The first prototype of what was then the FN Universal Carbine, but that would become the FN FAL (Light Automatic Rifle), was not chambered for the familiar 7.62×51 NATO, nor its competitor round the .280 British, but in the German 7.92x33mm Kurzpatrone round [Read More…]
The FN FAL is one of the most prolific firearms of the 20th Century. This Belgian big-shot fires the powerful 7.62×51 NATO round at 650 rounds per minute, and came to be known as “the right arm of the free world” during its tenure as the backbone of many nation’s militaries. [Read More…]
This fully automatic Fusil Automatique Leger (FAL) was manufactured by Fabrique Nationale d’Herstal (FN) and imported into the USA by Browning somewhere between 1959 and 1963 (It was not until the 1970s that Browning was purchased by FN, but companies had a [Read More…]
The FAL is a rifle that needs no introduction for our readers. The tilt-locking, short-stroke piston operated 7.62mm Belgian light rifle has been accepted by so many nations and seen so much combat opposite the ubiquitous Soviet AK rifle that it has earned the nickname [Read More…]
Our old friend SMGLee, who helped me greatly back when I first started TFB, was helping Timothy Yan test the new Wolf Optics PSU 1x/4x variable zoom scope for an upcoming review on TFB. Tim reviewed a pre-production prototype of this scope last year.
This is the zeroeth part of a series of posts seeking to describe and analyze the 7.62mm Light Rifle concept promoted by the Americans, and subsequently adopted by NATO in various forms. This series will cover development from before World War II to the present day, [Read More…]
Chuck at GunLab recently posted on a cutaway L1A1 British FAL; since I have been studying the FAL recently, I was naturally drawn to the post. Unfortunately, Chuck’s coverage is somewhat spartan, and the images fairly low resolution, so I went hunting for more. I [Read More…]
Joe sent us this photo of his AWESOME gun. He wrote … Hey TFB, here is my FULL AUTO SAR-48. As you can see I’ve done some heavy modification to it. I’m running a DSA 11″ barrel on their OSW front end, A Yankee Hill Flash hider and their 7.62 [Read More…]
Controversy over small arms is nothing new. Back in the early 1950s, when the 7.62x51mm was called the “.30 Light Rifle” and NATO still believed it could achieve the goal of a universal standard rifle, there was (quite naturally, given the large number of [Read More…]
The Galil rifle has become famous as the rugged but heavy Israeli Kalashnikov (by way of Finland). Less well known is the Galil’s competitor designed by Uziel Gal, who lent his name to the famous Uzi submachinegun he also designed. The Gal rifle was a [Read More…]
Bob Holloway, then of Fort Worth, Texas, in the 1980s built on his experiences in Southeast Asia and Rhodesia to design a .308 caliber military rifle, what eventually became the HAC-7. His rifle was an amalgamation of Armalite, FN, and Kalashnikov designs, with a [Read More…]
Jerry Miculek is at it again with the unicorn guns. This time he gets to try out a FN CAL. It is designed like the FAL but is chambered in 5.56. The selector switch is very interesting. It of course has safe, semi and full auto but it also has a 3 round burst. And [Read More…]
The FN FAL is one of the greatest battle rifles to have ever graced the Earth. It garnered a reputation for extreme reliability, durability, and user friendliness over its decades of service and one of the rifles biggest fans is our boss man Steve. His opinion of the [Read More…]
Colion Noir gives us a love letter about the FN FAL by DSARMS.
The Belgian company RDIH was present at SHOT Show with a lightweight polymer stock for the paratrooper variants of the FAL and LAR’s. While a rifle with the stock installed was not available – we were able to handle the stock itself. The construction appears [Read More…]
One of my most valued correspondents from the Philippines is a resident of the city of Zamboanga, Philippines. He sent me the above photo. He and his family have been living with the noise of gun fire, military imposed curfew, closed shops, closed businesses, closed [Read More…]
Ronaldo Olive dug up another interesting story for us. Back int he late 1980s, Argentine weapon manufacturer Fábrica Militar de Armas Porátiles Domingo Matheu decided to create a FN FAL chambered in 5.56mm. They strangely enough decided to adapt the 5.56mm Steyr [Read More…]
Imbel has their IA2 rifle on display at Magnum Show (the Brazilian SHOT Show). I would love to get my hands on this firearm. It is the youngest descendent of the FN FAL, although internally not a lot of the FN FAL remains. [ Many thanks to Rafael for emailing us the [Read More…]
The Telegraph published this fascinating photo. It shows two members of the Syrian anti-goverment group known as the Free Syrian Army. The rebel in the foreground appears to be armed with an Israeli FN FAL with a low-zoom tactical-style scope mounted atop. The Israeli [Read More…]
NOTE: This product review was made possible by GunsForSale.com. To get up-to-date information on where to find Century rifles for sale, please visit GunsForSale.com. The Century Arms G-1 is a copy of the Fn-Fal that uses surplus parts from metric versions as well as [Read More…]
For decades gun aficionado’s have been wondering what the story was behind the strange short-barrel FAL used by actor Ian Yule (formally a member of the SAS and later a mercenary before becoming an actor) in the 1975 movie The Wild Geese. Earlier this year I [Read More…]
Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, has presented the Iranian president with an FN FAL which he claims was captured in 2006. The IDF don’t agree. Double tapper reports.
I was emailed this image taken from the 1975 movie The Wild Geese. The movie, about a band of mercenaries, was filmed in South Africa. In one scene a merc is seen using a short barreled FN FAL (or R1, as the FAL was designated in South Africa). A number of countries [Read More…]
DS Arms, not wanting be to outdone by their AR-making counterparts, will be selling a Short Barred Rifle (SRB) and pistol version of the FN FAL. They feature a barrel about 8″ long (+/- one inch, I forget the exact length). The pistol is essentially the SBR with [Read More…]
The T48 was the designation of the FN FAL entered into the competition to replace the M1 Garand. The T44 (later called the M14) won the competition but the Marines appear to have kept their quote of T48 rifles. These have been meticulously photographed by an Australian [Read More…]
[ I have done my best to ensure there are no spoilers in this blog post, but read forth at your own risk and DON’T read the comments that are below the blog post. All pictures are from the trailers and promotional material, not the movie itself. ] Two readers [Read More…]
The Times reports the Mumbai police are now complaining about having to use WWI rifles (probably not quite true) and WWII helmets. Can you believe the audacity of these cowards! The contrast between them was vividly illustrated yesterday by CCTV footage of two militants [Read More…]
An interesting comparison between a suppressed .308 FAL vs. an Unsuppressed FAL. The unsuppressed shot comes right at the end of the video. They were using a AAC Cyclone 7.62MM Suppressor: The CYCLONE is a thread-mounting silencer for 7.62mm bolt action and [Read More…]
Advice on setting FAL gas flow by the Director of Training for DSA (makers of FAL clones). Not knowing that one can control gas-flow on this weapon has led to countless customer-service calls to DSA, complaining that the rifle ‘doesn’t work.’ The [Read More…]
From JWR @ Survival Blog: In answer to your questions, yes, FALs are still being made, but they are no longer being made in Belgium by FN. The FN-built FAL rifles are considered the benchmark of quality, and bring a premium price. Most of the FALs on the market in the [Read More…]
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