FAL mags

[Old Patrol]

Update on DSA 20 rounders.

I have about a dozen of the DSA mags and have been running them with zero issues from a 16" barrelled DSA Para. A few months ago I picked up a new 18" DSA Para and had not put a lot of rounds downrange with it. Due to some of the issues I have been reading on other forums with the DSA mags, I figured I would take the 18" Para out and run a few mags through it. From a fully loaded magazine every 13th and 15th round would have a bolt override. Changing the gas settings had no bearing on the issue and all the mags were doing the same thing at the same rounds. I even downloaded the mags to 10 rounds and still had the same rounds (now the third and fifth round in) giving me a bolt override. I pulled all the mags apart and ran some fine steel wool through the bodies and worked on the edges of the followers. There were no visible catches or tight spots on the inside of the mag body and the follower wasn't seeming to catch anywhere either/ I lightly lubed them and wiped them down before putting them back together. The same malfunctions continued in the same gun.

As a test I pulled the bolt, carrier, and recoil spring from the 16" Para and ran it in the 18" gun. The gun now ran 100%. The kicker is that the older 16" gun also runs 100% with the bolt, carrier, and recoil spring from the new 18" gun that was giving me problems. I ran several mags through both guns to satisfy myself that both guns were reliable so I intend to leave them with the swapped bolts.

I am not sure what to make of this and don't know that I could give an absolute seal of approval on the DSA mags but they are working reliably in both my guns now.

[John W in SC]

Update on DSA 20 rounders.

I have about a dozen of the DSA mags and have been running them with zero issues from a 16" barrelled DSA Para. A few months ago I picked up a new 18" DSA Para and had not put a lot of rounds downrange with it. Due to some of the issues I have been reading on other forums with the DSA mags, I figured I would take the 18" Para out and run a few mags through it. From a fully loaded magazine every 13th and 15th round would have a bolt override. <snip>
I am not sure what to make of this and don't know that I could give an absolute seal of approval on the DSA mags but they are working reliably in both my guns now.

Have you tried other mags in the 18" gun? Does it have this problem with other mags, or only the DSA mags?

Thanks!

John W in SC

[Old Patrol]

Most of my mags are DSA but I did have two that came from DSA but were not marked DSA and they did not have this problem. These two mags have witness holes along the back. I had been reading reports of the DSA mags having bolt override problems with specific rounds in the magazine which is what prompted me to take the newer 18" gun out and re-validate their reliability. I believe they are both GTG now although I am not sure what specifically caused the problem prior to a bolt change out.

[John W in SC]

Most of my mags are DSA but I did have two that came from DSA but were not marked DSA and they did not have this problem. These two mags have witness holes along the back.<snip>

I believe Steyr mags have witness holes. There were a bunch of these around at one time, at reasonable prices. Other manufacturers' may also have holes. I imagine quite a few people made FAL mags over the years, because so many FALs were in use world wide.

John W in SC