Fal questions.

[vostok8781]

Any word on the dsa sa58. Or the Voyager fal from dsa are they good rifles. Better than m1a. And if so what barrel length is best. Thanks.

[Noah_Zark]

I have owned a couple of used DSA FALs and have been generally satisfied.

I can't speak specifically about the Voyager. Not at all familiar with it.

As to what barrel length is "best," best for what purpose?

With a FAL, barrel length does NOT affect sight radius or accuracy. The sight radius is the same for all, unless there's some special configuration FAL of which I am unaware.

So barrel length depends on what you want to do with your FAL? Short and handy, CQB-type? Go with the 16" or 18" options, otherwise stick with the original 20" barrel.

Better than an M1A? Depends. Some M1As are more accurate than FALs because they can be set up that way for the barrel to be rigidly mounted to the stock, or be somewhat floating. The front sling swivel on a FAL is attached to the barrel, and use of the sling can change POA-POI relationship. However, the FAL has an adjustable gas regulator and breaks open in seconds for cleaning and basic upkeep maintenance. The FAL extractor and ejector are robust. The M1A ejector is a spring-loaded plunger as opposed to a stationary thick piece of steel mounted in a steel block. FALs can be readily carried all day despite being 10 lbs by "cradling" the weapon the the arms with the fingers interleaved together and the FAL's pistol grip and magazine between the palms of the hands and the abdomen. Positioned correctly, the bottom of the FAL magazine can rest on one's belt, belt buckle, or LBE belt.

I used to own both, three FALs and two M1As. I sold one M1A several years ago during one of the panic buying sprees, and after deciding to begin downsizing I sold the other one, an M1A I personally assembled on a preban Springfield receiver, to an FFL friend. I kept the three FALs, two are Springfield 48s, one 21" standard rifle and the other an 18" folding stock "Para," and the third is a preban Armscorp metric receivered standard rifle done up with Maranyl furniture to resemble an L1A1 that accepts the more ubiquitous metric magazines. I kept the FALs because they are sooooo ergonomic and suitably accurate for any need I may have, now or in future. Just my preference.

Noah

[wanneroo]

I read FAL Files every day and no one is a big fan of the latest DSA or Coonan receivers or DSA's new guns.

[MD66948]

I have a Belgium FAL and I enjoy shooting it. I do have a Smith M21 and a SA M1A. I also enjoy shooting them.

I do have a brother in law who is a retired Green Beret Colonel. He used both the FAL Rifle and the M14 rifle in combat and told me he hated using a FAL at ranges over 100 Meters. He prefered the M14 over the FAL. He did do 3 tours in Vietnam and carried and carried an M1 Carbine on all 3 tours. His career after VN included Africa, Mid East and Afghanistan fighting with Musha Hadeen. He was called back into service on 9/12/2001 for 2 1/2 years.

[Stooperzero]

I'd try to find an older Century before I'd buy a "voyager" .


I got to shoot one a few months back and was not impressed , and it ruptured a case about 30 rounds from being brand new.

nice big POOF! and smoke but no damage other than the bottom of the mag blown out like it should . Head space on it would have made Hesse proud.




I'll keep my Belgium 50.41 and any other Fals in the future will be pre-89 as well.

[WCMG]

We own an Australian L1A1 FAL MG and a DSA SA58 FAL MG, and I much prefer shooting an M1A for accuracy and just plain fun factor.

[SgtRecon]

Iv'e owned both,
A rifle needs two things to be a good rifle, good sights and a good trigger, the FAL has neither, The M1A has probably the best set of Irons and Trigger on a combat rifle that can be had out of the box. Also (and this is just me) I loved the coolness factor of the FAL , but just could not get used to the "Euro" ergonomics and manual of arms. one usually holds the rifle with the right hand at the grip and manipulates the charging and mag changes with the left. On this side of the pond most of our rifles are held with the left hand on the forearm while everything is done with the right hand. your mileage may vary
My .30cal's now are a very nice M1Garand and an AR10

[chauncey]

I own and shoot primarily 308 Battle rifles.
The FAL is my least favorite as the shots string as the barrel gets hot. The group size doesn't just get bigger it strings (for my rifles) up and to the left or up and to the right.
My 18" barrel FALs exhibit the same accuracy as my 12" barrel G3 clones. They don't come close in accuracy compared to my M1As and 18" barrel G3 clones.
YMMV

[SgtRecon]

Chauncey is correct, The FAL probably is at the top of the food chain for the standard grunt issue 308 battle rifle and does a remarkable job at that. There is a reason no one has embraced it as a designated marksman rifle or a sniper platform like the G3 or M1A/M14, accuracy was not at its core design criteria