FAL Accuracy?

[Ben M]

I have yet to see one do worse than 2", with ammo it likes. They all seem finicky, mine likes DAG, so does my brothers. Even the one I shortened and thought I ruined- traded it to Pfleger and he made a fine hand load for it. I think any of the Century FALs are usable, I've been pleasantly surprised with them.

+1 to the DSA mount, although I life to run a Burris 2-6 on it, maybe just because I'm cheap.

[Phx_warrior]

i took my newly acquired FAL out this weekend to sight it in and put some rounds through it and was very pleased with the results.
i got a 1 inch or even a hair under group of 3 from 100 yards prone on the desert floor with just my pack as a support. at 200 yards i was getting 3 inch groups no problem and i was not as controlled with my shots as i wold like to be. this is only my 3rd time shooting any distance over 100 yards so i am very pleased with the rifle and expect it will do esactly what it is intended to if necessary.

its a DSA with a weaver 3-10 tactical and i was shooting Prvi PPU match 168grain it really seems to like this ammo im gonna try some federal match and see if it does as well as the Prvi

[desertdog]

My DSA FALs shoot about 4MOA at 100yds on a good day (with optics). My Imbel will shoot 2.5" groups on a good day (with 4x optic). But the shots start to string horribly with all of my FALs when the barrel gets hot. I don't shoot groups like fud, I shoot 5 shots with only about 20 seconds between shots and with a full mag.

My S-308s shoots 2" groups pretty reliably on a good day and my PTR-91 shoots 1.5" groups easily. Neither of these rifles string shots too bad when the barrel gets hot - but they also lack the great ergonomics of the FAL platform.

I agree that FAL accuracy has a lot to do with getting a lucky barrel. I wish I had a FAL with one of the heavier "medium contour" barrels.

[gunplumber]

Gunplumber always downplays his ability to make a true sniper rifle out of a FAL, but I say he consistantly makes rifles that can do what mine can do.

It's a matter of realistic expectations.

With a quality barrel (which includes a blue-printed Remy Varmit barrel), and by-the-numbers, well-known procedures, I can pretty much guarantee turning any Rem 700 into a MOA or better rifle. Fals are a lot more variables.

Even barrels like the Austrian StG-58 that seem pretty consistent, have variables. While there are commercial and Israeli heavy barerles, there are no "match" barrels per se. The barrel is just heavier. That can contribute to accuracy potential by slower heating and easier to keep on target, I've had surplus IMBEL barrels outshoot DSA heavy barrels as well as pristine Belgium Barrels.

So I try to keep expectations realistic. It is better to be pleasantly surprised than disappointed. So I try to be conservative. EXPECT 3 MOA, and if you get better, wonderful. If you get worse and the barrel is already cleanly mounted and crowned with appropriate headspace, and the shooter is capable of better (not always the case), then there is nothing I can do but try another barrel.

I do most of my zeroing at 25 meters because it is the longest distance I can see the strike of the rounds, and it is the distance that can calculate sight adjustments for a 200m zero. Some guns cloverleaf, some guns are all over my 2" circle*. I don't do anything different. Some barrels that group well are the same manufacture as barrels that don't do so well, and appear in the same condition.

So while it is certainly realistic to have a 1.5 MOA FAL, I can't BUILD you a 1.5 MOA FAL on demand, as I can a 1 MOA or better Remy 700. I can build you a FAL that might shoot 1.5 MOA and it might shoot 3.5 MOA.

Also, As I go through thousands of rounds a year testfiring and troubleshooting, I am not shooting FGMM. I shoot a mix of cheap surplus Malaysian (some light primer strikes), Santa Barbara (VERY good), Aussie (Very Good), Radway Green (Good, dirty, but low flash), Portuguese (mediocre) and South African (Mediocre).

I don't shoot ammo from countries that still shit in their drinking water and I don't shoot Israeli. I had S&B blow up a barrel with a squib load, and noticeably erratic recoil force in Cavim.

My LC I keep for myself.

a 5 round group at 25 meters doesn't prove the rifle or the shooter, but it gives me the data I need to confirm barrel timing, select the appropriate front sight (5 choices on metric, 13 on Izzy/Argy), etc. When I send a rifle back to the customer, I know he will have a rifle that fired a minimum of 20 rounds without malfunction (10 function test, 5 zero, sight adjustment, 5 confirm zero) and that it will be on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper at 100m.

*A gun should keep 5 rounds (4 of 5 is facotry spec) in one of the three circles at 25 yards

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[White]

At Gabe's GS class in Kingman this past June, there were no less than 3 FALs that finished the course in good form.... and one was a garage build! Mine was one I had gunplumber build for me some years ago that was chambered for 168gr bthp round so I had an advantage. With a 4 POWER ACOG... I had 99% results with our criteria: head shots at 200 , torso shots out to 600. I ran out of markings on my scope at 800 yds, but still was able to hit 3 out of 10 at 1000 yds and that was with 30 to 40 mph gusts. Gunplumber always downplays his ability to make a true sniper rifle out of a FAL, but I say he consistantly makes rifles that can do what mine can do.

Hey there my FAL brother! I'm the proud owner of the aforementioned garage built FAL (my first build might I add).

As far as the accuracy goes on the FAL... let me say this:

With my FAL I can hit a man sized torso at 1000 yards and perform 147 grain brain surgery from 500 yards.

What more can you ask for in a semi-auto 7.62 Battle Rifle with 20 to 50 round capacity that's built from a 40+ year old kit (with some new parts) shooting surplus NATO ammo?

If the FAL is in spec - the accuracy is up to the shooter. Rest assured... you will be happy with the accuracy of the FAL (barring a lemon). And you will love the ability to lay down some serious firepower at long range in very rapid succession.

Just my 2 cents.

[cw550]

I have shot my Inch(Brit) and metric(Imbel) in the military rifle match at my gun glub many times. My Fal's consistently shoot into 6" to 8" at 200 meters with handloaded ammo and iron sights. That is the farthest range at my club, so I have not shot them farther. I think I would do even better with optics on them. With surplus south african and DAG I have no problem holding them in the black which is a 11" black circle. The worst shooting FAL I own is an Aussie L1A1 with an origional chrome lined aussie barrel. It shoots into 4"-5" at 100 yards.

[swede62]

I've owned most of the FAL variants out there with a few home-brew jobs here and there. If I had to pick by order of preference, It would be:

STG-58
IMBEL (I actually consider this tied with the STG-58)
DSA
Belgian

I don't really care for anything in the inch pattern, Israeli, or otherwise... they've kind of been hit and miss for me accuracy wise and seem to have a few little clunky features compared to the metric stuff.

A lot of the accuracy game depends on the ammo, I believe. Wolf steel cased .308 gives me the biggest groupings out of any of my current crop of FAL's (about 4-5 MOA). For serious work, I would use Hirtenberger, Radway, or Portuguese NATO surplus. I generally get 1-2 MOA with any of those types, and can hit a 10" 600 yard steel plate easily. South African surplus is about 2-3 MOA for me, though it seems to shoot more accurately out of my Imbel than the others. BTW, Hirtenberger through my HK91 is very accurate, with easy 1 MOA groups all day long. Very pleased with that ammo and highly recommend it.

As for optics: An 4x ACOG mounts up very nicely with a DSA scope mount on an FAL and I feel it is the perfect combination of lightweight, rugged, and magnified optic for the FAL. It will also clear the rear sight, so you don't have to remove it like you would with some optic combination's out there. I've been experimenting with a 6x Elcan Specter DR on the DSA as well. The added magnification is nice for those long range shots, but having the ability to switch between 1x to 6x on the fly is a truly nice feature.

Beware the Wolf ammo in your FAL. I had two different lots one kaboomed my FAL, and the other was showing pressure signs ie Flattened Primers. Wolf paid to have my rifle fixed kudos to them for that. Just keep and eye out so you don't have an eye out.

[Peter Avery]

I got a new made DSA barrel, with a 1:10 twist. It's 18" and attached to a standard gone Para recoil system.

150 grain lake city does 3 to 3 and a half inches at 100m

168 or 175 grain match and I can get 1 to 2 inches at 100m

[Peter Avery]

As far as wolf goes, I can mag dump steel cases all day, and do so somewhat regularly for entertainment. =]

[gunplumber]

For a while DSA was making a 1-11. I wonder if that is the best compromise? 1-12 usually works best for bullets in the 145-155 range and 1-10 for the 165-175. Does a 1-11 make both shoot better? Or both shoot worse?

I don't find a whole lot of benefit to the 168g FGMM or the 173 military match in a 1-12.