Was issued my first one in 1976, on the third day of basic training with the SADF. Technical Services Corps. Thanks for all the work you guys put into the videos.

“Minimum amount of gun you can spray paint around a .308 cartridge and get away with it.” High praise for “the Right Arm of the Free World.”

As a British Soldier who started off in the 80's carried the Brit version of this known as the SLR, which had a few improvements, no last round hold open, automatically folding cocking handle, a better mag release and flash eliminator, sand clearing cuts on the bolt carrier, and semi auto only as using this beast at full auto isnt really controllable freehand, for a number of years before the L85 came in, our SLRs had a 12 position regulator and mine used to like running on setting 7 - on field stripping the hand guards were not removed unless directed to do so, but gas parts the piston plug and spring were always removed as part of daily cleaning, the gas parts were not lubricated heavily unless the weapon had been submerged, or was going into long term storage but were kept dry to reduce smoke on firing, one quirk I remember was that when cleaning the weapon it had a chance to shift zero slightly when breaking the action open using the takedown lever to clean it, for that reason during the leadup to shooting in competitions it was expressly forbidden to break the rifle open but instead to clean it as best you could through the open breach locked back with the weapons holdopen, without opening the action using the take down lever, unlike the weapon that replaced it, stoppages were few, what you hit with it didnt want to get back up to play and things didnt fall off of it on a run - a very solid weapon that we even used as a make shift step between 2 soldiers to vault everyone else over hazzards, cant do that with the l85 without breaking it..

I was an officer doing my military service in the Belgian army in '81- '82. My FAL was a little bit different than this model. It had a wooden stock and wooden front grips. The gas tube was different, it was a full tube. My FAL came without the bipod.

I’m not sure if any random viewer has ever said this to you Mark, but I absolutely appreciate every second of your content. As the average ignoramus gun owner, I will never hold in my hands half of the “exotic” guns that you showcase, but I am still infatuated with your content. Every second of it.

Fascinating. I love the new format Mark and Bruno!

Was my partner for many years of Bush warfare in Africa and what I relied on in the mountains of Afghanistan. I would not have chosen a different weapon. Was trained on it,and loved the feeling of invincibility it provided.

I used this rifle( the S.L.R. VERSION)in the british army for more than 15 years,more than half my military career.Never had a misfire,nor a stoppage,never let me down,especially when I really needed it,and it is the man-stopper ne plus ultra of combat semi-autos.There will never be a better rifle,but thats just me,just do the maintainance,good to go.

Two uploads today? Legendary work! 👍

Carried one with Australian troops during four tours of Vietnam. The FAL was the mans axe. Stone reliable, only had one barrel replacement and it was very accurate and heavy hitting with the 7.62 round which was common to the M60 which was the section automatic weapon. None of those pissy little 5.56 rounds. It never had stoppages and could be stripped and cleaned in 10 minutes with no special tools.

Carried one for years as a cadet and later Australian Army. Absolutely loved it,even it was a wee bit long for rainforest work. Best rifle I ever had access to as a Digger

I'd argure it "not being a very sophisticated gun". It's well thought out, as you said. It's pure and not overengineered. To me that is more sophisticated than running a ton of extra unnecessary parts had proper engineering been done.

I snickered at the dust collector.

Last real high quality military rifle ever made.

My personal weapon when I did my conscription time in the Belgian army 1984-1985. No wonder it is still used in militia around the world today! Damn fine rifle ! The best!

Many years ago in Canada, in Army Cadets we started on Lee Enfield 22s then 303s and if you could shoot well you got upgraded to the FN, and when you are 14 years old and shooting one on a six hundred yard mechanical range, well it just does not get any better. Thanks for the memory

As a Turkish soldier, I shot a lot with the FN FAL 58. The name of this infantry rifle in the Turkish Army was G-1. Thank you, Master Mark

Back in the day, field strip for the SLR (UK version with no auto) included the gas regulator plug and gas piston removal. These coked up and prevented good operation. If it gets really coked you can cut of the gas completely on the front plug (also used for grenade launch) and then run it as a single load and then re-cock, until you had time for a clean. The SLR did not have a bipod (shame)

@0:30 What a great line, the minimum amount of gun you can spray paint over the top of a .308 cartridge and get away with it!

One of my favorite battle rifles and so I was enjoying the description, dive inside and demonstration

You have the gas setting at 8:20 correct. Per FN. One turn out from full gas, empty magazine, load one round in the breach at a time and fire. You do this while adjusting the system closed until the bolt locks bakc on the empty magazine. Then close the system two more clicks to slightly overgas the system for reliability.

Being a Rhodesian Army veteran, I have shot a few things with those!

I carried one of those during my training at the Military Academy... super simple to field strip and its 7,62 proyectile won´t spare whoever stands in front of it... super accurate shot even though your piece is 50 years old and had been beaten the hell up by previous and multiple generation of Cadets.... good times!

Merry Christmas, Mark, crew, and Family.

I feel like I just stayed at a Holiday Inn Express for FAL’s.

What this is, is one of the greatest military rifles ever designed.

This is the best tour of the FN/FAL on the UberWeb. And it's hosted by the best and most qualified tour guide. Thank you Mr. Novak.

Learning more about the FAL really tells me how dumb the officers were in US Army procurement in the 50’s.

Watching these videos is like attending a college course. The amount of information given is terrific, and delivered in a pleasant, understandable fashion. I feel smarter every time I see one.

In my time at the Dutch Airforce, way back early nineties, I had the automatic FAL, the FALO. I had to choose between the FN MAG or the FN FALO, well I didn't want to drag that heavy MAG all day long, so choice was made quick. Great gun! And this is a serious indepth video about the internals of a FAL thank you for that..

I have Stg58 and it is one of my best guns, Awesome coolness.

Oh man I've been waiting for something like this. I got one of these like 15 years ago for $900 and its still one of my favorite rifles to shoot. It has the green DSA furniture and I pulled the bipod off and it balances so much better. Unfortunately I broke the bipod in the process as one of the bolts was seized so listen to Mark about needing 3 people to do it, but thankfully I am not going to put it back anyway. Glad to see a deeper dive on the gas system as mine might start needed some more TLC in the future. I keep my gas regulator on 5 and it has been absolutely reliable. Its cycled everything from cheap-shit surplus, dirty ass steel case, and the standard Federal M80C which is its favorite.

The FAL holds a special place in my heart. The US really should have adopted it.

When I was doing my Territorial Army training with the New Zezland Army way back in 1974, we were taught to always take the gas plug out first, as you could still use (manually cocking) the weapon, ours were refered to as SLR's Self Loading Rife, even today I could still strip one down, it was a damn good rife.

How I miss my SLR L1A1,, Merry Christmas Mark from an old Sapper in the land down under

Field stripping for cleaning also includes removing the gas plug and piston and piston return spring.

Owned a 1970 production Herstal factory FN FAL for a long time. Matching number rifle with timber stock and plastic grip and hand guard. I personally think they are the most attractive battle rifle ever built. Our Australian built SLR from Lithgow NSW is a true treasure and highly suaugt after. Great video Mark. Thanks.

Cigar smoke and gunpowder. Thanks for the detailed show and tell for this beauty!!

Great episode Mark! The FN FAL was my first real service rifle in 1993 and I've got the opportunity to own a STG58 years later.. (still have) I've been a 3th echelon weapon mechanic in the Dutch army and did see them phase out to Canadian clone black rifles.. anyways.. About 1200 Dutch FN FAL's were 'Markmans' rifles equiped with the AI62 'Richt-Recht' scope (meaning Aim-Straight) build by Artillerie Inrichtingen and Holland Signaal optics. These were designed to 800-900 meter for a full body target (x4.2 magnification) For this distance the gastap was also set to G (grenade) wich made it a straight pull rifle The full-auto version of th FAL was the FALO who had a thicker barrel and 30 round magazines. The difference between FN FAL and STG58 is that the STG58 was licenced to Steyr, an Austrian weaponmanufacturer as Austria was (and is) no NATO member but an ally. Steyr choose higher quality materials and closer tolerances than FN, for the doctrine that all men got their service rifle back home after training so the Austrians could set up town militia's instead of a complete regular army. This makes it possible to interchange STG and FN parts but not with the Brittish L1A1. The Austrains choose the wirecutter instead of the NATO bayonetmount, their fillosophy was if the enemy is running up the mountain, something has gone wrong if you needed a bayonet.. Now a thing i noticed with the gastube: The holes in the gasstube are ventholes at the end of the stroke of the piston, not oil holes. It prevented gasses to be blownback in the face of te person shooting it, the gastube was originally designed to cover the pistonrod competely but this one seems to be cut in a phase of life. It has probably been dented (hence the cut part) to get it operating again. crude, but effective. Finally, any FAL / STG58 can be modded to full auto by removing the fireselector.. completely unhandable but we had fun with blanks that way, every infantrygroop could create 4 MG nests..

Field stripping included removing the gas piston in the Dutch army. I've never seen a FAL like you showed with such a short gas tube which exposes the gaspiston and spring. I really like your videos, please keep them coming Mark.

Dit lijkt op de Nederlandse uitvoering, het metalen voorhout met de voorsteunen in mijn diensttijd 1970/1977 bij de Nederlandse marine was de kolf hout. Later bij de nationale reserve 1980/1985 kreeg ik een Fal met kunststof kolf en kunstof voorhout zonder steunen ook de vlamdemper/schiettap/bajonethouder was een typisch geval. Ook kunstofkolf en metalen voorhout zonder steunen kwam voor.

Absolutely love my FAL, probably my favorite rifle. Not the best at anything, but just somehow really good in every way. So lean, svelte, and simple. Ergonomics were decades ahead of their time. Recoil is relatively mild given the cartridge and the rifle's the dimensions, with less bounce than an M14. I don't know what it is about them because they're certainly not the most accurate, but they just feel good in the hands, so balanced.

Glad Mark is part of our Fraternity. Merry X.mas Brother

It brings some good old memories from my service in the Dutch army. It was not a very accurate weapun but it was very extreme reliable. I personally liked the fact that after a shot the gun did not kick up. After specialisation i served 4 years with the HK SPG-1 I hope you will get your hands on such a weapon just to show us the works.

I’m forever jealous of this workshop! I wish I had this much space to do gunsmithing.

Up here in Canada, many of our forces members were up set when they had to turn in their FNs. Just thought about it now. If there ever was a war up here, the 7.62 NATO might be better. Just like in the dessert with the wide open spaces, the extra range range over a 5.56 might be a good thing.

"Climb like a homesick angel", love that line

Old armourer here again . The SLR was often used in FULL AUTOMATIC mode by our brave lads . And against all of the rule because the SLR was made to be single shot only , but on exercise firing blank rounds the lads would jam the trigger sear up using a piece of match stick . That allowed it to fire full automatic only .

Thanks Mark for all the videos and the work that you do. I have watched your content for a long time, now that i have been taking gunsmithing classes from SDI I use your content a lot more!

I’ve had my STG 58 for around 30 years and this is the first time I’ve seen an in depth explanation of the rifle. It’s my second. Built from parts on an Imbel receiver. My first had a headspace problem. My gunsmith couldn’t figure it out. I sold to a guy who felt he could. Has a combo flash hider / wire cutter. One of my favorite rifles.

Akin to my weekly sunday sermon, the lessons will never have the length required. Thanks mark

I have a South African R1 FAL that was later shipped to Rhodesia and covered in paint. American receiver (of course) but everything else is South African. It's got a good bit of the paint remnants still on it. The original South African barrel barrel is actually really nice which is rare for these things here in the US. Parts are all mismatched save for the bolt and carrier which are "double matched" with both SA and Rhodesian numbers. The only new parts I installed on it was a complete set of Israeli NOS springs. The way I was told to set the gas on mine was to open the gas port all the way, then load one round into the mag at a time, fire, turn the knob one click closed, then repeat this process until there was a failure to eject. Then you open the gas port by turning it up two clicks and it's set.

Just scored 3 stg58 part kits for the price of a ruger 10/22! Very helpful coincidence!

13 years old was given my first class with the FAL and was set to shoot it.... PRONE!! i had already sooted some M1 carbine and colt 45s,,but good lord i was not ready for the 308 in prone position ... needles to say a life changing experience LOL !! CHEERS!!

This has got to be the most scholarly, hands-on technical firearm related channel on the Tube. Merry Christmas to Mark and one and all!

Damn pal, you are such an educator and to think you offer these videos to the You Tube audience so often...what's not to love?

Loved the FN, used it in the 90's in the Irish reserve army, we had grenade sites on our versions where field stripping would include taking out the gas plug and piston out. We had different varients of the FAL with older wood grip ones to newer ones similar to the Imbel look, (I reckon at least 3-4 variations between sights/stock shape/materials/handrails/piston plug, body locking lever. They all (that I saw) had an automatic setting on the fire selector switch,. I had planned on trying to licence a civilian version of the rifle but gun laws in Ireland and all the hoops you have to jump through made it too difficult so I ended up with a .17HMR CZ 452 rimfire rifle in the end and had to settle for airsoft versions of the FN/L1A1 just to look at :-) Also in Ireland the army also had training kits where they would insert a barrel sleeve into the rifle and magazines to temporarily convert it to a .22LR this let recruits fire the gun in an indoor range without having to travel to the open range as a lot of barracks were within towns and when you were in the reserves it was more or less like being in the boy scouts but they let you use guns instead of pocket knives.

Thanks for the video, It brings back memories. I carried the Canadian version of this weapon for many years. FN C-1, 7.62 mm. Very reliable, as long as you keep the gas plug, and piston clean. Full auto version, with the bipod, was the FN C-2 with a heavier barrel, and an full auto.

Great video Mark. I have a South African marked one that was used by the Rhodesian Army. Matching SA serial numbers and matching Rhodesian Army serial numbers too. Excellent shooting rifle. I had a FN made one for years and it was always breaking bipod parts.

As one that actually used a STG 58 on two continents, I dare say it was a very reliable gun. The STG 58 has a fire selector so one can use it as AR (in a pinch). The magazines where issued with the rifle (4 - 7, depending where one served) and extremely durable. Fed every .308 ammo that was on hand. Often from very dubious sources. Great show, as always!

AKA the right arm of the free world, FNFAL. The original caliber was a little less than the .308, it was made to run the 308 to be NATO compliant. It was designed for a "280" cartridge, of the top of my head. Something like 69 countries adopted it and was manufactured by something like 11 of them. There were numerous variants produce in both inch and metric(Mark showed a metric) A metric magazine could be used in an inch pattern but not the other way around. They are great rifles still being made today! (My apologies for not having actual numbers, I would have to get my book "The FNFAL Rifle" out and read it again.)

I just watched the king of gunsmithing explain the king of battle rifles to me on youtube. You may now delete the internet and let me die in peace.

Thanks for the video and humor. Been a FAL owner/user for many years. A Hunka Hunka rifle. Almost as good as G3. Even less parts.

Saive was one smart guy! As John Browning realized. I've always wanted a Fal & now I want one more! Great work as always Sir!

This is what true engineering is about, strip out the fluff and bs and keep what is necessary and needed.

Thank you sir for reminding me to my service rifle 50 years ago in the Austrian army. Was a pleasure to shoot this gun, very accurate but heavy. Wish I could own a Steyr Mannlicher produced, but they were built with "happy switch" and are illegal in Austria. Happy Christmas

Lucky to own two, one a registered machine gun. Fell in love with when I was 13. My all time favorite rifle. Well done Mark. Thank you and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your viewers.

I carried both a Canadian FN C1 and a C8/M4. Few combat rifles are as easy to clean as an Fn. None are as painful to clean as a C8. Absolutely no comparison.

As a one time user of the SLR, field stripping was top cover, bolt carrier and bolt. Gas plug, piston & spring. Next level was removing the firing pin and extractor, which could be done with a round. I never split the rifle in two. A great weapon, and never a need to shoot someone twice with the thing.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you and to your family, Mark. The FAL in semi auto served the Australian army very well throughout the Vietnamese war. To me, the silhouette represents the weapon of the Cold War.

This is the only firearm featured on your channel that I have completely disassembled and reassembled personally. I was kinda proud of myself until you said how simple it was LOL

Hiring a gunsmith of Mark's calibre to clean your gun is such a flex...

I love this rifle. I have a DSA SA-58 that is a joy to shoot. Someday I hope to have an original FN. Thanks Mike.

That head spacing system is astoundingly simple, loved this breakdown of one of the best rifle's ever made

Merry Christmas Mark. Thank you for sharing yourself and your knowledge with us. And to your family and team!

Thank You for peeling the onion in such a manner that the average tinkerer can grasp the lesson. Merry Merry Christmas Mr. Novak, Lord of the Vise, Master of the Bench, Fixer of Things that go Boom !!!

As a wannabe gunsmith I just love this channel. What a wealth of knowledge thus man has...

Nice thing about carrying a C1 was no bipod, that was on the C2. Been issued both during my time in the CAF back in the 80's and yes I miss them.

In the 1990s when we were assembling FAL kits using new receivers, we did not have any gauge rods. As I recall, we put a stripped bolt in the rifle on a go gauge, then measured the gap in the receiver where the wedge block fits, then repeated the process with a no-go gauge. From these measurements we picked what we considered the most likely wedge to work and hammered it in place, then checked the chamber again with a stripped bolt and both gauges. If both gauges worked correctly, we finished assembling the rifle. If the go gauge didn't go, we removed the wedge block and replaced it with the next smaller block. If the no-go gauge did go, we removed the wedge block and replaced it with the next larger block. We usually got it right on the first or second try.

I picked up one of these in the eighties when I couldn't afford an M-14 and have really enjoyed it. I've got several now in several different configurations, at one time it was the main battle rifle for some 90 different western Nations. It remains my favorite because it's so easy to operate, clean and is dead reliable. The US almost adopted it for our own battle rifle at the time the AR was adopted. Thanks for showcasing it! John McClain, GySgt, USMC, ret.

Just as I finished watching this video, one came to me by a loyal costumer. Thank you Chief!

Best mechanical explanation of the FAL yet. Thank you sir.

I have this weapons Grand Father. The FN 49. A beautiful rifle.

How is this channel not more popular?

Let me say, having owned many battle rifles, this is my absolute favorite.

Mark, thanks for both videos today! Your knowlege and ability to communicate concepts if fantastic! Merry Christmas!

Greatest battle-rifle of all time.

I have always loved the reputation of this rifle and purchased one several years ago and it just a joy to shoot. Yes it is heavy, is it accurate, yes, would I carry it instead of an AR, yes! Love this gun and thanks for the deep dive into it!

Your point Mark, on the desirability of full auto on the FAL is certainly borne out by experience. It was an accurate gun, and in trained hands follow-up shots under semi-automatic control, are preferable to hosing the air. The only difference in weaponry during the Falklands war, was the Argentinians FAL's were full auto. Which has generally been accounted for as a reason for their lessor performance during firefights.

Love the FN-FAL. Built a few from kits. Now if I can find another Imbel receiver…

As a person who used it as a service rifle, we also took the gas plug off and cleaned the piston, always left hand rail on and never took off the lower

"It's not a gun - it's a rifle". - every Master Corporal to every slick-sleeve private EVER. I used this weapon in the 80s - it was Canada's primary weapon until the C7 replaced it in '87 I believe.

In the Canadian Armed Forces, we had the C1 and C2 variants. The C1 was the standard battle rifle (semi auto). The C2 was the support weapon, semi and full auto, we never fired them on full auto unless we were prone with the bi-pod down. Very controllable firing bursts and using 30 round mags.

Beautiful rifle for it's time I trusted it with my life in Angola

As pieces of engineering the FAL is one of my favorites, Only as complicated as it needed to be, robust but refined. and they're not ugly either. I've never used one but I've spoken to a lot of guys that have humped SLRs across the countryside for days, and apparently they ain't light, but they all said that they'd still rather have one over almost anything else. High praise from a squaddie!

I haven't owned any of the firearms from any of the videos of yours that I've watched, but I've learned a ton from watching and really appreciate the education!

I've have a German STG58 by Steyr and when I received it many years ago it was brand new. To this day it has had hundreds of rounds through it and has never failed at any time in those years no matter what ammo was used. Simple and a beautiful rifle. German quality at it's finest. I'd never part with it.

I had the pleasure of having one as my personal weapon during my time in the army. Although I never had a good opportunity to compare it with anything else I liked it and I was impressed by its power.

"Crusty madness" gas systems, thanks for the ear to ear smile... "Three men and a small boy", dang I love this channel...

Former Dutch weapon mechanic here, I used to have 84 of these in our Cie's weapon bunker.