>>105892
It's a Para; go for the shortie.

>>105893
This.

Make sure to share work-in-progress photos!

>>105893
>>105895
I mean, yeah the 16" barrel is cooler, but is it $200 cooler?

>>105896
"Check out my FAL Para, with not-Para barrel/handguard!" is decidedly not cool. $200 or no.

>>105902
The 17" is a factory Para takeoff. After doing some reading on FALFiles I think I'm going with 17".

Remember, for a more authentic Paratrooper FAL, you should have a folding charging handle, no carry handle and no bolt stop device, like the FAL 50.63 (although there are a few different Paratrooper FAL models).
FAL 50.63: Folding-stock, shorter 436 mm (17.16 inch) barrel, paratrooper version, folding charging handle. This shorter version was requested by Belgian paratroopers. The upper receiver was not cut for a carry handle, the bolt stop device were absent which allowed the folded-stock rifle to fit through the doorway of their C-119 Flying Boxcar when worn horizontally across the chest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FN_FAL

Belgium FN FAL PARA 50.63 – $3600.00 (sold out)
All correct and matching Belgium FN FAL 50.63 PARA 308 rifle. Includes manual and 3 – original 20 round magazines. The rifle is in excellent condition with a few brass marks around the ejection port area. Howco Dist. Inc and Gun South Inc. import marks. http://www.prebanarmory.com/belgium-fn-fal-para-50-63/

https://www.gunsamerica.com/966057012/FN-FAL-50-63-PARA-Belgium.htm

-Walnut and original hand guards -Bipod -Quantity 10 original 20 round mags and chest pouch -Pistol grip cleaning kit -Sling -Front site tool -Gas wrench -Chamber & bore brushes -FN manual

Good luck with your build.

Pictured is a CA SA58-OSW fitted with a few KAC bolt-on, Elcan Spectre x4 rep and Peq15 rep.
https://drake-uk.deviantart.com/art/SA58-OSW-197414151

>>105945
Wait... is that an Airsoft toy?

Ordered the 17.2 barrel assembly and a DSA para lower kit. Unfortunately, DSA won't ship receivers to NY, and I have heard mixed reviews about Coonans, although my fullsize has a Coonan reveiver and I've had no problems. I will be looking for a DSA or Imbel receiver on gunbroker. Pics to come when stuff arrives.

>>106326
>NY
Any one NewYorkaStananian to another, go the 80% route unless you actually want to make it legal for some reason.

>>106327
Does anyone actually make a 80% FAL? Anyway, I'll be making this legal through the non detachable magazine route. It's a PITA but it's not worth the potential loss of firearm rights to me to have this be a practical gun. I have other more sensible guns if I ever need them.

Parts! Anyone got a suggestion for a .308 muzzle device that comes in 9/16-24 LH?

Picked up a FAB Defense AG-FAL grip. OD 'cause it was on sale for $11. More comfortable and feels more solid than the grip that came on the DSA lower.

Unfortunately, the DSA lower doesn't play nice with the Coonan upper on my Imbel build. The locking lever should be close to vertical, like in the pic above. The locking body is barely engaging the lug on the upper and the upper and lower can be forced apart without much effort. No idea if the problem is the upper of lower. We'll see if this is an issue on whatever upper I end up getting for this build. Also, the lower appears to be painted, not anodized. Somewhat disappointing.

Also, I can't take a picture of it to save my life, but the bore on the barrel I got from Arizona Response Systems is kind of disappointing. Strong rifling, but some rust spots. Oh well, its a surplus barrel, but I wouldn't have described it as "very good". We'll see how it cleans up.

>>106407
Get pic related (can be bought at Walmart) if you have trouble cleaning the barrel. I've been using it for years running it down used barrels with good results.

>>106407
5.45's idea is best, but you might be surprised what a single round will fix going down that barrel.

When I was just a 18 year old basement (I wish we had a basement) dweller, I snapped up a Polish war aid PU sniper sans scope from a pawn shop that didn't know what they had (for once) on gunbroker. I was still pretty much a gun newbie but my heart sank when I saw the crazy rust in the barrel when it arrived which the retard seller pulled an "oh jeez, must have happened in shipping" routine when I politely asked. Anyway, after scrubbing the bejeezus out of it frantically, I fired a couple rounds of Prvi partisan through it to see if it would even group. While it's not exactly a one hole wonder it grouped very well for my skill level and extremely amateur reloading level at the time (I should try that shit again and see what it can do) and that barrel looked a thousand times better.

I just bought a very beat to shit 7+1 mossberg 500A through work that came from century arms some way, some how. It was completely jank looking and everyone thought I was retarded for wanting it. There was an incredible amount of rust in the barrel on top of deep gouges on the outside metal and general wear and tear. It was also packed full of sand,literal sand. Mossberg wanted as much as a new one to fix it, so they let me have it at cost of a little over $80. I cleaned the shit out of it, and after firing a box of shells 90% of the interior barrel stuff is gone beyond some staining. It's crazy slick, shoots and feeds great and will make a great summer bear slug gun when I'm packing into lakes and not carrying a hunting rifle.

I call it Rusty Shackleford.

>>106419
>>106418
Thanks for the input guys. Frankly, this was never meant to be a precision gun and I'm sure it will shoot ok, like I said strong rifling and the crown looks good. I'm just disappointed that a barrel described as "very good" has actual red rust inside. A little pitting or black iron oxide would have been expected.

>>106419

>you might be surprised what a single round will fix going down that barrel.

Might solve it, might not. Rust is a fickle mistress. I'd recommend breaking it in as if it's a new barrel.

>Shoot a round
>clean
>repeat 10 times

>>106421

That's a lot more work than my normal break in procedure:

> clean off the shipping oil
> lube the parts
> shoot the fuck out of the gun
> clean it eventually

>>106421
Really more a side note to break-in in general and less relevant to the OP's issue, but:

Barrel break-in is, at best, a marketing gimmick to sell more barrels to the benchrest competition guys who replace their barrels after some arbitrary number of rounds down the pipe.

At worst, and in the cases where it might actually improve accuracy, its compensating for halfass barrel manufacturers that try to stretch the life of their cutting tools too far, resulting in dull carbides that make poor cuts and leave burred surfaces inside the barrel.

In any case, a new barrel from a quality manufacturer shouldn't need it.

BUT...for rust in the bore, its not a bad way to get it out. The heat and abrasion from the bullet will help dislodge the rust on the lands. For any rust that might be in the grooves of the rifling, there's probably no substitute for a stiff rod, brass brush, lots of oil and patches, and some old fashioned elbow grease.

Surprisingly hard to pick up a bolt for a FAL. The Para kit came with a carrier but no bolt, I snagged an Ausfailian L1A1 stripped bolt for $40.

Just a mockup. Lots of work to do, still need to make a receiver wrench and barrel vice, torque the barrel, install correct locking shoulder, and source a few more small parts. Oh, and figure out what I'm doing to permanently attach the mag.

7.92x33mm FAL Modification at GunLab
This is Pete’s , a friend of Gun Lab, version of a 7.92×33 rifle. His solution was to put in a new ejector block of his design with a spring loaded ejector. Then remove 0.900″ from the magazine to fit the 7.92×33 round.
With the last post we made on the 7.92×33 FN-FAL we showed a FAL that had a new ejector block and magazine made to allow the rifle to shoot 7.92×33. This post will show a different approach to reach the same conclusion, shooting 7.92×33. This series of photographs comes from another friend of Gun Lab and how he converted his rifle to use MP-44 magazines. This version the owner cut down the receiver by 0.900 and welded support plates to enlarge the magazine housing. http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/08/11/7-92x33mm-fal-modification-at-gunlab/

The first prototype of what was then the FN Universal Carbine, but that would become the FN FAL (Light Automatic Rifle), was not chambered for the familiar 7.62×51 NATO, nor its competitor round the .280 British, but in the German 7.92x33mm Kurzpatrone round developed in 1942 for the MKb. 42(H) (the predecessor of the famous Sturmgewehr).
- The FN “Universal Carbine”, prototype No. 1. This was the only rifle in the FAL family chambered at the factory for 7.92x33mm Kurz. Image source: gunlab.net