How Does Your FAL shoot?

[ClayinAR]

My FAL shoots about 2-3" AFTER the first shot. First shot is always about 5-6" away from rest of group. Single shot, multiple shots thru mag, doesn't matter. Let it cool a few minutes, same thing again.
Got to be heat; but I don't know how to cure it. Mangles brass, throws brass in about a 220° arc.

 

[gunnie]

ClayinAR,

have you adjusted the gas system to the round you shoot?

gunnie

 

[gunnie]

..."shooting groups get a 36 ounce Nightforce 8-32 x 56"...

or if you want a scope that matches the real world use for a FAL, get an NXS 1-4 with a reticle for 150gr bullets. the "high" vel matches 147/150gr very closely, the "medium" for 168gr.

gunnie

 

[ClayinAR]

gunnie, I have only adjusted it for function. But looking back it has always shot that way. I have adjusted it at different times, if it failed to cycle or I thot it was cycling too hard.

 

[MCMXI]

ClayinAR, I doubt the problem has anything to do with the gas port. It sounds like it's a heat issue as you stated. Your barrel may have residual stresses in it put there during the manufacturing process or afterwards. One possible solution would be to buy a new, high quality barrel and see if the situation improves. Before spending your hard-earned cash you should verify whether or not heat is the issue and this is easy enough to do. Simply shoot a 5 or 10 shot group waiting for the barrel to cool completely between each shot. Next, shoot as many shots as necessary to get the barrel hot and then shoot another 5 or 10 round group. If both shooting modes produce good (satisfactory) groups, but the two groups are 5 - 6" apart then it's a heat issue. You only need to decide if you can live with it like that ... I know I couldn't!!

 

[Birddog1911]

Well, took my new FAL out today. I guess I bought the rifle the guy didn't want to deal with. Not a single ejection or extraction. That, and I discovered that the bolt is mildly pitted, and the extractor is heavily pitted. I'm not happy.

 

[gunnie]

ClayinAR, 1858 is correct, gas adj not accuracy problem.

was reffering to:

Mangles brass, throws brass in about a 220° arc.

if reloads, is all ammo the same? brass water capacity, powder, primer, bullet weight? widely differing case capacity from commercial and millspec brass.

if not reloaded, are all the same commercial load from reputable mfgr? very old, or tarnished looking milsurp? sounds like pressure variations of some sort. any signs of BCG hammering behind receiver around recoil spring plunger wall of the lower?

the neck usually gets dinged some unless case buffer is installed. about 1/16" max from my experience. not enough to prevent sizing neck pilot. have i read more into "Mangles" than intended? HK 91 empty class damage? not reffering to fluted chamber ridges.

gunnie

 

[M1key]

Something further to add to this discussion...I've pulled some bullets from various mil surp ammo and noticed tar-like substance used as sealant.

In the past, I have cleaned it off, resized the neck, and reseated the bullet with uniform crimp. This produced noticeable improvements in accuracy.

Next, I will try to reseat the bullet a tiny bit to crack any sealant around the bullet. I have heard this also works.

Anyone else done this?

 

[W.E.G.]

When this fellow was asked about group size, his response was "Ten to fifteen at the outset of the skirmish, now not more than three or four."

 

[M1key]

10-15 feet, inches...or natives?

 

[Robert]

Birddog1911,
Sorry to hear you FAL is failing you like that. Sounds like you need a new extractor at minimum and maybe a whole new bolt depending on the pitting, as well as a new ejector. Both are easy enough to fix, but you hate to see something like that the first time out.

 

[Steve in Allentown]

..."shooting groups get a 36 ounce Nightforce 8-32 x 56"...

or if you want a scope that matches the real world use for a FAL, get an NXS 1-4 with a reticle for 150gr bullets. the "high" vel matches 147/150gr very closely, the "medium" for 168gr.

I agree that .308 ballistics mean you can reach out far enough that a magnified optic would come in very handy. The 1-4x scopes should be useful from the muzzle out to 600 meters or so. Unfortunately, I have no experience with them.

 

[Birddog1911]

Gus, the problem isn't the extractor or ejector, though those need replaced as well. The problem is that there is no gas getting to the piston rod for some reason. The seller is working with me to make it right, which is important.

 

[neverforget1915]

Hello all, I just purchased a metric STG/58c I was looking to purchase a picattiny dust cover. My question is, Are carbine and standard FAL dust covers the same size? please let me know any good suggestions on where to find a quality one. Thank you.

 

[Birddog1911]

Never, I may be wrong, but because you live in CA, you are required to have the fixed 10 round mag in place. So, you need this scope mount:
http://www.dsarms.com/Stripper-Clip-SA58-Extreme-Duty-Scope-Mount---620ASCM/productinfo/620ASCM/