Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1
- Category
- Battle Rifle
- Barrel
- 533 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.22 kg
- Introduced
- 1955
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1 is the Canadian license-built version of the FN FAL battle rifle, produced by Canadian Arsenals Limited at the Long Branch plant near Toronto. Canada was the first nation in the world to adopt and mass-produce the FAL. Chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO and fed from a 20-round detachable box magazine, the C1/C1A1 is semi-automatic only, using the FAL's gas-operated short-stroke piston and tilting-breechblock action. It featured a fully-adjustable aperture rear sight and a two-position gas regulator.
The C1's distinctive Canadian feature was the 'Arctic trigger', an oversized, foldaway trigger guard that let a soldier fire the rifle while wearing bulky Arctic mittens.
The C1A1 (adopted 1959) added a two-piece firing pin and a plastic carrying handle over the original C1. The select-fire, heavy-barrel C2/C2A1 served as the squad automatic. The rifle was retired in the mid-1980s in favour of the C7 (Diemaco/Colt Canada AR-15 family).
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Canadian Arsenals Limited
- Category
- Battle Rifle
- Country
- Canada
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1955 to 1984
- Variant of
- Foreign production
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 533 mm
- Overall length
- 1137 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.22 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Gas operated short stroke
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 20
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Phosphate
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 838 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 3340 J
- Effective range
- 600 m
- Maximum range
- 1000 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Tilting breechblock
Two position gas regulator
Prong flash hider
Adjustable aperture rear sight
Arctic trigger
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 86 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifles | 4.22 kg | 4.30 kg | Lighter than about 60% |
| Overall lengthAmong 85 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifles | 1137 mm | 1025 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 87 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifles | 533 mm | 458 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 87 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifles | 20 | 20 | Near the median |
Answers
Questions about the Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1
How much does the Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1 weigh?
The Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1 weighs 4.22 kg (9.30 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1?
The Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1 is chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO.
How many rounds does the Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1 hold?
The Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1 holds 20 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1?
The Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1 is 1137 mm (44.8 in) long overall, with a 533 mm (21.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1?
The Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1 is made by Canadian Arsenals Limited (Canada). It was designed by Dieudonné Saive.
When was the Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1 introduced?
The Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1 was introduced in 1955 and discontinued in 1984.
How does the Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1 operate?
The Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1 uses a gas operated short stroke action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Canadian Forces
- 1955
Provenance
Confidence in this record
74%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/c1-canada' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "c1-canada", "name": "Rifle, 7.62mm, C1A1", "manufacturer": { "id": "canadian-arsenals", "name": "Canadian Arsenals Limited", "countryCode": "CA", "foundedYear": 1946, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "updatedAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "version": "9a8a67db433ecd714157ae6d38a6254fac82bf5d7e027a98fa7b22f2db8ecc35" }, "category": { "id": "battle-rifle", "name": "Battle Rifle", "description": "Selective-fire rifles chambered in full-power cartridges" }, "country_of_origin": "CA", "year_introduced": 1955, "barrel_length_mm": 533, "weight_empty_g": 4220, "action_type": "gas_operated_short_stroke"}