FN FAL Field Strip

Thanks for the video BUT ... it was a back to front version of field strip drill. We were taught, in the NZ Army, with the SLR, to remove gas parts first, working parts second. That way, you had a better chance if your position was attacked, because you could operate the weapon manually, if just starting the field strip and you could get your rifle back into use more quickly by putting the working parts back in, first. The order that you showed was not allowed for field stripping.

Train the right way or go home in a box!

It is my understanding that the Aussies went the same way and, so, I would imagine, did the British.

It seems to be a longstanding tradition for U.S gun writers to publish the wrong way, possibly because the right way shows how messed up the Garand / M14 field strip is, by comparison.

P.S. If you were stripping the rifle down to the maximum extent allowed for non-armourers, you would start at the back, removing the top cover, removing the working parts, removing the central pivot pin, stripping the breech block completely, cleaning all those parts and then dealing with the gas system and barrel. That work, however, was never done by us, in the field. It was, apparently, a prelude to a full inspection of weapons by the armourers.

By the way, when you remove the extractor, have the front of the breech block almost touching the hat that you have placed on the ground and ... the inside of a beret is better than the inside of a j-hat for stopping bounces. Hunting for either the extractor or the spring is something you only do once, unless you are a masochist!

I just rebuilt one into a used as battlefield condition. Great rifle. Started life as a CAI Sporter with an Imbel receiver. Lots of GI and some L1A1 in the mix.