FN FAL (Fallout 2)

The FN FAL is a small gun in Fallout 2.

Background
The Fusil Automatique Léger ("Light Automatic Rifle" or FAL, nicknamed "The right arm of the Free World") is a self-loading, selective fire battle rifle with wooden furniture created in 1947 by the Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN).

It operates by means of a gas-operated action. The gas system is driven by a short-stroke, spring-loaded piston housed above the barrel, and the locking mechanism is what is known as a tilting breechblock. It uses 7.62mm ammunition with a 20-round magazine. During the Cold War, it was adopted by many NATO countries and it has been more widely used by armed forces than any other rifle in history. It's a reliable assault weapon for any terrain or tactical situation.

Characteristics
The FN FAL is an all-around, selective-fire rifle. In comparison to the older AK-112, it sacrifices some range (though still maintaining a reasonable 35 hexes of it) for an edge in damage, especially against medium-armored enemies. Its main weakness is arguably the low magazine capacity which allows only 2 bursts per reload. Though many vendors carry the 7.62mm round, the amounts sold are often small, so the scarcity of ammunition can be a problem.

Variants

 * FN FAL HPFA
 * FN FAL (night sight)

Locations

 * The survival gear locker store in Gecko stocks this weapon, as well as ammo. The merchant in NCR Downtown also stocks large amounts of ammo, as well as the FN FAL HPFA.
 * Found in a locker in the weapon cache in Liz's general store.
 * Most of the Hubologists in combat armor carry either one of these or a combat shotgun.
 * A single Enclave soldier in combat armor at Navarro carries one.
 * Male raiders in the mercenaries' cave all carry these. The raider commanders carry AK-112's.
 * Eldridge sells it in New Reno Arms.
 * Can be bought from the main amenities general store in Vault City.
 * Can be found in the Broken Hills (General store) in a locker in the weapons cache.

Behind the scenes

 * The FN FAL is a battle rifle designed by Belgian company Fabrique Nationale d'Herstal (FN prefix) after World War II.
 * The rifle is based on a gas-operated mechanism. Selective fire modes were available when it was initially designed around intermediate power cartridges such as the German 7.92x33mm Kurz and the British .280 (7x43mm). Once NATO standardized on the more powerful 7.62x51mm round the FAL was successfully adapted to chamber it, but the selective fire capability was usually removed as the recoil proved uncontrollable when set to fully automatic.