FAL parts gun questions & comments

[Al Thompson]

Hi folks,

Picked up a STG 58/Imbel pats gun this weekend. (no - I did not trade my AR) I have no clue who put it together or made the lower.

Q - anybody know of anyway to get a better trigger? It's light but mushy.

Q - what's the best maintance book? DSA has one, but I'd like some of your fine opinions.

Comments - DSA still has good magazines for $ 8 each or $12 each for a higher grade. They are a bit handled, but the ones I tried looked and fed fine.

The brit surplus ammo shoots very well. Tried it in my AR-10, M1A and the FAL. Great results.

TIA - Giz

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"I don't make enough money to buy cheap stuff" - Mark Manning

[George Hill]

I went to FALFILES and got everything I needed there - including a very interesting history lesson there. The FAL is fascinating! Dont you love the way it breaks open? Thats too cool. http://www.fnfal.com/falfiles/
As for the trigger - im not sure. Have yet to get into it that far yet.

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I mean, if I went around saying I was an Emperor because some
moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, people would put me away!

[Al Thompson]

Hi George - yep, got those guys in my Fav files.

I am impressed with the design. In fact, I think I'm going to get a DSA rifle soon.

The DSA scope mount looks very good and has great press both here and on the FAL board.

Hate to say it, but, if I can get a good trigger, I may retire my M1As.

Giz

[LOCHFAL]

Gizmo,
On the trigger check with Hesse or mayby DSA and probably Entreprise. All of them should be listed in the Shotgun News. On the magazines the used ones seem to work just great. other than a bent feed lip I've never had a magazine failure. You might look around for a better price though. I paid $6.00 each in lots of ten late last year.
My fal eats up any kind of ammo I feed it except the reloads but I think I can fix that with a small base sizer. It still doesn't do too bad as it is. If you are going to retire your M1A's make sure you are happy with the accuracy of your fal first. I've seen some really neat tricked out ones that would keep very tight groups but most of them are more of a combat accuracy type of deal. Read any books you can find on the FAL it has an interesting history and still has a huge following these days.
Good Luck
LOCHFAL

[pbash]

I've never heard of a drop-in, aftermarket, trigger for FALs. However, try contacting Mark at ARS (http://arizonaresponsesystems.com) and asking him if its possible to tune the stock trigger. If anyone knows, I'm sure he does.

The trigger return spring may be responsible for the mushy feeling and I'm not sure that's correctable.

The very best book on FALs is Blake Stevens' The FAL Rifle. Its expensive ($120), though, and has much more historical information than you may be interested. Its really more of a collector's book but if you love FALs, its a "must have".

For a basic user's guide, check out the FAL Files (http://www.fnfal.com/falfiles). There is a link about halfway down the page to a FAL manual in PDF format.

[Destructo6]

Who made the upper receiver? It should be stamped on the righthand side. If the lower (actually gripframe) came from an STG-58 parts kit, it was made by Steyr or FN most likely.

I downloaded the FAL user's manual from the FALFiles( http://gallery.uunet.be/pevame/pevame/falmanual.htm ). You might also try Gunplumber's guide to kit building for a $10 shareware fee( http://www.arizonaresponsesystems.com/ ). With it, you can build your own FAL.

[Al Thompson]

The upper is marked Imbel, the parts (barrel and handgrip) seem to be STG-58, the lower is unmarked. The pistol grip is marked "DSA".

No other clues.

Giz

[Destructo6]

Sounds like you have a pretty good setup as is. If the builder did a good job and the barrel is serviceable, you're pretty much set.

[Nyterunner]

A trigger job is possible on a FAL, and DSA Target models are an excellent example. One of my buddies has one that is truly a thing of beauty.In fact, it is as good as his M1A with a custom (I think Timney).

[pbash]

Gizmo99, what you probably have is a Century Centurian 58. As far as I know, there are no physical marks to identify it as such, but from the description you give, it sure sounds like one. The several I've seen all were Stg58 parts on an Imbel receiver. The stock and pistol grip had a pebble-like textured paint on them. The pistol grips were made by DSA and I'm sure are there to contribute to the overall US parts count. I'm not sure if the buttstocks are DSA or not.