Show me your FN's

This was the first semi auto .308 I ever shot, and as of last year, Shooting Edge in Calgary had one available as a range gun, if anyone's in alberta and wants to see what its like!
 
Browning also made them - from a 1969/70 SIR catalog...


FN40.jpg
 
I think those were the "G" series FN's.

Three older FALs were used for comparison: a semiautomatic "G" series (so called because of the "G" prefixing their serial numbers), one of 1,836 rifles imported from 1959 until January 1963, when they were reclassified by the BATF as exempt machine guns; a full-auto, folding-stock, short-barreled (18 inches) Belgian army paratroop model (No. FN 50-63) from the Congo; and a very early (serial No. 409) full-auto FAL without a flash suppressor.
Click to expand...

http://guns.wikia.com/wiki/FN_FAL
 
http://www.falfiles.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2751182&postcount=17

There were a total of 1,848 G Series FAL's imported by Browning Arms. Additional detail is provided below for you.

Best to make certain that your FAL's serial number is on the 'approved list' of G Series FAL's.

Cheers

-KIT-



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Department of the Treasury
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

ORDER ATF 0 7540.1

9/11/74

Subject: CLASSIFICATION OF BELGIAN FN LIGHT SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLE
FAL) CALIBER 7.62mm

1. PURPOSE. This order identifies certain FN FAL 7.62mm rifles
which are not classified as machine guns and thereby are
excluded from the provisions of the National Firearms Act.

2. CANCELLATION. This directive cancels all previous
instructions concerning the classification of FAL rifles.

3. BACKGROUND. From September 5, 1959 to January 10, 1963, the
Browning Arms Company, St Louis, Missouri, imported 1,836 FAL
rifles in caliber 7.62mm from Fabrique Nationale, Herstal,
Belgium. Subsequent to January 10, 1963, the Bureau
classified this rifle as a machine gun. However it was
determined that the 1,863 rifles imported by Browning would be
exempt from the provisions of the National Firearms Act.
Additionally twelve FN FAL rifles were imported through an
administrative error in 1974. These 12 rifles are also exempt
from the provisions of the National Firearms Act.

4. EXEMPTED FAL RIFLES. Following is the final revised listing
of FAL rifles, calibre 7.62mm, which are exempt from the
provisions of the National Firearms Act.

a. G SERIES

Serial Numbers Units
G492 through G494 3
G537 through G540 4
G649 through G657 9
G662 through G673 12
G677 through G693 17
G709 through G748 40
G752 through G816 65
G848 through G1017 170
G1021 1
G1033 1
G1035 1
G1041 through G1042 2
G1174 through G1293 120
G1415 through G1524 110
G1570 through G1784 215
G1800 through G1979 180
G1981 through G1995 15
G3035 through G3134 100
G2247 through G2996 750
----
1,815


b. GL SERIES

Serial Numbers Units
GL749 1
GL835 1
GL1095 through GL1098 4
GL1163 through GL1165 3
GL2004 through GL2009 6
GL3135 through GL3140 6
--
21

STANDARD FAL -

Serial Numbers Units
889768 1
889772 through 889777 6
---
7

c. PARATROOP MODEL

Serial Numbers Units
889800 through 889801 2
889803 1
889805 1
889809 1
--
5

TOTAL EXEMPTED FAL RIFLES 1,848


5. DESCRIPTION OF MARKINGS. All G Series and GL Series FAL
rifles will be marked FAL. cal. 7.62 on the left side of the
receiver and Fabrique Nationale D'Armes De Guerre-Herstal
Belgique on the right side of the receiver. The selector
positions will be marked "S" for safe, "R" for semiautomatic,
and "A" for automatic. The selector lever is designed so that
it cannot be rotated to the automatic position.

The Standard and Paratroop Models will have the same markings
as above plus "Browning Arms Co. Arnold Mo. and Montreal P.Q."
on the right side of the magazine well. The selector lever
can be rotated to the automatic position but the rifle will
fire only semiautomatically.

6. ACTION. If a rifle bearing one of the above serial numbers has
been converted to fire full automatic, it is classified as a
machine gun and is subject to all the provisions of the
National Firearms Act.

[signed]

REX D. DAVIS
Director
Click to expand...
 
sf said:
Some gun experts said the real AR10 should have been the winner of the 3 choices considered (FN, M14 & AR10).
Click to expand...

Sorry, the AR10 didn't exist during the actual trials. The trials were from @1948 thru 1954.

The UK adopted the Em-2 rifle as Rifle No.9 Mk1 in 1951, when Churchill was reelected PM he quickly kyboshed it before any production rifles actually were built. Due mostly to the fact that the rifle couldn't handle 7.62x51 it bit the dust.

Canada ordered the first actual production FAL rifles (2000) (Ex1 and Ex2) in June 1953 the British @3000 (X8E1 and X8E2) and Americans @3500 (T48) both followed in Dec 1953.

Canada "adopted" the FAL in @April 1954 after extensive trials.

The Brits quickly followed and the American trials dragged on into 1958 by which time FN-C1 and L1 rifles were being issued to troops in Canada and the UK.

The 3 most successful competitors were the British Em2, Belgian FAL and American T44.

Oh yeah, the T44 rifles were actually built on Garand receivers. Which caused some problems when it came time to manufacture them...
 
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These lovely rifles was curtailed from law abiding owners unjustly.The caliber is no more dangerous than many others.It is sad that a person who lawfully owns one of these rifles cannot shoot it freely at a range whose back stop is good for calibers such as .375 H&H and up.

Is any one lobbying so it can be used at a range that it was once used?
 
i had a consecutive pair of ex-opp C1A1s as well as a CA C2A1 and CA C1 sterling ...then the devorce....now i just have 1 C1A1 and an FAL (the one thats stuck with the RCMP)..and memories ...and all the other crap i cant take to the range ...
 
Ex OPP 8L series, the four mags on the left are Brit and the other four are (right) Canadian. There is not difference in the design or functionality of the magazines. They both have wire springs.
However the 30/5 rd mag is for the Bren MK L4A3 7.62 and had a leaf spring internally. The Bren MK L4A3 Mags have the same lock up as the FN FAL.

IMG_2068.JPG
 
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