In the United States, we measure distances in inches and fight the good fight with AR-15s. Across the pond, and in many places elsewhere, the inhabitants use centimeters and tote 7.62x51mm-chambered FN FALs, or Fabrique Nationale’s Fusil Automatique Léger (“Light Automatic Rifle”). Whether one set of practices is superior to the other is a question we’ll put aside for another day; suffice it to say, to speak only of rifles, both the AR-15 and the FN FAL have much to recommend them, and no gun enthusiast can quarrel with his being offered as wide a range of quality rifle choices as possible. With its SA58 Para, DS Arms has put before the American customer, law enforcement and civilian, a top-notch FAL that also happens to be, as D.K. Pridgen discovers, a top-notch battle rifle. Full stop.
Featuring a 16.25-inch barrel and measuring 37.75 inches overall with its stock unfolded, the SA58 Para is a “long” gun, but as Pridgen notes, it handles extremely well, pointing naturally and sporting easy-to-operate controls. At 8.2 pounds empty, the SA58 “weighs slightly more than a fully tricked-out AR,” but the added girth is, if anything, to the gun’s advantage, being fully commensurate “with the recoil of the 7.62mm NATO cartridge.” And speaking of the 7.62mm, “LEOs, particularly those riding the backroads alone…can make use of this power, defeating hardened targets and delivering effective hits on opponents, something 5.56mm carbines may not be able to do.” Writes Pridgen, “I envision the patrol car doing the heavy lifting of the DSA SA58 Para.” The officer, meanwhile, will make good use of the rifle’s superior firepower.
To read Pridgen’s full test and evaluation of DSA’s fascinating, and fully reliable, FAL-SA58 Para, check out the November 2013 issue of Guns & Weapons for Law Enforcement, available on newsstands and digitally August 27, 2013. To subscribe, go to www.tactical-life.com/subscribe.
Discussion about this post