Rhodesian FALs

[TNBandit]

Got into a discussion with another member about what's "correct" when it comes to the FAL rifles and it got me to thinking about what's likely the most confusing variation of them all simply because they never made their own and bought rifles & parts from whoever was willing to sell them, smuggled in a bunch, etc. The Rhodesians. Alot of their rifles were South African R1s made in Pretoria but just as many were from somewhere else. Add to that the fact that as parts wore out they got replaced with whatever was handy. These were being used in real battle, not just for parades like the STG & Imbel varieties that stayed pretty much unmolested the whole time they were in service. Here is a pic of some stuff I had several years ago. On the left is an ultra rare Australian wood handguard set with Rhodesian camo. The handguards are not rare by themselves but not many L1A1s made it to Rhodesia. The Para lower & camo upper is part of a kit I bought from Old Gun Supply (now called Military Gun Supply) that was all Belgian manufacture. Where they got them is a mystery but there were only 21 of these kits ever imported. These are NOT the same as the Rhodesian para stuff Sarco sold a few years ago. The lower is Hiduminium which is basically an aircraft grade aluminum alloy. I bet you thought DSA invented alloy lowers.. I also have some South African made 30rd mags (nope DSA didn't invent those either) Another interesting fact is that the Rhodesian paras used the regular 21" barrel. Considering the UN arms embargo that was in effect at the time just how any of these rifles got to Rhodesia in the first place would make a great spy novel. Many of the South African rifles had their proofmarks "scrubbed", magwells had large holes bored through the sides to remove engraved Cuban & South African crests, etc. Lots of funny business going on back then. [img][/img]

[TNBandit]

OMG What a fugly rifle !! Seriously this is pretty much what they are supposed to look like. The rack numbers on the buttstock were duplicated from what was already there. The original paint was scanned at an auto body paint supplier & matched exactly. The paint scheme looks like it was applied by a drunk 12 year old just as it should be. The missing carry handle is another story. Almost all Rhodesian rifles either had the carry handles removed or simply twisted back & forth until they broke off. The story is that a Troopie fired his rifle & the spent brass ricochetted off the carry handle & hit him in the eye blinding him. Orders came down from higher ups to remove them all. I really need to tie this one to the back of my truck with some rope & drag it down the road a bit. It actually looks too "good"

[djv38]

I bet a lot of those rifles have some pretty interesting stories behind them. I don't know much about the Rhodesian conflict so it's kind of cool to hear more about it and how rifles got over there (as you said, good spy novel stuff)

[MedicalShooter]

TN....those look like they were freshly pulled from a baby Rhodesian elephants ass!

[Ferris2son]

Does it shoot?

[TNBandit]

Hell yeah it shoots.. Fairly well too.

[Ferris2son]

The only thing better than a cool gun is a gun with a cool story.

[Deadlego]

Cool It always good to hear this stuff. Some of us (like me) are well a newb and have no idea to the history of these rifes. Thank you for showing it :]

[Redleg]

Bandit is your Rhody a FN or IMBEL?

The only concern I would have with the cammo is the white 88 rack number which would stand out as an enemy aiming point if the FAL was carried in a cradled position in the bush.

In Nam the white nametags of our picklesuits were covered over with green magic marker or removed to be less of a target.

[kck]

I remember when this type kit was for sale by federal arms,tapco, and others I dont remember who . But they were only Like $99 for the kit ,with a barrel. I thought then they were the uglyist thing. But I bought several of the kits . I wish I still had them now, the look of them has grown on me.