A Dozen Bad FAL Mags

RickD · September 16, 2001, 05:25 PM

I ordered a whole bunch of FAL mags from DS Arms. The $5 used variety.

Mine is a DSArms imported Argie FAL which never had a feeding problem before.

Out of the ten that I ordered, eight won't feed correctly. All of the problems occur from the left side of the double stack. A couple fit very tightly. So, with the four bad mags I had before, looks like I will be sending a dozen back to DSArms.

The bolt would not properly engage the cartridge and sometimes gouge the case. If the case was gouged, it would go just short of the chamber in a nose-high attitude. Other mags would have the bolt slide harmlessly over the top of the round on the left side of the stagger. Never a problem if the right-side cartridge was next to be stripped.

On the plus side, out of that ten, I was able to add two good ones to the eight good ones I already had.

I got really paranoid and assumed it was a rifle problem. So last night I cleaned it all up, including the gas tube (which wasn't dirty), and put the gas setting to full on.

The result? All the mags that were good before were still good, all the ones that were bad were still bad.

Another interesting note. Tim tried a couple of my "bad" mags in his AzExArms FAL. They appeared to work fine.

Any advice?

Rick
Back from a long day at the range.

Spectre · September 16, 2001, 06:35 PM

Um...inch vs metric mags?

RickD · September 16, 2001, 07:39 PM

Both rifles above are metric.

The mags are direct from DSArms so, let's take a look....

DSArms has kindly placed "Made in Austria" stickies to each of the mags. As well, TimW tells me that inch-pattern magazines have solid steel hookies on both front and rear, whereas metric have a punched mag-catch dimplet on the front.

Mine are metric mags.

Rick

Destructo6 · September 16, 2001, 08:43 PM

I had a similar problem with one aluminium mag and my DSA receivered kit gun. If the top round was on the left, it would pop the first round half out upon insertion. If the top round was on the right, it was fine and functioned well from then on. I was probably a mangled feed lip on the mag.

September 16, 2001, 05:25 PM	#1
RickD Junior member Join Date: November 19, 1999 Location: Arizona Posts: 1,920	A Dozen Bad FAL Mags I ordered a whole bunch of FAL mags from DS Arms. The $5 used variety. Mine is a DSArms imported Argie FAL which never had a feeding problem before. Out of the ten that I ordered, eight won't feed correctly. All of the problems occur from the left side of the double stack. A couple fit very tightly. So, with the four bad mags I had before, looks like I will be sending a dozen back to DSArms. The bolt would not properly engage the cartridge and sometimes gouge the case. If the case was gouged, it would go just short of the chamber in a nose-high attitude. Other mags would have the bolt slide harmlessly over the top of the round on the left side of the stagger. Never a problem if the right-side cartridge was next to be stripped. On the plus side, out of that ten, I was able to add two good ones to the eight good ones I already had. I got really paranoid and assumed it was a rifle problem. So last night I cleaned it all up, including the gas tube (which wasn't dirty), and put the gas setting to full on. The result? All the mags that were good before were still good, all the ones that were bad were still bad. Another interesting note. Tim tried a couple of my "bad" mags in his AzExArms FAL. They appeared to work fine. Any advice? Rick Back from a long day at the range.

September 16, 2001, 06:35 PM	#2
Spectre Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 23, 1998 Location: ATL Posts: 3,277	Um...inch vs metric mags?

September 16, 2001, 07:39 PM	#3
RickD Junior member Join Date: November 19, 1999 Location: Arizona Posts: 1,920	Both rifles above are metric. The mags are direct from DSArms so, let's take a look.... DSArms has kindly placed "Made in Austria" stickies to each of the mags. As well, TimW tells me that inch-pattern magazines have solid steel hookies on both front and rear, whereas metric have a punched mag-catch dimplet on the front. Mine are metric mags. Rick

September 16, 2001, 08:43 PM	#4
Destructo6 Senior Member Join Date: March 18, 1999 Location: Nogales, AZ USA Posts: 4,016	I had a similar problem with one aluminium mag and my DSA receivered kit gun. If the top round was on the left, it would pop the first round half out upon insertion. If the top round was on the right, it was fine and functioned well from then on. I was probably a mangled feed lip on the mag.