Death of an FN 1A1?

NavyShooter

NavyShooter

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Well,

I'm a 12(5) owner/collector. As near as I can tell, at 43, I'm one of the youngest of them in Canada.

I just bought my 6th FN, an Indian 1A1.

My collection stands right now at:

-British L1A1 (with SUIT Sight) - Century Arms Parts gun
-Indian 1A1 - Century 'as is condition' rifle
-Australian L1A1 - Complete, original condition
-Australian L1A1 - Stripped Receiver only
-Canadian C1A1 - 8L series Ex-OPP rifle, complete, original condition.
-Indian 1A1 (tonight's pickup) - Century 'as is condition' rifle with some Canadian parts added for looks by the previous owner.

I'm pondering the death of this rifle. Deactivation for the most recent acquisition is on the table for discussion.

What? Heavens no you're all thinking, do NOT do that, you're killing a piece of history, you're desecrating a rifle, you're....insert excuse here.

I've got lots of these rifles, and as older shooters move on, either from the sport, or from this mortal world, I've gathered this collection. I'm likely to be one of the last people in the country to own them, since I'm one of the youngest owners. (I bought my first about 7 weeks after my 19th birthday.)

So, why would I de-activate?

Right now, I've got 3 pieces from my collection (a non-restricted, and another dewat) on display at a local regimental museum. I've lent other pieces of my collection for other events and displays. Anyone at the PPCLI 100th anniversary in Ottawa a couple of years ago? The Bren gun alongside the Bren-gun Carrier (tracked) was mine. Anyone been to CAFSAC in the past 4 years or so? Look at the group photo and you'll see my Bren gun there too.

My FN's are effectively trapped in my house, I cannot shoot them and have not fired them since 2005. Alas.

I've already got a clapped out Indian 1A1, my thought is to take the one I just got, finish up the 'Canadianization' of it, and get it welded up for display.

The number of times in a year that I'd be able to get an FN out on display would be even more than the Bren, and the next generation of veterans would be all over it when displayed.

The number of 12(5) collectors is slowly declining, and for a rifle that originally sold at Century for $99 back in 1992, and I just paid $250 for, I'm thinking it's a good way for it to be more than just another safe queen.

Thoughts?

Yes, pictures...

Group photo of the ones I'd be keeping:

20160128_201425_zpsudtqkw7b.jpg
 
Since I can't have a working one I would love to have one of the dewat FN's hanging on my wall sometime in the future. It sucks to have to neuter one, but these days it is the way it goes. Its better to sit on a wall neutered than to be put in a smelter later on.
 
In no expert but would stripping the guts out before dewatt be better then having the bolts welded/ground down? I have a dewatt l1a1 and they butchered it. I love it as a wall hanger and would buy another but yeah I hate how destroyed it Is internally, considering the marstar ak74su had no guts. It may be better.
 
I am so saddened that I cannot actually ever own (legally) the FN C1A1. Was my rifle when I served. I have, ever since then, always thought of it as a brilliant piece of weaponry. With so many options out there, now, I'm sure many would think that I am off my rocker. And they may be right.

But the FN C1A1 will eternally be my favorite "main battle rifle".

My thoughts for your? Your rifles - do as you choose.
 
The Indian 1A1 is generally not considered one of the more collectable versions of the FAL. Neutering is an option that allows anyone to own a semblance of a true main battle rifle. I would strip out any internals before the procedure as they are worth good money on the open market.
 
NavyShooter said:
The number of times in a year that I'd be able to get an FN out on display would be even more than the Bren, and the next generation of veterans would be all over it when displayed.
Click to expand...
I think this here is the perfect reason to deactivate. Guns are meant to be shot, but if they can't be shot it'd be a noble thing to give them a real purpose again.
 
Believe or not some people are still hunting with these !! This is an absolute true story-
I was at the local gun shop about a year ago, when this old native fellow comes trotting into the store with his FN. I quickly noticed & so did the gun store owner. What ?...I cant believe what I'm looking at. I look even harder,...yup, its a FN all right. The old fellow asks if he could get it looked at & cleaned before he went out hunting " again" this year. The LGS owner and I just kinda looked at each other in disbelief & odd curiosity. I asked him how long he had been hunting with it and he told us 30 years ! WOW, and he never had an issue.!! The store owner then began to tell him the LAW of the land & explained to him that if he got caught , he would be in trouble. Well, reluctantly the old fellow left the Rifle at the store. Not sure what became of it. SO....how many more of these are still being used daily up north ? I think the answer would surprise you. "out of sight, out of mind". Not every one is "up to date" on the gun laws Obviously, LOL
 
Keep them in working order. Because you can. You can enjoy something most people can not. I,m sure Justins team would have us all be disarmed. Till then.....its nice to see the pictures.
 
Your other FNs are trapped in your house and cannot be fired. Spending your hard earned money to vandalize this one, thereby making it less valuable, to say nothing of irrelevant, doesn't make it shootable either.
 
My thoughts? F#ck our Government for making this conversation necessary. It's a shame that fine rifles like those are going to end up destroyed for political ends.

Other than that, can you sell them to someone in the US so they wouldn't be deacted?
 
lister said:
My thoughts? F#ck our Government for making this conversation necessary. It's a shame that fine rifles like those are going to end up destroyed for political ends.

Other than that, can you sell them to someone in the US so they wouldn't be deacted?
Click to expand...

Th ones I saw are going for 5600+.
 
But Ishapores, especially an "as is condition" one are pretty junky rifles. I've got a "hand picked" one and while it shot OK it was not much to look at. They were truly worth the low cost we paid back then. They're also not really scarce, either, so to repurpose one for a valid use makes sense to me.
 
I too am saddened by our current state where I cannot own that which I carried for 9 years. But if you have the choice to weld one up or know that when you die it will be turned into car parts, I would say weld up and donate to museums or sell as a piece of history.
My heart sank when I viewed your collection.
 
Other countries laws show that prohibition of these guns means they will also come for the deacts eventually, especially when they can't ever seem to catch any real criminals and they need a good photo-op. The story of Peter Kearns comes to mind every time I see deacts. He was the owner of Kearns and McMuchy who had his life ruined because he ran a gun store that specialized in legal deacts.
 
Something I've often wondered about - Why not strip down to a receiver, deactivate that, then put the parts back on. You keep maximum value and if things ever change, you just need a new receiver.

Thoughts?
 
OP, if I were you (and how I wish I had 12x status - damn you Allan Rock and Jean Chretien :mad:), I'd deactivate that "new" Indian rifle. You already have one, and as has been mentioned, the Indian FAL's aren't exactly showpieces. I doubt you'd be losing any value on it, and maybe, just maybe one day there will be a Canadian Conservative government who will completely repeal the Lieberals Firearms Act and replace it with an Act that makes sense (yeah, I know it's not likely, but it IS possible :d).
 
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