Dr. Sandman
Member
About 20 years ago, my Grandfather passed away. It was a very sad day for the Sandman family, he was a loved and interesting man. He was not a gun guy. My brother and I were going through his basement workshop to get stuff ready for the estate sale and we found out that my Grandpa DID own a gun afterall. He never talked about it, I never saw him shoot, we would not have known about it if we had not found the gun.
My brother and I found about 60 rounds of ammo with the rifle and (boys will be boys) took it out to shoot it. The ammo was not very good, lots of hang fires and duds. No squibs. I know now that these are symptoms of old, non corrosive ammo. We decided to get new ammo. My brother took some of the old stuff to a gun shop and the guys said that it was "seven such and such French", and the shop did not have any. My brother took the gun home, the years passed, and the gun has dissappeared. My brother swears that he gave it to a gun collecting uncle, but the uncle does not have it and does not remember receiving it.
To make a long story short, I would like to figure out what kind of rifle that Grandpa had and get one for my collection, sort of as a tribute.
I need some help identifying the "French" rifle.
Here are the clues...
1. I remeber that it had a wooden stock and the stock looked brand new. As I recall, the wood went all the way up the receiver, and there was no break when it was only metal, like on the MAS. I could be wrong about the detail of no break, but the stock was hardwood and definatly looked brand new.
2. Grandma says that he ordered it from the Sears catalog during the cold war, and that the ammo came with it. I think that the ammo was non-corrosive and would have been made before 1967.
3. It was a bolt action.
4. It was chambered for a round with "French" in the name.
5. The rounds looked about the same size as a 30-06.
Does anybody out there have any ideas about this gun? Does anybody out there own a similar gun and would be willing to post a picture? How many rifle cartriges have "French" in the name. Are there any guns other than the various MAS that are chambered for a "French" cartridge? Does anybody remember getting a good deal on a similar rifle from the Sears catalog during the Cold War?
Thanks in advance for helping solve the mystery!
My brother and I found about 60 rounds of ammo with the rifle and (boys will be boys) took it out to shoot it. The ammo was not very good, lots of hang fires and duds. No squibs. I know now that these are symptoms of old, non corrosive ammo. We decided to get new ammo. My brother took some of the old stuff to a gun shop and the guys said that it was "seven such and such French", and the shop did not have any. My brother took the gun home, the years passed, and the gun has dissappeared. My brother swears that he gave it to a gun collecting uncle, but the uncle does not have it and does not remember receiving it.
To make a long story short, I would like to figure out what kind of rifle that Grandpa had and get one for my collection, sort of as a tribute.
I need some help identifying the "French" rifle.
Here are the clues...
1. I remeber that it had a wooden stock and the stock looked brand new. As I recall, the wood went all the way up the receiver, and there was no break when it was only metal, like on the MAS. I could be wrong about the detail of no break, but the stock was hardwood and definatly looked brand new.
2. Grandma says that he ordered it from the Sears catalog during the cold war, and that the ammo came with it. I think that the ammo was non-corrosive and would have been made before 1967.
3. It was a bolt action.
4. It was chambered for a round with "French" in the name.
5. The rounds looked about the same size as a 30-06.
Does anybody out there have any ideas about this gun? Does anybody out there own a similar gun and would be willing to post a picture? How many rifle cartriges have "French" in the name. Are there any guns other than the various MAS that are chambered for a "French" cartridge? Does anybody remember getting a good deal on a similar rifle from the Sears catalog during the Cold War?
Thanks in advance for helping solve the mystery!
