Before the questions, I thought this was cool.
I just saw in Shotgun News that Tapco is making furniture for FAL's that are based off of the M249 SAW. The buttstock tappers down and then spreads out again. I like that design because with a bi-pod in the prone position, you can cross your left arm over and brace the stock with that hand. The stock also has a buttplate that flips up like the SAW (or M14/M1A). There is also a carry handle and pistol grip like the SAW has. If you have been on the Tapco site lately, there is a FAL with this stock on on the top of the "page".
I have a few questions about about my STG-58(Hesse receiver) and about FALs.
1. How big is the "bi-pod cut" on the barrels? On the barrel on my rifle, it is the same size and cut as the front sling swivel mount. It is about 1/4 of an inch long. Is this for a bi-pod, or is this something else??? From the STG kits I have seen for sale, the bi-pods take up a much bigger area. Is there a bi-pod that would work on this? I have seen different ones for sale (heavy barrel, quick detach, etc.) but do not know what ones would fit. Any ideas? The hand guards on my rifle are cut for the legs of the bi-pod to fold into....
2. The bolt hold open doesn't work unless I push it up, and then pull the charging handle (it doesn't work when firing). I have seen bolt hold open springs for sale, and I was wondering if this is what I would need to fix my problem???
3. Is there anything bad about plastic hand guards? Do some have "heat shields" in them and some don't? I was thinking about buying some so they wouldn't heat really fast when I would let some rounds fly....
I'll say thanks in advance for the help. Hopefully I can shoot it tomorrow, weather permitting. This will probably be the 3 or 4 time I have got to shoot it, since I got this one. I still have to sight it in, and make sure it functions reliably. I think I will be sending Tapco a check pretty soon......
