Dead Buff Posted December 15, 2004 Share Posted December 15, 2004 After many searches around the 'net and chats to some 'smiths I still have no clear answers. I am considering modifying a FN FAL to be more suitable for IPSC Rifle/3-gun matches. I am thinking of shortening the barrel and fitting an IPSC standard legal comp (26x90mm) and fitting a para folding stock. Then just some cosmetic stuff. Sounds straight forward, but I'm told the gun might not cycle due to the short barrel. Has anyone got info on this, tried it, done, succeeded, failed, etc? What mods must be made to the gas port, etc? Thanks for the help... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Buff Posted December 15, 2004 Author Share Posted December 15, 2004 Late reaction: Can one anodise (or similar) the upper and lower of a FAL? I'm guessing that international travel might be easier with a "coloured" gun instead of military black/brown/green/drab/etc.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypool40 Posted December 15, 2004 Share Posted December 15, 2004 I am no expert, but I have seen several 16" FAL's and shot at least one. They work fine. The gas system can be shooter tuned fairly easily to cycle rough and throw brass a half mile or closed up to just trickle brass over the side. Your idea is one I have found sexy for some time and have been waiting for the sunset to get a folder. The gun is a little different with a folder because if I understand things correctly the recoil system is all in the upper now. All in all I don't see any reason it couldn't work, likw I said it's what I am planning and I've talked with my GS about it before. Let me know how it comes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad Posted December 15, 2004 Share Posted December 15, 2004 Well DSA thinks you can make them really short. Like 16" short. They also have a gunsmithing service and they might be willing to answer some questions. Here is a neat little gun for you. Vlad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Buff Posted December 15, 2004 Author Share Posted December 15, 2004 The gun is a little different with a folder because if I understand things correctly the recoil system is all in the upper now. Yep. The recoil spring for the folding stock I've got sits top-side in the dustcover and hooks onto the "mouse". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Buff Posted December 15, 2004 Author Share Posted December 15, 2004 Well DSA thinks you can make them really short. Like 16" short. They also have a gunsmithing service and they might be willing to answer some questions. Here is a neat little gun for you.Vlad Except for shortening the gas system, thats what I wanna build.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacMan Posted December 15, 2004 Share Posted December 15, 2004 ..Sounds straight forward, but I'm told the gun might not cycle due to the short barrel.Has anyone got info on this, tried it, done, succeeded, failed, etc? What mods must be made to the gas port, etc? Thanks for the help... Yes, it can be done. My G1-clone is really, really short - 16.25" OAL WITH THE DSA SHORT BRAKE perm. attached! The gas system, however, is the standard length. The gas port was opened to 0.124" and it is running 2 or 3 setting, depends on outside temperature. With the reduced weight springs set from Falcon Arms, its trigger pull is about 4 lbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Buff Posted December 15, 2004 Author Share Posted December 15, 2004 PacMan, do you have a photo of your gun you could post here or mail to me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Sweeney Posted December 15, 2004 Share Posted December 15, 2004 I happen to have just gotten a DSA FAL carbine, folding stock, for an article. The gas system works fine, and the initial brass was hurled some thirty feet. After the initial article, I'm going to be doing some other, IPSC-oriented testing with it. Very nice gun, by the way. As I recall, most FALs are steel, so anodizing won't work. Just spray-paint the thing, and slap some decals or bumperstickers on it, if you want the airlines to think of it as "fluffy the target gun." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Buff Posted December 15, 2004 Author Share Posted December 15, 2004 And I, on this side of the world, can lay my hands on that article how??? (Let see if this works ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Sweeney Posted December 15, 2004 Share Posted December 15, 2004 Well, once my Editor has accepted it, I can shoot you a copy via the mails, on a CD. (Trying to squirt a couple of dozen hi-res jpegs down the internet would be like, well, the images that come to mind are too graphic for a family forum.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Buff Posted December 15, 2004 Author Share Posted December 15, 2004 PM'ed you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywalker Posted December 15, 2004 Share Posted December 15, 2004 Oh, 'twas that easy??? And I had to resort to subscribe to handguns to read what Pat and Duane write... I even renewed the subscription... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Sweeney Posted December 15, 2004 Share Posted December 15, 2004 Hey, I made the offer solely so I could see the expression on the pinched face of the Postal Drone in my liberal town, when I ask how much the postage is to Namibia. And casually mention that it contains gun magazines, and not food for the refugees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellyn Posted December 15, 2004 Share Posted December 15, 2004 I would not go with the folding stock. It is much harder to get a cheek weld on that stock compared to the standard fixed stock. That being said, the folders LOOK way more cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Dunlop Posted December 15, 2004 Share Posted December 15, 2004 I did the same thing to an old L1A1 Aussie/Kiwi SLR. It handles much better than the original and works flawlessly with ball ammo. It is a bit fussier with my 125gn gamey loads, (not that you need them) I have to turn the gas port down to 1 or 2. I also welded a finger tab on the right hand side of the mag release so that mag changes are done with the trigger finger. Except for the requirement to hook mags into the magwell, reloads are as quick as with an AR. I am planning on welding open the fold down cocking lever, and welding up the rear sight. welding the rear sight in the up position, it folds normaly, and whenever you really need it to be up! I bought the gun cause it was cheap and I love the SLR, was suprised to win our Standard Nationals with it. P.D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Buff Posted December 16, 2004 Author Share Posted December 16, 2004 Damn, Patrick is not sending food...... I'll most definitely try the mag release lever - nice idea..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike.45 Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 I was thinking about getting a short barreled FAL - I know very little about rifle ballistics etc but whats the performance like on a 16' short barreled .308 as compared to a full length SLR / FN barrel which I think comes in around 20' thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellyn Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 You can shoot a 16 FAL just fine in 3 gun. I shot one at SOF twice and it performed just fine at the farther targets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 I shot an FAL shorty for a while. The only "issue" I had with it was that it would shoot about 2-3 MOA no matter what ammo I put in it. I'm fairly certain that the barrel was one of the used barrels that DSA puts on. If I was going to use an FAL for 3-gun I would definitely spring for the fresh barrel. The DSA shorty is just the coolest rifle ever. I loved it! FWIW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadman Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 Have you considered using an 18" barrel? Feels right, and a little more velocity than a 16". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Buff Posted December 17, 2004 Author Share Posted December 17, 2004 I've got a 20' FAL with I use quite a lot. It's the second one I wanna cut down to 16'. Lets say I loose ±500fps. That still leaves the gun in major and targets out to 150-200m should not be a problem. It will however be (I hope) a great improvement for the shorter range stuff and will be a lot handier when following up poachers..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbrowndog Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 i too, shoot a shorty FAL in matches occassionally as far as ballisticsare concerned when i chrono'd my loads (about 10 different ones) it worked out that i got 300 savage ballistics, which is not bad at all. considering the savage velocities are from a 22" barrel. loads were everything from 110"s to 180's and everything ran thru the gun flawlessly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayson@IGF Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 I've shortened a lot of FAL barrels. Usually you can go down to 18" without modifying the gas port, if you go down to 16" typically the gas port needs to be opened up to about .118 or so. That will vary some rifle to rifle due to gas tube wear, recoil spring drag etc. I've also shortened factory length FAL barrels down to the short gas system that DSA sells. It requires machining a sleeve to go onto the barrel and setting the gas block 3" back. I have a post sample machine gun that I modified to the short gas and added a folding stock to. It is pretty tough. My prices for FAL work are on this page http://www.investmentgradefirearms.com/services_FAL.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigHamp Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 I received a 10" DS Arms FAL in October. Since that time I have put 5,180 rounds through and it Rocks! I have shot standard DODAC and Federal Gold Medal Match ammo. With an EoTech MGM flash targets are no problem at 340 yards (the farthest I have access to right now). I plan to shoot it in "He-man" class in 2005, I think the short barrel maneuvers well and that will allow for fast set-up and negate the slightly slow reload time. Also the 30 round mags from DSA function GREAT so that should help. And even if it sucks (it won't) there may be nothing better than a 10" folding stock full auto (did I mention the suppressor 7.62x51! So yea it can be shortened and run real well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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