[TaurusGL]

I first saw this in the under $500 post and I want one. I have two question are the barrels crome lined and is the gun relaible in .308? What I like about the are that they are fairly inexensive compared to the other .308 I wanted, the FAL.

[Kor]

...and it wasn't particularly reliable, which is why I no longer have it - I sold it to an acquaintance who was willing to tinker with it some and knew it wasn't reliable. My particular rifle would not extract fired cases unless it was pristinely, spotlessly clean - I'm talking about FTE after 10-15 shots fired, here. Word on the street is that Century International Arms did the .308 conversion work, and many guns were butchered in the process. The barrel had to be set back, shortened at the breech end, and rechambered for .308, and many were left with extremely rough chambers. Also, for some inexplicable reason, CIA clipped several coils off of the recoil spring. Finally, the gas port was left too small for proper functioning with .308, IIRC.

If you still want the rifle, get an original 7.5mmMAS-chambered version and either live with the more expensive ammo, reload for it, or send it to someone who will do the .308 conversion PROPERLY. I believe McCann Industries in Washington State was doing this work at one time. There was also a chap in Pennsylvania who advertised in Shotgun News that he was doing same, but that was at least 3-4 years ago - he could also alter the receiver so that FAL magazines would work in the gun, but that was non-reversible, and the original MAS magazines would no longer work in the gun. Sorry I can't come up with contact info for either of these guys, maybe someone else could chip in...

P.S. - I don't think the barrels were chrome-lined, but I'm not 100% sure of that...

Just remembered - www.jpfo.org had a VERY informative review of this gun, along with troubleshooting hints. Check the "Life Preserver Buoyancy Tests" section.

[telewinz]

I had two in .308 and they worked fine. Got rid of both of them because they just don't have the "zing" of other surplus rifles. I must say that I have talked to people who have the .308 conversion and have had feed proflems. I reload so I just seated the bullet farther out to get longer OAL, factory ammo may have been a different story. It is a strong, robust rifle asnd as such would last a long, long time. $250 is top dollar and even then the owner will hurry-up and take your money, its sad, it's a good design that deserves better. Not it's fault it served with the French Army.:barf:

[s&w 24]

I currently have a MAS 49/56 in the closet waiting for the $120 to show up to have it made right. Theres a guy in PA that is an expert on the rifles and thats his basic charge for new recoil spring (all Cetury conversions are missing 2 or 3 coils), re cut the chamber to 7.62X51 nato, and install an expantion chamber in the gas system. The guy I bought it from had extraction problems with it and this is how I was told to fix it.

[jsalcedo]

The one I bought would fire about 10 rounds then would become a fancy single shot. I would have to ram a cleaning rod down the bore every shot.

Luckily I was able to take it back and trade it for a browning
auto 5.

From what I hear an original in 7.5 is a nice gun and ammo is becomig more plentiful.

[JH225]

s&w 24,

Please check your IM.

[Blackcloud6]

I have one in .308 and it shoots commerical ammo just fine. I did have problems with reloads though, it would fail to extract every 5 to 10 rounds. I solved this my screwing down my sizing die a bit more to get a better shoulder on the cases.

[bedlamite]

...and it wasn't particularly reliable,

Why make it reliable? It only has to be dropped once ...

[TaurusGL]

Well due to a recent discovery I found out that you only have to 18 for an assault rifle, not what the guy who sold me, wait my dad my AK-47. So it looks like I might build an AR-15 or a FAL soon. I guess the MAS 49/56 is a no go on reliability in .308. Thanks for the responses .

[cabinetman]

I must tell you that the MAS 49/56 is a wonderful rifle in Nato caliber. Don't forget, the French, themselves, made these rifles in that caliber but it just wasn't needed and the program dropped before many were created. ALong with the 7.5 original caliber, the BATF lists the 7.62 x 51 NATO caliber MAS as a C&R, too.

There were thousands of these coverted by CIA and yes, there were problems in probably 10% of them (an admittedly high number). I have one, however, that is as reliable as any other semi-auto I own. I shoot Portuguese ammo through it all day long and it's never hiccuped once. If you are having problems, the are easily correctable in most cases. Like with any rifle, you'll have a very few that have serious problems, many not linked to he conversion at all. Anyway I digress.

The beauty of the .308 MAS 49/56 is that you'll shoot it. Unlike the original caliber rifles which may see daylight a couple of times a year due to the cost of ammo. There's no such thing as "reasonably priced 7.5". So, ask the seller if the rifle is a shooter or a club. If you decide to buy it, follow this article's advise:

http://www.jpfo.org/masrifle.htm

Everything you need to know is right here in black and white. Also, there are two well-known gunsmiths who work on the MAS and are very reliable and reasonable.

Rome

[JH225]

Excellent article on the JPFO site. I will be contacting the gunsmith mentioned to do a conversion on one of my 7.5 French 49/56.

[Texas Gunman]

The Mas49/56 is a excellent and exstreamly well made rifle.
It kinda reminds me of the old Brownings.

The problem with the .308w, is a easy fix, the reasion they dont cycle properly, it because most of these converted modles doesnt have a adjustment/adjuuster for the gas port, these rifles were designed to shoot 7.5x54mm.
,.308w is alot higher presure, too much and too fast to cycle the action, something like that. :D

I have also learned on the 7.5x54mm modle, when you reload you can use .308w starting loads, but I used the .308 data that was above starting loads, because some powders starting loads didnt cycle the action properly/too weak.

TG

[Hand_Rifle_Guy]

My .308 49/56 is not at all unreliable. The last thing it did was eat an entire .50 cal. ammo box full of gungy surplus NATO MG rounds with no hiccups once it got rolling. Good mags are a definite plus.

I read someplace (And heard from a couple of people.) that the primary issue with the CIA rifles (Mine's one.) that malf'd was that the chambering reamer used to re-cut the barrels on the conversions appparently got very dull at some point. This resulted in a bunch of guns with rough chambers, and chambers with SPIRAL GROOVES running approx. perpendicular to the length of the chamber.

What do you suppose crosswise grooves in chamber walls does for extraction of cases that have pressure down to "a safe level" before being yanked on by a gas-driven bolt? Isn't it Seecamp who grooves their chambers to delay blowback in thier pocket autos by giving the case something to grab onto?

Another point is commercial .308 Winchester ammunition is loaded some 10,000-15,000 psi hotter than NATO-spec 7.62 x 51, and original French ammo operates close to NATO pressure. That could have adverse effects on the gas system timing, as well as chamber-wall grip and case pressure-forming.

Check your chamber. A rough chamber would not be forgiving of a dirty rifle if the gun is already at the ragged edge of functioning. In the worst case, cartridge rims get ripped off. Look for crosswise lines in the largest part of the diameter. Also check fired cases for evidence of "tire tracks" on the outer diameter, particularly in commercial loads. Even shallow marks give malleable brass a lot of "teeth". Chamber walls should be mirror-bright, unless the gun's a H&K 91. :)

When I informed one person I knew with a 49/56 that "no, those spiral grooves are NOT supposed to be there. No wonder your gun doesn't extract", he proceeded to give his chamber a good polish until the grooves were gone. Result? His rifle now functions perfectly, a 100% improvement in function. No more torn rims, or even extraction failures.

CIA got wind of this, and fixed the problem at their end. The later part of the batch of rifles sold by them have nice clean chambers. My gun is part of that later batch. I heard rumors that CIA would fix guns that misfunctioned, but I have no definite confirmation of that, and that was a while back. Interested parties might give them a ring.

Or you might just give your chamber a polish to make it shiny and clean like it should be. It might be an easy fix. At the very least, you have a place to start a diagnosis, as rifles chambered for the original 7.5 x 54 round are well-documented to be reliable and accurate.

Note: If you have DEEP grooves, as I understand some guns did, you might have to have the gun re-chambered, as polishing the grooves out would increase the chamber diameter too much, causing case life to be severely curtailed. That's probably a gunsmith judgement.

[JH225]

As Hand Rifle Guy mentioned, quality mags are a must. What and where can I find .308 mags? Can the original 7.5 French mags be modified for use?

[cabinetman]

The mags you'd use are the original mags for the 7.5. There weren't "special" .308 mags made for that rifle. There were lots and lots of MAS "clothespin" mags out there for a while, many never used. You shouldn't have any trouble finding some here and there. Jjst make sure the clothespin hold that mag firmly in the magwell.

Rome

[Buckskinner]

Any doityourselfers try this at home? I'm ready to modify the gas valve by adding threads on one side. Then I should be able to loose the nut while turning the slotted side, varying the amount of gas for recoil.

Feedback?

Another MAS issue: On the barrel in front of the site is that movable ring for grenade launch, and also for my bayo. Anybody experiment with this as an adjustable barrel harmonics dampener? I wonder...