FN T48 replica ; finally finished!!

[Larry Vickers]

I have always had a soft spot for FAL's - I own many of them and the classic elegance of the design is an engineering masterpiece

If I had to pick one FAL above them all that I have a weakness for it would be the T48 - the version tested by the US Army in the trails against the T44 ( which became the M14) ; it has several unique features that were not found on later versions of the FAL and these features give it a very distinct appearance

Unfortunately these exact same unique features mean doing an accurate replica in this day and age is exceedingly difficult - I asked many savvy FAL guys about locating parts for a T48 build and in most cases I came up empty handed - key pieces like the folding trigger guard and pistol grip and rear sight base are like moon rocks

It just came down to the fact that if I wanted a T48 I would have to build one- source as many key parts as possible ( like the handguard assembly, front sling swivel, gas regulator, gas plug, rear sight, etc. ) and then modify existing FAL parts or make from scratch parts that were unobtainable -starting with modifications to a DS Arms type 1 receiver

After a year of slow methodical work and modification the T48 is done - a lot of people helped along the way but the guy who deserves the lions share of credit is my good buddy Arnold Dew of AD Custom ; he is well known to many of the M4C old timers for making his M4 piston uppers. Arnold and I have been friends for many years and he has helped me on more projects than I can count but I can honestly say this is our finest effort thus far - we are both very pleased with our end result and we hope you guys like the pics ( stand by.... )

Enjoy and hit me with any questions you might have

Be safe

LAV

[VA_Dinger]

Larry's T48 clone photos.

























Arnold Dew (Gunsmith)

[Littlelebowski]

Beautiful and to my eyes, more classy than the M14. I'm envious.

[Larry Vickers]

I agree - the T48 is a very classy piece !!

[Littlelebowski]

Reminds me of reading about the trials where the tests were rigged against the T-48 in favor of the M14.

[7.62WildBill]

Very sharp piece of work! Thank you for (again) sharing a piece of history. I am guessing the wood is walnut? The stock appears to have some curly figure to the grain near the tang...beautiful. You are "The Man" LAV.

[SteyrAUG]

I agree - the T48 is a very classy piece !!

DSA once offered a T-48 in their Classic Series.

Just curious what yours has vs. theirs. I notice the handguards are different and I'm assuming yours is more correct in other ways. It does look like they had the folding trigger guard, top feed cover, etc.

Beautiful rifle btw.

[armakraut]

DSA's T48 were primarily produced for the California market AND during the actual Assault Weapons Ban, most had a fixed 10 round magazine, later style stripper clip top cover and a faux long browning style flash hider. Furniture was more like a type C FN FAL, sights were low, lower was an aluminum styled to fit a type 1 receiver. Not really a replica of much of anything, looked more like a Belgian export M2 without the gray paint finish.

Type A's had tall open ear sights (Israel, Argentina and Commonwealth continued taller sights, FN/Steyr went with short G1 sights), blocky grips, square trigger guard, different forearm, steel lower had specific lightning and stock attachment cuts that interfaced with a buttstock that was different than subsequent buttstocks, top cover was a little different from subsequent versions, chrome or polished carrier (sometimes), could be found with or without long browning flash hiders. Small parts like the selector, takedown lever, takedown pin assembly, etc were different on the type A. I think the type A lower has a selector that is in fact incompatible with later variations, but that might just be the Israeli type A's. The lugged barrels only accept type A bayonets. The gas system and gas block on type A rifles is more akin to what you'd find on later Israeli FAL's also.

Steyr, if you want a cool early FAL, find an FN G-series, but be prepared to pay. I had the chance to buy one for a good price, boy did I screw up.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=324809249

[mrbieler]

Beautiful rifle. Thank you for sharing. I love my FAL's.

What are the two "nubs" at the front of the receiver?

Happy New Year.

[Larry Vickers]

The two nubs on the front of the receiver were guides for the stripper clip - it interfaced with the stripper clip top cover at the rear of the ejection port