• If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership  The benefits pay for the membership many times over.

DSA Road Trip

  • Thread starter Deleted member 67409
  • Start date
D

Deleted member 67409

Hi, I'm Mr. Stockwell and I have an irrational love for the FN FAL rifle platform. I'll be going out to Illinois and DSA's pro shop next weekend to pick up a FAL carbine that I had built for me. For various and sundry reasons, I decided last year to get a DSA SA58 with the following features:

*16" or 18" barrel
*Collapsible stock
*Pic-rail handguard
*Pic-rail optics mount dust cover

DSA does not make a rifle with all four of those features. The closest they make are these guns below with folding stocks:

DSA SA58 Improved Battle Carbine - 16" Fluted Tactical Barrel, BRS Folding Stock - DS Arms

DSA SA58 Improved Battle Rifle - 18" Medium Contour Barrel, BRS Folding Stock - DS Arms

A folding stock, I do not need, but a collapsible stock is something that I can derive some utils from. So I decided to just have the carbine I wanted built for me. I'll post up the deets if you all want once I have the carbine in my hands. I chose DSA as the builder because most of the parts I needed are made by DSA. Rather than order a ton of parts from them and have them ship the parts to me, then I ship the parts to someone again, to just source the receiver and non-DSA parts myself and ship those to DSA. I shipped off those parts to DSA back in December. When I did that, I told DSA that I wanted to pick the completed carbine up from DSA's pro shop.

And then I waited patiently.

Got an email today saying that the carbine's going to be ready and to confirm if I still wanted to come out to pick it up. Yes. Why? DSA is the only modern FAL maker these days besides Imbel rebooting commercial FAL sales in 2019 with Brazil's change in gun laws. I'm not going to Brazil. DSA also has a pro shop and showroom. As you guys probably know, FALs aren't very common in New England and I've never seen more than one FAL in a gun shop at a time around here. Since I started owning guns in 2010, I think I can count on my hands the number of times I've seen a FAL for sale in a New England gun shop. In short, I want to handle as many DSA SA58s as I can, and who knows, they might have something cool there for me to bring home with the carbine.

So, next week, I'll be driving sixteen hours one-way to pick up and bring home a built-to-order DSA SA58 carbine. Stay tuned.
 
Why not fly?
51399748-one-of-the-two-heavy-armed-lebanese-chiite-moslem-gunmen.jpg.CROP.promo-large2.jpg
 
Let me first say, nice choice in platforms.
More importantly, let me commend you on "knowing what you wanted, and having the balls to see it through." (this is much, much rarer than you think in Today's world...)

You not only reached for life's Brass Ring, you man-handled it and made it yours...

[bow] ~Enbloc
 
That's hardcore !

I got off work on a Friday night, rented a car and drove to the York PA gun show, drove all night and got there when the show opened. Picked up my SA58 from a dealer there that I contacted through Gunbroker and found a good deal on some South African 308 battlepacks. I think I was at the show for 45 minutes before I hopped in the car and drove back..I made it just across the NY line before I had to pull over and crash out for about an hour before driving the rest of the way home.

That was only maybe 14 hours or so RT..16 hours ONE WAY I would have it shipped, unless I was seeing some awesome scenery on the way.

Good luck and congrats on purchasing the greatest battle rifle ever developed.
 
Last edited:
Sweeney said:
Nice! Years ago I went the DSA Austrian STG58 route.
Click to expand...

I've always found the StG58 to be the best looking classic FAL. I eventually want to build a StG58 clone, in addition to a Rhodesian R1 clone, Dutch FAL clone, and maybe a South African Border War-era SADF R1 clone. I should have the Rhodesian clone done by the end of this year or the start of next year.

I can see FALs being an area that I go ham on. Each FAL style has its own cool history and unique parts.
 
I did put a SAW grip on mine for better ergonomics. The standard grip was just in that...in between area for me.
 
Last edited:
More DSA-related news: DSA released a batch of forged R1-reproduction receivers earlier this month. I ordered one with faux Rhodesian sanitation cuts. Got the shipping notification just now.

giphy.gif
 
Let's see...
*16" or 18" barrel - 16" barrel, check.
*Collapsible stock - check
*Pic-rail handguard - M-lok handguard, check
*Pic-rail optics mount dust cover - I have one, but I don't like the look, so it sits in the bin.

I prefer the SAW-style grip, and the mag is the new DSA metric polymer mag.

IMG-1177.jpg
 
I'll ask the dumb question.

Mine is an L1A1 clone, though metric, and I love the ergos of the existing pistol grip, the squarish one with the "popsicle stick." What does the SAW grip do for you that the other ones don't?
 
This thread is dangerous. I haven't looked into all the options and parts that are available before now and seeing different builds is making me want to build my own SA58. Maybe it's just because its tax return season? [laugh]

'Tis a shame my return money is already spoken for this year... OP, I look forward to hearing about the road trip and of course seeing some pics.
 
Have a route planned out:

*US44 to I84 in CT
*Across CT and NY on I84
*Connect to I80 via I81/476 near Scranton
*I80 merges into I90
*Follow I90 until around Gary, IN, where I'll probably turn on the GPS for DSA and head straight for DSA. Looks like there's a series of ring highways around Chicago that'll get me to Lake Barrington eventually

This trip's going to be in-and-out, so not much time for touristy stuff. I'd like to pick up some Gun Craft Beer FAL Belgian-style dark ale if I have time on Saturday while I'm still in IL. The brewery appears to be closed on weekends. I won't be able to really drink any alcohol until I get home. Sit-down, big meals probably won't be a good idea. I don't need to be passing out on the road after eating a big steak or a full breakfast. I'm also going to have a co-driver. Drive and sleep in shifts.

I expect to leave RI for IL at around 6pm next Friday, which puts me at DSA at 10am Saturday when they open, not including bathroom + gas + food stops. I expect those will make my ETA around noon Saturday. Plan's to stop twice in PA and once in IN. No stops in NY or OH. I can stop in CT if needed but would prefer not to.
 
I'm getting ready to leave for IL. While doing so, I made myself two travel sandwiches. One of them may have been eaten already. May.

The other one won't survive Pennsylvania.
 
Update: about 150 miles left to cover in OH. It's been snowing with various intensities since we crossed the PA/OH border on I80. Snow's supposed to end around 5am. Google says Upstate NY got around forty inches, so I'm glad I picked I84 to get out here.

Taking it easy.
 
I do this route once a year and only once went through I-90 in NY. Never again.
 

Similar threads

Boys' first range trip
Replies
14
Views
428
Matt_SERE
Matt_SERE
Handgun trigger has gotten a bit "sticky" after the first range trip + cleaning
Replies
17
Views
349
Rick O'Shea
Rick O'Shea
Motorist shoots environmental protesters blocking the road
2 3
Replies
73
Views
3K
jkelly1229
J
Los Angeles-area boy, 4, shot and killed in road rage incident, 2 suspects arrested
Replies
10
Views
445
namedpipes
namedpipes
Road trip to Greenville Maine suggestions.
2 3
Replies
71
Views
2K
hpm
hpm
Back
Top Bottom