Cold War Standoff: AR10 vs FAL

[Music] hey guys welcome back so today we're gonna do another video where we compare two cold war-era rifles we previously did a video where we compared the FAL to the m14 and I chose the FAL over the m14 saying that I believe that the United States should have adopted this rifle versus the m14 well today we're going to compare the FAL to the ar-10 the ar-10 that we have out here today is a br in 10 which is manufactured by Brownells it's a retro line rifle it's not a real classic AR 10 that was manufactured by Armalite it is a replica but it should give us a good idea of how the ar-10 would have performed it's very very similar obviously it's direct gas impingement and all that good stuff so let's kick off today's video shooting the last videos winner the FAL and then let's take a look at the ar-10 and talk about the features of each rifle and which one I think that the US military should have picked over the other one we are shooting some 150 green ball federal American Eagle this afternoon I'd like to thank our friends over at federal for supplying the ammunition it certainly helps us quite a bit but we haven't had an ammunition resupply in quite some time so we're rationing ammunition were rather short on 308 so we're not gonna be shooting full 20-round magazines very often let's go ahead and load her up and start shooting let's walk it straight out to 150 meters man what an elegant piece of history I've often times said that the FAL is one of the most elegant battle rifles ever produced it has such great lines very narrow just a great shooting gun alright let's take a look at that replica BR in ten from Brownells and do a little bit of shooting with it now let's kind of get into the meat and potatoes of what I like and dislike about each one of these different rifles we'd like to thank our friends over a big Daddy Unlimited for helping to make this video possible if you guys want to do us a solid swing by Big Daddy unlimited com sign up for just 99 cents for the first month it's just a trial period and check it out they're basically the Sam's Club of the online world you can find all sorts of great deals and again it's just 99 cents for the first month if you'd like to remain a member go buy military arms org there's a link at the top of the website click that link and you can get 20% off your monthly membership going forward this is the BR in ten you've seen it here before on the channel I did a complete video on it several years ago if you want to go back and take a look at that but since we filmed that video I've ordered some updated parts when this first generation rifle shipped it had more of a a one style pistol grip but they've since moulded a more traditional AR ten style pistol grip so I've put that on here also my early gun did not have heat shielding inside the polymer handguards I've since ordered and replaced those hand guards with the new hand guards that have an aluminum heat shield inside of them and this is about a 90% correct rifle you'll notice it has its own front sight block it is direct gas impingement the charging handle is in the carrying handle protrudes back here some versions of the ar-10 didn't have that protrusion but it's a non reciprocating bow a charging handle and you can see it has no forward assist slab side very very nicely made gun over here you can see the bow release selector lever nice overall look and finish so this guns about as close as we're I'm ever going to get to owning an actual AR ten they went so far as to clone the old waffle magazines and so I have a couple of these all this stuff is available over at Brownells and this matter of fact if you look around the buy the magazine it says Brownells on it so we have ten rounds of the American Eagle loaded up into the magazine let's go ahead and charge weapon and it loads just like the ar-15 m16 so if you're used to that rifle you're gonna find that this rifle is very very comfortable to you to shoot the only thing you're going to notice is this has considerably more recoil than your five five six variety ar-15 alright so let's start shooting out at 150 meters again we have that those 10 rounds loaded it has an aperture rear sight that's hidden within the carrying handle here and then we have a simple front post out front now the front post on this is not adjustable for windage nor elevation all that is done back here on the rear sight what I will say and this may be a function of the replica but this rifle has considerably more recoil than the FAL it's not painful but it's the more pronounced pushed into your shoulder when shooting now maybe this rifle is just over gassed I don't know but it runs 100% we never had any reliability issues with it but otherwise it handles and feels much like an ar-15 matter of fact it doesn't feel much heavier than ar-15 at all has a very light profile barrel of course has an upper and lower that's made out of machined aluminum than polymer stocks and yeah it just has the the feel it really feels really really good the FAL as many of you know became known as the right arm of the free world this rifle went on to be adopted by over 90 nations it was probably one of the most prominent and most successful 308 big bore battle rifles that were ever fielded by any military and you'll still find them in use today so many countries use them and there's so many different variations of them it's really quite impressive and so I'm not going to get into the whole story about how the United States kind of messed around and screwed things around with its allies when developing the 308 versus you know other caliber options and rifles well it's just suffice it to say that the United States broke its promise a little bit and the guys over at small armed solutions really have a great story about the adoption of the m14 and the whole history behind the adoption of the 308 by NATO and I understand that 760 by 51 is not the same thing as 308 but I'm gonna use them interchangeably in this video but the FAL is already pointed out is a very elegant rifle the rifle does use a gas piston and it has a regulator out here on the front sight which is adjustable for elevation by the way that front sight post but it has an adjustable regulator now some people saw this as a bonus and other people saw it as a negative because the troops in the field could turn this with relative ease and mess with the gas settings on the rifle in the field and the more things you can give a grunt to play with that they can break the chances are they're probably gonna play with it break it and screw their rifle up but that was one of the features that I personally like about the rifle the ability to tune it to the ammunition that you're shooting so it's not they're over gassed or under gas you can perfectly tune it to that ammo but again some folks found that that was not necessarily a positive thing now there were different variants of this rifle as I said some of them have longer barrels others had shorter their paratrooper versions that had side folding stocks all sorts of stuff this one has a recoil system that goes into it's its stock but the paratroopers would have the recoil assembly contained within the receiver here and in the top cover and then they had a stock that would fold to the side a stock that is very similar to what the Israelis used they developed the Galil rifle in 556 and 308 you'll find some if they ELLs have a carrying handle on them that would fold away other times you'll find the paratrooper models don't have this because they don't want to get snagged in kit and then even in some conflicts like Rhodesia they would cut these things off because if you get this thing at an angle like that it can block the ejection port and cause a malfunction and some folks also said that it could injure the shooter in some way or another I don't know what that's all about you'll also find that the rifle does not have a reciprocating charging handle so you can pull the bolt to the rear lock it to the rear but the charging handle moves independently of the bolt so the rifle also locks open our last shot fired back here we have a very simple but exposed rear sight it doesn't have any protective ears now there will be lit later or other versions of this rifle the paratrooper models in particular that would have protective ears to protect this rear sight then you would also have inch pattern versions that would have a folding rear sight and there's also different height sights that you'll find on the various different models of the FAL but overall the rifle is very ergonomic and very easy to shoot and shoulder and just an absolute pleasure to shoot the one thing that most people complain about is the extreme grip angle that you'll see here that seems to be a little bit too much and some shooters will say that they don't like that extreme grip angle especially in the day where we're seeing more and more companies producing grips for their AR 15s that are more vertical than swept-back but I think what they were trying to do obviously is get this rifle well this 20 round magazine is low pro as they could so you could from the prone position without you know exposing yourself to enemy fire but I don't know why they use such an exaggerated grip me personally I find it comfortable I like the way the rifle shoulders and shoots typically they're gonna have very heavy triggers and the disassembly on these things is it extremely simple you have the and I've showed this in previous videos but it's just a simple matter of flipping a lever some will pull back up here others will push up there they just hinge open I got the bolt lock to the rear well does hinge open guts come out and very easy to clean you can also easily and quickly take the gas system apart just by turning this plug on the end and taking the gas system out of the gun for maintenance although it's not necessarily required all that often the rifle just like the ar-10 fires from a 20 round magazine but you would find that there are other magazines out there that would hold more ammunition but generally speaking the sheet metal 20 round magazine there's an inch pattern and there's a metric pattern this is a metric rifle and metric magazine but generally they again were 20 rounds so the selector lever is the one thing I don't like about the FAL it's so high that even with my long thumb's it can be difficult to manipulate now if it was full auto it would swing all the way around to here and stop but this is a semi-auto only rifle the gun does have a last round hole open feature so when you lock the magazine in and it's a two-point locking system locks on the toe and locks on the rear of the mag so you'll put the front end first and rock it back the gun runs dry it will lock open you have a magazine release that's right here by your index finger you can drop that magazine out easily I put a fresh magazine in and then using this lever right here just pull down on it and that chambers around the gun can be resumed firing so a very very simple elegant rifle that was pretty well received by the troops this was a very popular rifle obviously 90 nations used it so for me to say that this isn't the best 308 rifle ever built it's pretty hard for me to say so let's take a look at some of the features of the ar-10 the ar-10 was designed by eugene stoner and this would be the predecessor to what we now know as the m16 and it was developed while eugene stoners with the arm light corporation arm light would ultimately sell the plans to the ar-15 m16 - colt who would go on to manufacture it for the US military and the rest is history but the ar-10 was really a departure from the norm when it was developed in the 1950s Eugene stoner was trying to use different types of material to make a lightweight rifle that was capable of both semi-automatic and fully automatic fire keep in mind this was coming out of World War two and everybody was looking for an assault rifle and yes that's a real term not an assault weapon that's a manufactured term by the anti-gun forces the United States but the assault rifle is a very real thing and all that means that it's capable semi-automatic fire and fully automatic fire and is intend to be used by a single infantry soldier not it's not a crew-served weapon in other words so the ar-10 was extremely lightweight for what it was and it made heavy use of aluminum and polymers to achieve that light weight and people were really really intrigued by this and US military tested it and again it was entered into the military trials and there's a whole bunch of stories out there as to why the m16 wasn't chosen there's even some stories of some tomfoolery that went on that shows you that fortunately the Unites States military to not adopt it and they think that there are some shenanigans they're like rigged tests and things like that but again there's a great story about that over on small armed solutions they have great information about the history of the ar-10 m16 but the rifle if you're used to the ar-15 m16 you're gonna find the ergonomics of this thing spectacular it is lightweight it feels like it has less weight out front front than the FAL has a very narrow easy to get a hold of handguard kind of like the FAL and it's just so comfortable but then I love the ar-15 m16 and given how much time I have with a ar-15 m16 it's just hard not to absolutely love the ar-10 the ar-10 was manufactured in a couple of different flavors and it was never really widely adopted by any major militaries in the world but they were adopted by several militaries and there have been Dutch contract rifles and Sudanese rifles and things like that but they they had different features but generally speaking you had a charging handle in the top here that you would pull to the rear to charge the weapon you would also see this carried over in early prototypes the ar-15 m16 and eventually of course we then see that taken away and the t-handle used back here which is actually a bit easier this thing when it wants to stick you only can get one finger in there typically use my middle finger and you can really have to pull on that thing sometimes to get it to come to the rear you have the bolt hold pretty much every feature that you're used to on your ar-15 m16 exists on the original AR 10 right down to the to takedown pins or you can you know open it up drink easily for cleaning I may need the tip of the bullet here around here really quick and kind of show you how you can easily open the rifle up because it's again just like an ar-15 or m16 push that rear pin across hinge it open and you're gonna find a very familiar arrangement inside the buttstock you have the buffer and recoil spring up top we have a very large bolt and carrier but obviously it's just a bigger version of the ar-15 m16 and a very very easy weapon to maintain now both of these firearms would have been an absolute beast on full auto and I don't think either one of them really would have excelled particularly well in that capability but I don't have a lot of versions of either now I have fired full auto versions of the FAL and the m14 and with a little bit of practice they can actually be controlled but by the average infantry soldier both the ar-10 and the FAL on falada would probably be way too much to use in any effective means whatsoever which is why they were typically used in semi-automatic only in that case the m14 many times they blocked the full auto functionality and the same is true of the FAL s with many nations that adopted them so when it comes down to it you know I'm very used to the sight picture I'm very used to the ergonomics you know have your selector lever right by your thumb I'm used to that bolt release system I'm used to the magazine release it's all right there and ergonomic so Eugene stoner did an absolute amazing job laying the ar-10 out and making that basis for the ar-15 m16 so the question then becomes which one do I like shooting more now I will say that this rifle has consider are considerably more recoil than the FAL but I can't really hold that against that this rifle because this is a replica it is direct gas impingement which means it works just like the ar-15 m16 which really isn't direct gas impingement it has an internal piston right here inside the bolt carrier unit gas is tapped off up here by the front sight it's diverted by tube down into an expansion chamber which then expands and pushes that bolt and carrier rearward straight into the shooters shoulder so it's a very inline system but again firing one of these on full auto would be a definite handful given how lightweight it is in the absence of a muzzle break this thing would be an absolute beast the gas system is not tunable we have the ability for the FAL to tune it to whichever ammunition you're using but a military typically only issues one type of ammunition so that's not really necessary the rear sight on this is kind of ironic the m16 m16a1 had a rear sight that was adjustable by use of a bullet tip but it wasn't meant to be done in the field you would zero it and then carry the weapon with the sights set to a particular zero but on the AR 10 while we don't have the ability to easily adjust for windage we do have a drum that rotates for elevation so that's something that would be later adopted by the m16a2 and again I I can't compare these sights directly to an actual AR 10 because the end this is a replica rifle it fired from a 20 round box magazine very similar to the FAL and yeah it's just a very very nice shooting gun very ergonomic and actually a quite elegant rifle as well I like the way the FAL looks but of course I like the way the ar-10 looks too and this is kind of one of those rifles that's a dream rifle for many people when Brownells announced that they were to manufacture these replicas I could not wait to get my hands on one because actual AR tens are so hard to find and most of them are going to be fully automatic and they're gonna have to be transferred they're gonna cost an arm and a leg so the ability to own something that's a fairly close facsimile of the original it's pretty awesome given the price tags right around 1,100 bucks 1,200 bucks or so and they're available in black and brown as well let's not get into how to take each these rifles apart each of these rifles have their own video covering that if you want to look into it you can search that right here pterri arms channel and get more information about each of these rifles but in front of me I have both rifles field-stripped and that means what I can do without the use of tools using the you know either a tip of a bullet or a firing pin knows to take the rifles apart in the field let's start with the FAL we have the FAL hinges open just has a lever no pin necessary so you just push up on the lever or push back on the lever opens up you can then draw out your bolt carrier and bolt inside the bolt itself you'll have a firing pin a spring and a little teeny-tiny pin that holds it all together now it's not necessarily required to take this out in the field to clean it every time you service the weapon but because I could take it apart with a tip of a bullet I went ahead and did that anyway then we have our top cover magazine or gas piston the spring that goes with the gas piston then our gas plug that goes on the end of the rifle very simple to take apart if you don't get into the bolt by taking the firing pin out there are really no small parts to lose and taking the gas system apart is not really required for regular field maintenance so in you know general the FAL is much easier to take apart and fewer smaller parts if we take a look at the ar-10 we have the recoil spring the buffer the charging handle the bolt carrier this one has a captive pin I'm not sure if that's a feature of the original but the ar-15 m16 has a cotter pin which is a small part but that's required to be taken out to get the firing pin out then to take the cam pin out to take the bolt out and then I've removed the pen and the extractor as well and of course both them have their magazines out so small parts here but once again taking the extractor isn't out of the bolt is not always necessary with the ar-15 m16 or the ar-10 so when it comes to small parts they're fairly equal i wouldn't say one has a definite advantage over the other I will say however the FAL is easier to take apart in the field then the AR 10 or even air at 15 m16 because just basic field maintenance without taking the gas system apart it's just big easy parts to take apart and put back together and there's no small parts to be lost but the ar-10 really isn't far behind both extremely modern rifles even bite a standards so here comes that moment of truth where I got to decide which one of these I think is a better fighting rifle and which one I think the United States should have adopted over the other one and this actually is a very very difficult decision and whichever one I choose the other one is only marginally behind I want to say that the ar-10 I don't think it fully developed into the weapon that it could have evolved into I think it's life was cut short due to lack of interest by any militaries of significance in the world since US military I only showed a passing interest in it it seems like it kind of died it evolved into ar-15 m16 and just faded into obscurity had this rifle continue on its developmental path I can only imagine how cool and how functional and how capable the rifle would have been the FAL on the other hand is a fully evolved product and this is a finely refined rifle so trying to take that out of the mix and assuming that this could continued on it's in its development path it's so close guys I love the ergonomics the ar-10 I love the way it feels because I'm so familiar with it it this one does have a little bit perceived more recoil especially when shooting from the bench but the FAL is just an elegant rifle that is something I've been in love with since I was a kid ar tends the same but not to the same degree as the FAL I had to pick one and this is personal preference some of you guys get twisted in knots about what I say this isn't what I'm saying definitely should have happened this is just what I prefer and it's the FAL and I don't know what it is I love everything about the ar-10 I just think maybe if it had evolved just a wee bit more it would have been a more capable competitor against the FAL this is just an outstanding service rifle which was you know proved by how many nations that adopted it how many conflicts it was used in and how many soldiers came to love the weapon this thing clearly they are ten clearly evolved into the m16 ar-15 which is in my opinion one of the best if not the best first world military rifles currently being used by any military in the world and I know that's going to stir some of you guys up but the m16 m4 is an out weapon system and that is because it started right here with the ar-10 alright guys I look forward to reading your comments down below if you liked this video please be sure to hit the like and subscribe button and also hit the notifications because many times you guys don't get our are when we post new videos you don't get notified because you haven't done that if you like to support a certain military arms channel a great way to do that's to become a patreon supporter so we can bring you information like this you know on a weekly basis and there's a link in the description below click that link and check out some of the perks and the different tiers to consider supporting us right here on patreon we don't take money from the gun manufacturers also if you would like to join us right here on YouTube there's a little join button right underneath the video player that you're looking at right now click that join button check out some of the perks and consider supporting us right here on YouTube and last but not least guys please swing by and check out copper custom comm thanks for 12 years of support we'll talk to you guys soon shows the fal what I mean what the heck man I don't know man I mean I remember all the stories as a kid growing up from all the Vietnam vets telling me about the you know Mattel making these things and I just can't get over the fact that Mattel made them and I I just have no interest in the Mattel toy I mean they broke they were cheap they were chintzy you know I know Colt made them later but everybody knows Mattel made the things Mattel never made an F al so I mean that's why I had to go with the FAL if Mattel didn't touch this thing it probably would have been the cat's meow I don't know freakin Mattel are they even in business anymore

Channel: Military Arms Channel

Views: 154,780

Keywords: how to, iraqveteran8888, outdoor, entertainment, hickok45, demolition ranch, firearm, review, handgun, rifle, pistol, target shooting, gun review, movie, forgotten weapons, ar10, ar15, fal, cold war, m14, big bore battle rifle, battle rifle, fn fal

Id: cNpOrpHe2lI

Length: 24min 24sec (1464 seconds)

Published: Sat May 23 2020