Arms company, which produced its rifles under the name of DSA-58.
The FN FAL is a gas operated, selective fire or semi-automatic only, magazine fed rifle. It uses short piston stroke gas system with gas piston located above the barrel and having its own return spring. After the shot is fired, the gas piston makes a quick tap to the bolt carrier and then returns back, and the rest of the reloading cycle is commenced by the inertia of bolt group. The gas system is fitted with gas regulator so it could be easily adjusted for various environment conditions, or cut off completely so rifle grenades could be safely launched from the barrel. The locking system uses bolt carrier with separate bolt that locks the barrel by tipping its rear part into the recess in the receiver floor. The receivers initially were machined from the forged steel blocks, and in 1973 FN began to manufacture investment cast receivers to decrease production costs. Many manufactures, however, stuck to the machined receivers. The trigger housing with pistol grip is hinged to the receiver behind the magazine well and could be swung down to open action for maintenance and disassembly. The recoil spring is housed in the butt of the rifle in fixed butt configurations or in the receiver cover in folding butt configurations, so the folding butt versions require a slightly different bolt carrier, receiver cover and a recoils spring. The cocking handle is located at the left side of the receiver and does not move when gun is fired. It could be folding or non-folding, depending on the country of origin. The safety - fire selector switch is located at the trigger housing, above the triggerguard. It can have two (on semi-automatic) or three (on select-fire rifles) positions. The firing mechanism is hammer fired and use single sear for both semi-automatic or full automatic fire. Barrel is equipped with long flash hider which also serves as a rifle grenade launcher. Design of flash hider may differs slightly from country to country. The furniture of the FAL also can differ - it could be made from wood, plastic of various colors or metal (folding buttstocks, metallic handguards on some models). Some models, such as Austrian Stg.58 or Brazilian LAR were fitted with light bipods as a standard. Almost all heavy barrel versions also were fitted with bipods of various design. Sights usually are of hooded post front and adjustable diopter rear types, but can differ in details and markings. Almost all FAL rifles are equipped with sling swivels and most of rifles are fitted with bayonet lugs.
LeadPumper
Member
.308 FAL
Military rifles shot 7.62 X 51, so some still exist that should only use that round... which is not the same as .308.
Most modern FAL's have chambers that can handle either 7.62 X 51 or .308, but check the manufacture specs to be sure. Also check the http://www.falfiles.com for more information.
recent pic of my DSA STG58A:
-LeadPumper
Military rifles shot 7.62 X 51, so some still exist that should only use that round... which is not the same as .308.
Most modern FAL's have chambers that can handle either 7.62 X 51 or .308, but check the manufacture specs to be sure. Also check the http://www.falfiles.com for more information.
recent pic of my DSA STG58A:
-LeadPumper
True, the FN FAL was listed. And those we can't buy anymore. Now a DS Arms FAL or a FAL built on an Imbel or other receivers were not listed and hence still legal to buy, build, sell & trade in CA. Provided it does not violate the AW features ban.
MTMilitiaman
Member
Leadpumper
Where did you get the handguards on the FAL?
Usually the Belgian, Austrian, or free float types are all you see. That one is interesting.
Where did you get the handguards on the FAL?
Usually the Belgian, Austrian, or free float types are all you see. That one is interesting.
High Planes Drifter
Member
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2006
- Messages
- 1,204
Incorporating a suitcase handle into the frame of the gun, placing the op-rod on top of the barrel, and that big cheap plastic buttstock make it one of the uggliest shoulder fired weapons ever devised by a human. Not pleasing to the eyes and hands like the more refined M1A. Reliable? It was replaced by the SA80. Come on. That Has to say something.
(leaves thread to avoid certain fallout of above comment
)
(leaves thread to avoid certain fallout of above comment
)The Real Hawkeye
member
I've always liked the looks of the FAL.
Foxtrot427
Member
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2006
- Messages
- 512
50 Freak, wow that looks good! what stock is that and how long is your bbl?
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