Nine hour 10,000 round DSA torture test

Guns Magazine, August, 2002

DSA Inc. puts their rifle, and reputation, on the line.

David M. Fortier

Talk is cheap. It's as simple as that. In the firearms community you hear a lot of talk, and wildly diverse opinions abound. Most of it comes from well meaning people who honestly believe in what they're espousing. However, all too often when put to the test there's little more than words to back up what they're saying. Recently though one company, DSA Inc. of Barrington, Ill., backed up their words by putting one of their rifles, and their reputation, on the line.

DSA Inc. claims to make the finest FAL rifles available. They also feel the FAL is tougher and more reliable than other, direct gas impingement designs. So after listening to them for a bit I challenged them to a 5,000 round endurance test to prove it. They responded by offering to not only supply a rifle and 250 magazines, but to go 10,000 rounds instead. We had us a horse race.

Preparations

Over the next couple of weeks I worked at putting together everything we'd need for the test. The first and most important item to address was ammunition. As 10,000 rounds of .308 doesn't grow on trees, I did some head scratching. I wanted a load with a proven track record of being both reliable and consistently high quality. There was a simple answer to what I was looking for, Black Hills Ammunition. I've shot a great deal of their 175 grain .308 Match ammo and it has become the load of choice in my darling Sako TRG-22 sniper rifle. This is due to its high quality, consistent velocity, and outstanding accuracy.

So I made a phone call to Jeff Hoffman at Black Hills Ammunition and explained the situation to him. Now Jeff is not a suit who owns an ammunition company but rather a well respected rifleman. At home behind precision rifles, he is a serious marksman who knows what it takes to make hits at long range under field conditions. Intrigued by what we were doing, he was eager to help. He suggested using his 168 grain HPBT Match load and offered to ship 5,000 rounds of the same lot over for use in the torture test. This we gratefully accepted.

Now many people at this point will suddenly say, "Match ammo? Why not run what the FAL was designed for, Mil Spec ball." So to appease them I also acquired 5,000 rounds of surplus Malaysian FMJBT 7.62x51. I felt this El Cheapo surplus MG ball ammunition would be closer to what most FAL's would actually be fed. With ammo selection out of the way all I needed was a good crew, targets, and a range.

Coming up with the crew was the easy part. We had 10,000 rounds of free ammo to shoot. Most were former NCO's in the Army, U.S.M.C., or Coast Guard whose backgrounds include service in the 101st Airbome, Mountain Infantry, Light Infantry, combat in Somalia, and one former sniper.

For targets we utilized paper to check accuracy and freshly made steel silhouettes to hammer. For a range we chose the secluded Great Farms Rifle Club's 300 yard range in rural Jackson, Maine. The date for the test was set as the first weekend in January. I felt this scheduling would allow the harsh Maine winter conditions to make it even harder on the rifle. Severe environmental conditions in a rural area will quickly bring to light a piece of equipment's shortcomings or inadequacies.

DSA Steps Up To The Plate

Giovanni Milano from DSA Inc. flew to Maine the night before the test, bringing the subject rifle with him. It was a carbine with a 16 1/4 inch barrel and full length gas system. Like all DSA rifles, its receiver started life as a 19 pound solid forged billet of 4140 steel. Then a CNC controlled milling machine transformed it into a 1.45 pound FAL upper receiver. Once machined, the entire receiver is then heat treated. This is an improvement over original FAL receivers which are induction heat treated only in specific areas.

The receiver was mated to a 16 1/4 inch Badger Match barrel. For long life and superior accuracy it was double stress relieved, cryogenically treated, and had an 11 degree target crown. It featured broach cut rifling, was lapped by hand, and was made from 4140 carbon steel. Barrel twist was 1:11. An integrally machined muzzlebrake served to reduce muzzle rise and recoil.

The barreled upper was mated to a lower receiver CNC machined from a solid billet of 7075 T6 aircraft grade aluminum alloy. The rest of the rifle was assembled using about 85 percent brand new American made parts. Those few components not made in the U.S. were brand new MilSpec Steyr/FN parts.

Our test rifle also featured a handguard rail system machined from a billet of 6061 T6 aluminum. Featuring four Picatinny rails, it allows quick and easy mounting of accessories. The unit mounted on our test rifle was their latest generation featuring a new attaching method. DSA was eager to see how it would hold up.

The carbine also sported DSA's FAL scope mounting system that features a MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny rail. It slides in place of the standard topcover and is then securely locked via four heat treated steel plates and eight screws. The entire rifle was finished in an attractive Prestige Woodland finish.