I had the camera warmed up tonight so I decided to take and post some detailed photos of my FNC.

This is my first time trying to use imageshack so let's hope I picked the right code to paste here and get thumbnails!

(YAY! It worked!)

Side view, stock folded. I have the B+T rail mounted on mine along with a cheap eBay Aimpoint knock-off. (Hey I didn't want to look too much like Pacino).

And NO JOKES about a $60 scope on a $6000 rifle!
Anyway this particular rail prevents using the iron sights even without the red-dot sight on it. I don't know if this is also true of the FN factory version. From what I've seen it mounts a little differently with a throw-lever type system rather than a jack-screw type.


Close up of the receiver markings.
On my rifle the only markings are on the upper receiver, my understanding is that upper receiver markings can vary a great deal. You can see this little black rifle has been a world traveler.
But at least he ended up in the right place...the Heart of Dixie.



Right side view...

...and close up.


Here's a direct comparison with my AR. The FNC has an 18" barrel, the AR has a 16". Just different proportions because of the way the stock folds and the buffer tube length. The FNC is amazingly compact when folded.



Two pics of the gas adjustment lever (the little triangular shaped tab directly above the rear of the handguards) . Mine is currently set at 'normal' but can be moved to the right if more 'oooomph' is needed. I've never had a reason to change it over as it already ejects quite forcibly.



Grenade launching sight (alidade) in down and up position. This blocks the gas port when activated so the action won't cycle without pulling the charging handle. According to the manual you use the V-notch to line up with the tip of the rifle grenade and the target. Sounds cool so if I can find some true grenade launching blanks I may give it a shot.



Although the FNC does not have a last shot bolt-hold open device (I don't like it but I guess they had a good reason), the bolt itself can easily be locked open by pulling the charging handle backwards and 'out' into a detent position. When you're done you can bang it back in with the heel of your hand or push it out of the detent position to close the chamber.
You can also see the dents on the front of the dust cover (the weird little spring loaded flap). As far as I can tell, these dents are from the cases being spun out 180 degrees and the mouth of the spent casing bangs into this. It leaves the case mouth with a flat edge in addition to a large crease about halfway down the case.

Believe it or not, this is as far open as the upper will tilt. What's even worse is that due to the balance and weight distribution it doesn't stay open very easily and keeps banging back down onto the lower....or worse...the machinegun sear. Luckily the push-pins that attach the upper are in the exact same relative positions as on an AR so it easily comes apart.



The arrow points to the sear. You can see how it sticks straight up when the upper is removed. Once you've opened it, you cannot close the upper without some 'tricks'. Note: To my knowledge this only applies to sear guns due to the way they're made (still very clever but it's not a factory machinegun) You can also see shiny aluminum where material has been milled away behind the magwell to fit the sear.



Below are the 'guts' of the rifle. The recoil spring assembly, gas piston, bolt and carrier group all slide easily out the back of the upper receiver once you remove the charging handle. Very nice.
(Oh and yes I realize it's very dirty....that's because I actually take it out of the safe and enjoy shooting it!)

Close up of bolt and carrier group.

Rear of the upper receiver showing the two channels that the bolt lugs ride in.

Bolt face.

Below are the bolt, firing pin spring and carrier group. The firing ping is captive in the carrier by way of a roll pin.

Handguards removed to show the gas tube and barrel. The handguards are very easy to remove but the little spring clip at the front will pinch the crap out of your finger if you get it caught when re-inserting them (the handguards, not your fingers). Much easier than an AR but I wish there were some more front handguard options besided a $400 B+T quad rail.



With the gas tube removed (I guess it's called a gas tube? Maybe gas cylinder?). This rotates to the 9 o'clock position (from shooters perspective) and pushes into the receiver before sliding out sideways.

Close-up of the front gas block.

In the below photo you can see the tiny hole that is covered when the gas adjustment is moved to the 'fouled' position. (It's on the gas block extension directly to the left of the shiny silver bolt, the gas cylinder simply rotates over to cover it.)  

Flash hider, grenade launcher. Note the way the 'jets' are drilled with a forward angle.

I'm not sure why it has this pattern on the front edge of the flash hider. Maybe so you can emboss things with a pretty decorative pattern if you're just sitting around?

Here's what I mean about the machinegun sear not allowing the upper to close. It is supposed to fold forward and it fits into a slot on the underside of the bolt. In this position the bolt is closed (because you have to close it to force the recoil spring assembly into the lower. Then you stop about here and pull the bolt back about 7-10mm so the sear is allowed to fit into the slot and ride forward as the bolt locks home. So if you open up a sear gun don't just try to slam the upper closed, it won't work and may eventually screw up the fit of the sear (not likely unless you're particularly ham-fisted but why chance it?)


Hope this was informative.

If you know of any errors please let me know and I'll correct them.

-Observer

Excellent work. Needs a tack!

The FNC and the AR70 always get noticed at the range.

+1 on tacking this thread.

Max

Nice!

Outstanding work, Observer.  Thanks!!!

Very nice, thanks!  

Once you've opened it, you cannot close the upper without some 'tricks'. Note: To my knowledge this only applies to sear guns due to the way they're made

That has always bugged me, it's kind of like closing an AR with a Lightning Link installed, you have to monkey with it a bit.  But you're correct, it only applies to conversions, factory guns close without any "tricks".

You know, that sorta looks like that gun Al Pacino used in "Heat".

great writeup

Are those AR mags I see?

Whats the spare parts availability for these things?

Spares arent hard to find, not that you really need much. DSA carries extra firing pins, etc. B&T makes a good scope mount. This is a very rugged weapon.

Quoted: Are those AR mags I see? Whats the spare parts availability for these things?

Yes the rifle uses STANAG magazines just like an AR. I've never had feed problems even with 'worn out' AR mags.

Chris at Vulcan Arms has most spare parts needed but some things like barrels, bolts, carriers and uppers are in short supply. This could change in the future but who knows. Certainly nothing like the plethora of stuff available for AR's.

On the other hand it's been very reliable and has not broken any parts.

Glad you like the pics and writeup! Thanks guys.

-Observer

What is your shooting impression?  I've got a chance to get one and I'm interested in how they feel.  I've heard the trigger pull is pretty heavy and they tend to gouge up magazine followers.

Quoted: What is your shooting impression?  I've got a chance to get one and I'm interested in how they feel.  I've heard the trigger pull is pretty heavy and they tend to gouge up magazine followers.

Glad you guys are getting some use out of the thread, the FNC is an under-represented rifle given how many cool features it has (ie, everyone clamouring for a gas-piston upper on a reliable rifle, evil looking, side folder, good barrel length).

Anyway I really enjoy shooting it a lot. I've started using it almost exclusively for practical rifle matches as it is a very reliable weapon.

I don't consider myself particularly picky regarding triggers (I even kinda like the Glock feel if that tells you anything) but you are correct that the trigger is pretty damned sucky.

I need to send it off to a smith and see if anything can be done to improve it. Yes the pull is a little heavy (not like a Jennings or anything!) but the main problem is that it's a little 'grabby' and isn't crisp at the break point.

But truthfully I had stopped noticing it until I shot my bone-stock MEGA lower AR-15 for the first time in a few months. Even the stock AR trigger was noticeably smoother and broke very cleanly. Less force required too.

So my point is that if you shoot it a lot you probably will stop noticing/get used to it. Don't expect a match rifle trigger though.

I had read about the bolt gouging mag followers but that has been a total non-event for me. As far as I can tell it doesn't do much of anything to the followers at all (this is with new mags used dozens of times). Besides, plastic followers are all of $1.29 or something like that.

I need to add some new pics since I've replaced the Aimpoint knock-off with an EOtech and the terrible FAL grip with a MUCH nicer and better feeling M249 SAW grip (in addition to making it look more modern this totally changes the feel of the rifle btw).

At this point unless you were looking for a full-auto conversion you might want to wait for the SCAR though.

It sucks that this is such an 'orphaned' rifle, it really is a nice piece of equipment.

I saw an FNC semi for sale for 1500 at a gun show last year. I was so close to buying it.

Quoted: The FNC and the AR70 always get noticed at the range.

I bet they do! I want them both so much.

.

Did you buy the FN and sear together, or did you have someone do the conversion? I just bought a sear, and am in the process of buying a FNC. Do you know of anything to look out for? I am looking foward to getting it, waiting sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, and you dont happen to know the thread pitch under the flash hider?

Great thread....I always admired the FNC's good looks. Never fired one though.

NPD223: Wow, $1500 would have been a very good price for one. Typically people ask $2000-2500 range.

WARHOUND: I bought mine fully assembled and ready to rock-n-roll. At the time I seriously considered getting a sear and one of the 'new' Ohio Rapid Fire guns but I am SOOOO friggin' glad I got impatient and just bought a genuine FNC instead. Dodged a bullet on that one. whew.
Also, I know that Curtis is taking several months to do the conversions and the total cost that way is slightly more expensive (at today's sear prices) than just buying an already converted rifle. Craziness.
There's a guy on FNCtalk that did the conversion himself but I'm not up to it personally. The machine work looks relatively simple if you know what you're doing.
It's a pretty reliable rifle, not much to worry about that I can tell. But definitely go ahead and buy an M249 SAW grip to replace the crappy FAL style that comes on the rifle.
Regarding pitch, I don't know but I've seen it published before....I'll see if I can't dig it up but do a google search or go to FNCtalk.

M4- if you're coming up to Hernando next month you're more than welcome to fire mine.

Quoted: M4- if you're coming up to Hernando next month you're more than welcome to fire mine.

I can't make it, but really appreciate the offer. Maybe some day I'll get the chance to meet you guys and have a turn on your FNC. Thanks again!

.

On another forum I've seen a lot of questions about the FNC 3 round burst kit and how to install it.

In fact, when I bought the kit it didn't come with any instructions and I couldn't find any pictures on the net of how all the pieces should fit together. As I found out, it's physically impossible (without bending and breaking stuff anyway) to install the kit incorrectly. The rifle simply will not fit back together if the parts arean't installed in the proper positions.

Yes....I found this out the hard way!

So in the interest of saving someone else time I've shot these photos of how to install the FNC 3 round burst kit.

The first photo is my FNC with an EOTech 511 installed (my Chinese aimpoint clone stopped working) and most importantly...the M249 SAW grip. Look at how modernized the weapon looks with the addition of this grip, plus it's got a nice grippy, textured surface unlike the original shiny FAL-style grip and the grip angle is much more natural. If you buy an FNC this should be your first purchase.


This photo shows the EOTech mounted on the rail. Notice how high it sits, this is why I wish someone would make a railed upper for this rifle.


How to install the FNC 3 rd burst:
Remove the upper receiver


Rotate the selector lever to the 12 O'clock position...


...and push it through from right-to-left.


Lift the 'fake' burst pack from the rear and it will easily slide up out of the receiver. If your rifle does not have a burst pack installed, there is a small blank metal stamping in the same location that maintains the external dimensions of the real burst pack without any of the levers and springs.


Simply lift it out.


This is the mechanical portion of the pack and you can see the teeth that the pawl will lock into. Do not attempt to take this apart as it wasn't made for you to monkey with and disassemble.




Let the hammer go slowly forward to take pressure off the spring.


I'm sure someone has a better way to do this but to remove the hammer spring I use a pair of needle-noe pliers to grip the "u-shaped" point at the front of the spring pin that fits onto the hammer itself, then compress it and lift if up-and-out.
This seems sort of crude but I don't know a better way to do it. Any suggestions?


Once the spring is removed the hammer pin is easily pushed out, again from right-to-left. Just lift the hammer assembly out of the receiver at this point.




This next photo shows the three other critical parts of the burst system. When you buy a burst kit you should receive 4 components in total.
1-the burst pack. 2-the pawl spring. 3-the pawl pivot pin and 4-the pawl itself.

Your hammer should already have the recess for the pawl cutout and the small hole drilled for the pawl pivot pin.

The first time I put everything together I had the pawl put on wrong. It fit okay here but upon reassembly the hammer pin will not go all the way through the receiver and lock. Thus the front of the burst pack won't fit, thus you can't put the selector back in.

I was very grateful that someone at FN thought of this when designing the rifle!




The next two photos have nothing to do with the burst kit per se. But as long as I have the thing apart i thought I'd show the angles that Mr. Higgins grinds into the hammer axis when setting up the sear.

This little ledge is where the S&H sear locks up





Nothing special, just a shot of the trigger group with the hammer removed. At this point it also will simply come out by pushing the pin through the receiver. Very simple.


Ready for re-assembly.



All done!


I can't stress enough how easily everything fits together if you've done it correctly. NOTHING has to be forced and the parts almost literally 'fall' into place with no effort.

The FNC has a fairly low cyclic rate so the 3-rd burst is probably unnecessary. It's easy to get off doubles or triples without the kit installed. But I hated having a labeled "3" position on the receiver that didn't do anything, then having to explain it to people "...umm yeah that's not installed so don't put the selector there..." so here we are!

The other cool thing about the FNC burst is that it resets if you don't fire the entire 3 rd string. So if you only fire 1 or 2 shots on burst, the next time you pull the trigger it will still fire the full 3 rds.

This is unlike the M16 which will not reset.

Hope this has been informative.

-Observer

Great pics, of course you just cost me $189. I just had to have the three round burst. Now if my damn sear would get here I could put it to use.  Could you post a pic of the second sear I think it is the last thing I need to buy for the conversion. Of course I still have to drill the hole, relieve the reciever, weld the bolt, weld the hammer, than machine the sear catch in the hammer, and last but not least machine the grove in the bolt.

I dont supose you did the conversion yourself, and just happen to have complete prints to do so.  I do need some messurement, I would be very appreciative if you could give me some messurement if you can. Or some pics with a set of calipers next to it.
Thanks.    

Beatiful rifle!

Sweet pics!  I recently sold my old safe queen FNC (semi version).  I'd never seen the insides showing the auto-sear.  Thanks!

When I have some good expendable income, one will be mine.