W.E.G.
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FALaholic # 1211
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Tested two Korean metric-pattern FAL mags today.
Obtained from our new member, Mr. Young.
http://www.falfiles.com/forums/memb...fo&userid=56539
Test successful, mags good to go.
Test was performed using my FAL built on an IMBEL gear-logo receiver
imported by Pacific Armament Corporation. Barrel is an STG-58 barrel
assembly purchased from DSA some years ago.
I think the bolt/carrier is IMBEL. In case anybody is keeping track of such things,
this is the SAME RIFLE that the US-Made DSA mags would NOT work in.
DSA mags reviewed at http://www.falfiles.com/forums/show...?postid=2728377
Ammo used today was Pakistani surplus L2A2 headstamp.
The mags fit tightly into the mag well, with absolutely NO SLOP whatsoever.
No extra effort is needed to seat the mag. They fit into my receiver perfectly.
Mr. Young called me a few days ago to let me know he had received a
shipment of the final product. Some of you may recall that I met
Mr. Young completely by happenstance about a year ago when he
was testing a prototype. The prototype required at least one set of
corrections,… maybe two.
The specs are correct now.
Mr. Young offered to give me one mag for testing, but I insisted on
buying one extra, which Mr. Young graciously provided to me at wholesale price.
Before you all get started on the inevitable debate about the retail
prices, I’m going to tell you now, I’m not selling these mags, and I’m not
getting paid to test the mags beyond what I just disclosed.
I don’t intend to discuss how much the mags will sell for at retail.
Contact Mr. Young, or one of his distributors if you want to buy his mags.
Exterior appearance is a spartan light gray oxide finish.
Nothing fancy.
The “beak” of the mag is well-formed, but is less wide than the
beak on my favorite German G-1 mags. The beak on the Korean
mags and said G-1 mags each PROTRUDE the same distance according
to my very-near caliper.
There are three “witness holes” along the spine of the mag.
Floorplate looks like an ordinary FAL metric floorplate.
Mag lips are well-formed, and sharp as a razor.
I did not attempt to “de-burr” the lips before the test.
The test was fired with the mags right out of the wrapper.
I did not disassemble the mags for inspection, or lubricate the mags in any way.
As of writing this review, I have not even seen the springs.
I have rifles to clean, and I badly need a bath after spending the
first half of the day in the schvitz.
I’ll get around to disassembling the mags, and taking more pictures,
with follow-up information later.
The first rounds into the mag felt “rough” during loading.
It was very apparent that the virgin oxide finish was providing a
fair amount of friction.
Subsequent loadings exhibited less roughness during loading,
as the friction points became burnished.
I first loaded each mag with 20 rounds,… just to see if I could
get 20 rounds in them, and to see how the rounds felt as the mags
were loaded. My loading technique consisted of “snapping” each round
into the mag, and then shoving the round toward the rear of the mag to
seat the ass-end of the round against the spine of the mag. The
amount of resistance felt during loading was consistent with other
first-quality FAL mags I have loaded.
I then un-loaded each mag using a FAL LULA loader device.
The rounds came out normally during the unloading.
First test in the rifle was one round in each mag.
I loaded from open-bolt and closed-bolt (slingshot method) without any trouble.
The round was fired, and the bolt locked back normally on each mag.
Same test was performed with five rounds.
Mag #1 was erratic loading from a closed bolt (slingshot method).
I got a couple bolt-over-base malfunctions with five rounds in the
mag when loading from a closed bolt. Interestingly, the closed-bolt
loading of Mag #1 worked fine on several tests with four rounds in
the mag.
This malfunction with five rounds, and the closed bolt, was the only malfunction experienced during testing.
Same testing (open-bolt and closed bolt) was done with 10 rounds in
each mag, and 20 rounds in each mag, respectively.
No malfunctions.
Feed during firing was 100% from all loadings.
Lockback on last shot was 100%.
As for suggested improvements of these mags, the uniformity of the
exterior finish could be more beautiful. The sharp feed-lips could be
smoother. I may have other ideas after I’ve disassembled the mags for
further inspection.
So far, my impression is that these mags are quality product,
and I recommend them for use.
__________________
Ask me about the Mason-Dixon FAL Collectors Association.
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August 28, 2010 20:34
