Inch magazines for my metric FAL

[MichaelK]

Midway USA is having a sale for the month of November on Inch pattern FAL magazines.

What I've read is that although metric magazines will fit in an "inch" reciever, inch magazines will not fit in a metric reciever. However, I just read on the James Rawles website that the critical difference is just the width of the locking lug on the front of the mag and that you can grind off the sides of an "inch" magazine to make it fit.

Has anyone here actually done that? If the midway price is only 16$, is buying them worth the effort to grind them to fit? Was it worth the effort or should I just fork out extra bucks to by original metric magazines?

 

[jeepguy]

michael apex gun parts have, two used metric mags for $25 with a mag pouch. hope this helps. i found rawles's website after reading his book. its a good site & a good book.

 

[CTW]

If you go over on the Fal Files and join there are always people selling metric mag's at decent prices by today's standard. That is where I would look.

 

[evan price]

If you grind the beak down on an Inch mag to fit a Metric receiver tears of sadness will run down Dieudonne Saive's cenotaph. The spirit of John Browning will appear and kick you in the nethers. Metric mags are cheap and easy to find. Inch mags are often not. Friends don't let friends ruin Inch mags.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Pretty much what evan price said. It's possible, but I wouldn't recommend it. BTW I bought some of those Midway inch mags and they are USED, very used, like saw action in the Congo used. (Although they probably weren't actuallly in the Congo, but maybe in Vietnam with the aussies.)

Here's where you want to buy some quality metric mags:

http://whatacountry.com/fn.aspx

http://www.palmettostatearmory.com/fn-fal.php

Yes, a few dollars more, but new or excellent condition mags that don't require any modifications, and won't expose you to being beaten up by ghosts of the greatest firearms designers.

 

[InkEd]

Why would the ghost of JMB care what you did to an FAL?

If all these semi-auto only BARs and crap people are doing to 1911s haven't stirred-up his spirit yet, he will probably stay happily buried.

Although, if he did rise from the grave and decided to side with his zombie brethren, we would be screwed! Think of all the years he's had to design newer and better guns. Scary.

 

[rayman]

I recently bought 6 from Springfield Armory for $19.00. For my SA48 Incidently I now want sell my rifle but don't know what it's worth.

 

[Mikee Loxxer]

Dieudonne Saive (designer of the FAL) was a protege of John Brownings. In fact Saive was the man who put the finishing touches on the Hi Power.

 

[CTW]

The mags that springfield are selling are like new for 19 buck's. Hard to go wrong there.