Had mine deactivated after the 89 ban - it still looks grear on the wall - Not as good as the Bren and the Uzi though

A magical weapon! Things stay hit when you hit them. Easy to strip, clean and reassemble. Much better for drill than the steyer they issue diggers with now-a-days. I remember an old digger saying much the same thing about the SLR in relation to his trusty .303.

I love that rifle.

Best birthday present from my father ever!

one of the best things i have ever slept with and it was still there in the morning!

Ah happy days...

Fantastic Rifle the SLR had an ex Aussie one plus 10mags lucky though for some reason i sold it about two months before Hungerford happened.

I still have mine ... with a burris scope mounted on it.

Consistent x-ring to 9-ring shooter at 400 yards.

It isn't going to be deactivated or turned in to anyone.

The SLR always has struck me as being a very long rifle. Is it, or is that just an illusion of the photos?

Scott - you are right, it is a big solid piece of kit & in my day, not known as the Triple B (Big Black Boondook) for nothing

Admittedly, not so good for getting out of the back of a 432 but very good for fitting a bayonet to - save for the fact that the issue bayonets were utter utter rubbish

Us old men like the whole 'cold steel' thing

Scott:

I think it is a bit of an optical illusion. The SLR does look long, I think that might be down to the exposed barrel, with the flash hider on the end. Yet it didn't feel long in the hand, and it was actually about the same length as a Lee-Enfield.

It's true though that nowadays squaddies spend so much time travelling in various armoured taxis that short arse pieces of shit like the SA80 were devised, which I think is a case of the tail wagging the dog. I'd rather have a decent rifle which was a bit awkward to handle in a cabin (though you could always go for a folding stock) than a crap rifle which stowed handily in an APC. But they never asked me!

Ugh. Holds too many bad memories. And the charging handle always managed to dig into me during route marches. Pass.

If I had my druthers, and absolutely HAD to be issued with a 7.62mm NATO rifle, I'd go with the wonderful M14 instead.

I can't argue with that. The M14 balanced just right and handled like a dream. On the scales it might have weighed in at 9 pounds or so, but it just did not feel like it. The SA80 is a pig, which balances so badly it feels heavier than it really is, and it ain't light to begin with.

I seriously can't get why they ever ditched it for that POS that is the L85. In fact I don't see why anyone ditched it in favour of some whizzkids' 5.56.

The Dutch issued the FAL (with full auto capability and covered front post) up to 1995, issueing Uzi's to vehicle crews and such. They then shifted to Diemaco's (C7's for line troops and C8's for the rest), which, to be fair, are some of the better M16 clones with heavy barrel and full auto capability. Sadly they stripped the latter and replaced it with a burstmode so that their new low recoil 5.56 is actually not fully automatic while their good old FAL was. The C8 carbines were apparently so disliked by the KCT (Korps Commando Troepen/Commando Corps Troops) that they have already been replaced by the HK416 after less than 15 years of service and perhaps no more than a few in active service.

While the FAL might indeed have been a little to long and elegant for modern "Dragoon style" warfare, I figure it would still be preferable for any soldier to cary a FAL with FALO barrel and/or folding Para stock, compared to a full size M16 or L85.

@Mr. Free Market

I get the point about a long weapon being more suited for entering "en melee" equiped with a proper bayonet. However, while the FAL was reliable, it was also said not to have been a real sturdy weapon. Wouldn't that long unsupported barrel bend, when you plunge it into something or someone with a bayonet attached?

Make mine 7.62x51NATO, UK SLR, US Rifle M-14, or German HK G-3........One Shot / One Kill.

5.56x45mmNATO "SUX"!
The M-16 Family Weapon Systems are for "KIDS"!

Sayonara and Semper Fidelis!

Kim, you had the misfortune of the fixed cocking handle? Ours were folding, possibly the only decent mod made although on ops we used to wedge ours out with tape!

Actually, I think those folding handles are more of a problem ... they fold out into your back and have sharp edges.

I built mine with an Izzy cocking lever ... large, rounded, and if you push it in, it locks into the bolt carrier so you can use it as a forward assist.

Oooh naughty Mr FM:

second last photo shows missing gas plug - report to the Armourer...