Nothing makes you appreciate your "heavy" 6.8 AR isn't really all that heavy like a day with the FAL and Garand.
John C and the Dude were talented engineers, but they made heavy guns.
Of course, they are chambered for real-live full power rifle rounds not some upstart intermediate.
To be fair, you did stuff your FAL with heavier parts. They can get pretty light when you put your mind to it.
ReplyDeleteEven an M4 is heavy when one hangs enough crap off the rails. I'd rather have some long-distance punch to my rifle, given the choice.
ReplyDeleteThe 6.8 is heavy because MagPul stuff is heavier than M4, rails are heavier than handguards, and I've hung a light and Aimpoint on it. 9.5 lbs all-up.
ReplyDeleteThe FAL is a whopping 11.4 lbs with the Israeli wood and steel trigger housing. It was 10.5 with the plastic furniture and aluminum housing. The increase doesn't seem so bad because of the shorter pull and where the weight was added in relation to the center of gravity. The FAL has always felt heavier than it is because it's so dang long. Oh, adding the 1.5 lb. of Trilux doesn't help any.
The Garand has almost all of its mass way forward of the balance point making its "mere" 10.1 lbs feel even heavier than the FAL. That forward balance makes it a comfortable shooter though.
Correction. Israeli furniture adds a pound. Steel trigger housing adds half a pound. As it shipped, it was 9.9 lbs.
ReplyDeleteI think I may just sell the Izzy stuff and save the mass.