DSA Road Trip

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I knew one of the things I had to keep on the gun was the carry handle. Without it, it wouldn't have that "battle rifle" feel. Imagine lugging that thing through the jungles of Zimbabwe.
 
I knew one of the things I had to keep on the gun was the carry handle. Without it, it wouldn't have that "battle rifle" feel. Imagine lugging that thing through the jungles of Zimbabwe.

Rhodesian doctrine was to both cut the carry handles off and remove the sling swivels on the normal, 21" fixed stock rifles.

Myth and lore is that one troopie had a piece of brass deflect off his rifles' carry handle and hit him in the eye, resulting in him losing the eye. So Rhodesian FALs had the carry handles cut off. Rhodesians also deleted the sling swivels because the front swivel in particular jangles around and makes noise, which was counter to Rhodesian tactics that focused on stealth in the brush. Usually, the front sling swivel was deleted with the rears varying in either being deleted or kept.

Most of the footage I've seen of Rhodesian troops in action is them with the rifles at the low-ready, such as in Frontline Rhodesia:



 
I have the deliberate cut carry handle on mine. The carry handle slot has the stem cut, to replicate the Rhodesian fashion. I also deleted the sling swivels.

I am planning to have a carry handle on FAL # 2.

Current plan is a 50.62 configuration:
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Do they still offer that Robar NP3 coating ? I got that done to the trigger parts and bolt, made the trigger great and action smooth.

Don't think so, I don't recall that being an option. Mine's Duracoat.
 
A strange year later, I'm reading this hoping, "I hope Stockie made it to Illinois before the whole world shut down last year." I had forgotten this thread. ROFL!!!

I had a DSA Stg58 years ago. I didn't like the ergo's of the FAL in general. Sadly sold it for far less than what it was worth at the tool of North Attleboro. He talked me down to setting a proper price. I often wonder if HE bought it or a buddy of his was looking for one. Took me forever to get Ted to pay me. So from start to finish, my FAL experience was just bad. LOL

The Stg58 was a well built gun. And didn't kick all that bad. Just not my cup of tea.
 
I didn't like the ergo's of the FAL in general.

I hear this from a lot of people, and I don't doubt it. But what's weird to me is that it's so ergonomically ideal for others. Fits me like a glove.

Then again, I'm comfortable with AKs too, so what do I know?
 
A strange year later, I'm reading this hoping, "I hope Stockie made it to Illinois before the whole world shut down last year." I had forgotten this thread. ROFL!!!

The COVID circus began like two weeks after I went on this trip - I got to IL on 2/29/20 and I got back on 3/1/20. It was probably the best time to go because I didn't have any problems on the trip at all.

If I had waited, I would've been screwed.

I hear this from a lot of people, and I don't doubt it. But what's weird to me is that it's so ergonomically ideal for others. Fits me like a glove.

Then again, I'm comfortable with AKs too, so what do I know?

There's a lot of factors - the specific pistol grip, the stock, the handguards. The M249 grip I ordered on this gun is nice. There's also two different stock lengths, the normal FAL length and the R1 length. Some handguards can be loose.

When I shot a FAL for the first time at a rental range, I just knew I had to have one.
 
The COVID circus began like two weeks after I went on this trip - I got to IL on 2/29/20 and I got back on 3/1/20. It was probably the best time to go because I didn't have any problems on the trip at all.

If I had waited, I would've been screwed.



There's a lot of factors - the specific pistol grip, the stock, the handguards. The M249 grip I ordered on this gun is nice. There's also two different stock lengths, the normal FAL length and the R1 length. Some handguards can be loose.

When I shot a FAL for the first time at a rental range, I just knew I had to have one.

There's a huge difference between the black plastic L1A1 handguards, which I liked just fine, and the bulkier laminated Aussie wood ones I tracked down, which I like even better.
 
I hear this from a lot of people, and I don't doubt it. But what's weird to me is that it's so ergonomically ideal for others. Fits me like a glove.

Then again, I'm comfortable with AKs too, so what do I know?
That's literally the story of ergonomics. Want to read the results of a study of human body dimensions?
 
I hear this from a lot of people, and I don't doubt it. But what's weird to me is that it's so ergonomically ideal for others. Fits me like a glove.

Then again, I'm comfortable with AKs too, so what do I know?

The biggest thing is, dealing with AR style safeties and enjoying that style of ergonomics, both the FAL-type and HK-type have safeties that are impossible to reach while your hand is on the pistol grip. It's designed for Hulk to reach it.

I get the AK safety. It's not convenient. It's also on the OTHER SIDE of the receiver. They put that FAL (and HK) safety in a spot that makes it APPEAR you can reach it. . . . but you can't. At least with an AK, your right thumb comes up and around and pulls the safety down. On a FAL, you need to screw your whole hand to the right to reach up and grab it.

I recall not liking the sights either. Although as I look at the DSA's, it's a peep sight. I would SWEAR I had an HK style sight on mine. Clearly I'm wrong about that. Memory is a funny thing.
 
The biggest thing is, dealing with AR style safeties and enjoying that style of ergonomics, both the FAL-type and HK-type have safeties that are impossible to reach while your hand is on the pistol grip. It's designed for Hulk to reach it.

I get the AK safety. It's not convenient. It's also on the OTHER SIDE of the receiver. They put that FAL (and HK) safety in a spot that makes it APPEAR you can reach it. . . . but you can't. At least with an AK, your right thumb comes up and around and pulls the safety down. On a FAL, you need to screw your whole hand to the right to reach up and grab it.

I recall not liking the sights either. Although as I look at the DSA's, it's a peep sight. I would SWEAR I had an HK style sight on mine. Clearly I'm wrong about that. Memory is a funny thing.

DSA makes an easy-to-use extended safety that I have on my carbine and I love it. The Inch-pattern rifles also have an extended safety.

The bigger safeties make disengaging it very instinctive and easy.
 
DSA makes an easy-to-use extended safety that I have on my carbine and I love it. The Inch-pattern rifles also have an extended safety.

The bigger safeties make disengaging it very instinctive and easy.

This. Inch pattern FTW.
 
That's literally the story of ergonomics. Want to read the results of a study of human body dimensions?

I read a book once about the history of toilets (it's an amazing book, actually, by Rose George). When the engineers at TOTO were devising the first set of washlet automatic Japanese whiz-bang toilets back in the '60s, they needed to figure out how far out into the bowl the bidet attachment needed to extend for peeing vs pooping in women. They discovered nobody had done any studies on the ergonomics of the human 'taint.

So, being engineers, they took the most linear path: a ruler and some twenties (or however many yen), a trip to the local strip club, and paying the dancers to measure the distance between their hoo-hah and their bootyhole (those are technical engineering terms). They took an average, adjusted the mechanism accordingly, and presto.


1614886714242.png

They still use that data today.
 
FALs are banned by name in MA, so they'd be under Maura's edict if the selling FFL were to follow it (or your local FFL if you tried to have it mailed in). So step one would be to make sure DSA doesn't obey Healey.

DSA used to make CA compliant ones, so if you had them build for you, you could see about getting a neutered one custom ordered (I don't think they normally build them anymore).

At the very least, you'd be waiting three days as well:
Waiting Period & Background Check: Illinois law requires a 72 hour waiting period for long guns and handguns, provided that your background check has been approved.
@cstockwell: How did you handle this part? Did you have a background check run before you left, to "start the clock"?
 
I love the ergo of my FN FAL build on an Imbel gear logo receiver - but it was headspaced poorly and the el-cheapo scope I put on sucked.

I just rehabbed the rifle, built from one of those rifles the CIA provided for the 70s Congolese Revolution, that sat in a warehouse for decades before being imported with the triple receiver slice. I got just the right Locking Shoulder from ARS to headspace well, and put an ARMS scope mount and Primary Arms 1-6x24 SFP ACSS scope on it. I’ll get that out for a test drive at PFGC next week.
 
I love the ergo of my FN FAL build on an Imbel gear logo receiver - but it was headspaced poorly and the el-cheapo scope I put on sucked.

I just rehabbed the rifle, built from one of those rifles the CIA provided for the 70s Congolese Revolution, that sat in a warehouse for decades before being imported with the triple receiver slice. I got just the right Locking Shoulder from ARS to headspace well, and put an ARMS scope mount and Primary Arms 1-6x24 SFP ACSS scope on it. I’ll get that out for a test drive at PFGC next week.

Yeah, except for DMR FALs (there's actually quite a few, Greek, South African, Dutch, Brazilian, Argentine), LPVOs are great on FALs.
 
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