I think I will keep it.

[baker]

I was trying to justify getting the latest, greatest super-semi-auto .308, and it occurred to me that I really hadn't given my FAL a chance with match ammo, and timing my shots to keep the barrel cool.

So it was off to the 300 yard range yesterday and today. Light crossbreeze, 48 deg. sunny in the afternoon both days. I decided to also shoot my Savage 10 as a benchmark of what I could reasonably expect from my skills and the ammo I was using. I tried Fed 168 gr Gold Match, a couple of Hornaday match loadings, with the Fed printing the best groups in both rifles.

The Savage shot consistently smaller groups yesterday, which is no surprise. 1.86" or so was the best group of the 2 sessions:




But the FAL did OK on the first day, of the bipod, which wasn't the best setup. It is a little tall, causing me to reach a little, and it isn't really secure and steady.







It bothered me enough last night that I came out again today to shoot from a bag, ignoring the bipod.

This was the FAL, Fed Gold Medal Match, a new, lapped in Med Contour barrel, railed Non-free-floating handguards, with 2 min between shots, loading one cartridge at a time:



And the kicker:



I know it is hard to believe, but I just won't lie to inflate myself (or my equipment) on the internet. Life is too short. I am a Baker, not an "operator," but today, I shot a great little 1.3" 300 yard group from my FAL, and I won't be buying a new .308 rifle any time soon.

[Barker]

What FAL are you shooting? That is if you do not mind me asking?

[Highlander]

Shit id keep it too. Thats an excellent group.

[baker]

What FAL are you shooting? That is if you do not mind me asking?

Just an imbel gear logo Fal with a new DSA medium contour barrel.

[gunplumber]

I was about to say that it was pretty poor grouping even for a DSA barrel . . . . till I reread it and say "300 yards". Velly velly Nice!

I'd be interested to see what it does with 20 rounds of USGI (or other quality GI Like DAG or Santa Barbara) - extreme spread. from the magazine. Maybe 90 second time limit. That's 4-5 seconds per shot.

[baker]

I was about to say that it was pretty poor grouping even for a DSA barrel . . . . till I reread it and say "300 yards". Velly velly Nice!

I'd be interested to see what it does with 20 rounds of USGI (or other quality GI Like DAG or Santa Barbara) - extreme spread. from the magazine. Maybe 90 second time limit. That's 4-5 seconds per shot.

I will do it, but I know it will string vertically as the barrel heats up, so I am sure it won't be pretty. Is there a better medium contour FAL barrel out there than the DSA?

Tom

[gunplumber]

I will do it, but I know it will string vertically as the barrel heats up, so I am sure it won't be pretty. Is there a better medium contour FAL barrel out there than the DSA?

Tom

I haven't found the DSA medium or heavy barrel to be statistically better than a standard contour surplus barrel. If anything, they tend to shoot worse. Now DSA has used a number of different manufacturers so it makes it hard to define what a DSA barrel is, but I pick original GI whenever possible.