That definitely aint no G3!!!! Not even close.. Its some version of the FAL for sure and Im thinking Downtown is spot on IMO.
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Strykervet - overall, all things considered... which rifle would you personally choose between a high quality G3/HK91 vs equally high quality FAL? Are the DSA's any good?
No, not a G3. Was this picture from Rhodesia?
FAL's in Africa came from all over. Lots were mashups. When Rhodesian surplus was available, you never knew what you were gonna get but you knew it was gonna be abused. But yeah, it does look like a lot like the Israeli style handguard, and later the 5.56 versions looked just like that too but the big ass mag says it's not a CAL. What makes ID'ing FAL's hard is that they were licensed by any NATO nation after WW2 and then to basically any nation that was cool with NATO. Each nation had their own version more or less cosmetically, but that was liquid too, especially regarding surplus and overseas sales. The most valuable ones IIRC are the Dutch ones and the original 1st model Belgian rifles. If you see one, it'll be nice and blued with nice wood. The (T48?) if you can find a REAL one is probably worth it's weight in gold. It was SUPPOSED to be the rifle we adopted vs. the M14.
High quality HK's... They make those? Seriously, the best ones are REAL HK's, any of the knockoffs tend to be junk. ESPECIALLY the POS ones with aluminum receivers! IF I were to buy one, it'd be a PTR --I think they bought out the HK tooling and so those should be higher quality if I'm right. The FAL is almost exclusively a DSA offering now that the weapon is considered obsolete. It's obsolete in that it's not as accurate and it's heavier than modern rifles, but it's pretty damn reliable and tough. DSA makes some nice stuff, if you want a good receiver it'll have to be one of theirs. And then they make most of the parts.
As for barrels, unless you get one cut, I understand the Steyr barrel was the BEST ever produced, better than the new DSA barrels. But if you got X barrel maker to cut one, well, I suppose that'd be better. But then you have the action to contend with, and without going into detail, the action and design itself doesn't lend well to an accurate platform.
Triggers on FALs are notoriously shit. Jard made the only 2 stage, they used to suck but sent one I have back and they sent me a new one --they obviously have new processes because the new trigger is just like a Geissele 3 gun. In a fucking FAL.
G3's are light, FAL's are heavy, neither is all that accurate and both tend to have punishing recoil. I wouldn't buy either, but I got my Steyr cheap; should have left it be instead of trying to make it better. If you really want an FAL, look for an older DSA STG58, then look at the barrel for the markings. Those are the best shooters around. For HK, I'd want a real HK but I'd settle for a PTR if I really, really wanted one. IMO, saving for a KAC SR25 or OBR or whatever is money much better spent.
