Click Click Boom
Member
Are any of there rifles on the market as surplus? Where can I find a MAS 49/56? I would prefer the orighinal chambering but a 308 conversion will be ok. Thanks for the leads.
Mas 49/56?
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chestnut ridge
Member
I see these on gunbroker for 400 on average. Often they come
with extra magazines and the "kit"; which has a bayonet, night
sights, extra small parts and cleaning materials.
Stay away from any of the MAS 49/56 rifles chambered in 308.
They often do not function properly; and some consider them
unsafe to fire.
with extra magazines and the "kit"; which has a bayonet, night
sights, extra small parts and cleaning materials.
Stay away from any of the MAS 49/56 rifles chambered in 308.
They often do not function properly; and some consider them
unsafe to fire.
The MAS-49/56 is the best cold-war do-it-all semi-auto bar none.
Nothing I have owned, tried, or read about comes close in military configuration. Yes, the M1A nuts will start to pound their chests, and the FAL guys will be a little righteously indignant.
But the MAS-49/56 is an awesome gun.
The 7.62x51 conversions typically had three problems- rough chambers, weak recoil springs (easily replaced with a Browning A-5 spring), and too much gas from the port (cut inch section of the MAS tube right by the gas block, and splice in a 1" piece of AR gas tube as an expansion/delay chamber).
Once fixed, a MAS in 7.62 once was a cheap and versatile shooter. Nowadays, with ammo costs, they're comparable in ammo cost, but use a more common round.
Nothing I have owned, tried, or read about comes close in military configuration. Yes, the M1A nuts will start to pound their chests, and the FAL guys will be a little righteously indignant.
But the MAS-49/56 is an awesome gun.
The 7.62x51 conversions typically had three problems- rough chambers, weak recoil springs (easily replaced with a Browning A-5 spring), and too much gas from the port (cut inch section of the MAS tube right by the gas block, and splice in a 1" piece of AR gas tube as an expansion/delay chamber).
Once fixed, a MAS in 7.62 once was a cheap and versatile shooter. Nowadays, with ammo costs, they're comparable in ammo cost, but use a more common round.
Click Click Boom
Member
I have never used gunbroker. Do you have to join to bid. Or is it a open auction?
How does the original chambering compare to .308 win?
How does the original chambering compare to .308 win?
B.D. Turner
Member
I had one in .308 it never ever worked right. I would rather have a sharp stick.
B.D. Turner
Member
These rifles were intended to be used as a flag pole for white flags for surrendering french troops.
wayne in boca
Member
You get a 49/56 in your hands,you aren't surrendering to anybody.Excellent rifles,simple,accurate,powerful,easy to clean.Don't get a .308 conversion,most of them suck,and have no collector value.I AM an M14 and FAL guy,but my 49/56 has a place of honor in the safe among them.
Omaha-BeenGlockin
Member
Mine is sweet----just that ammo is kinda scarce.
Halo
Member
Just as an aside, Widener's sells 7.5x54 ammo made by Prvi Partizan. Reloadable brass cases. If you get a MAS you might very well want to look into reloading for it.
cluttonfred
Member
B.D. Turner - Why is it OK to take swipes like that at the French when taking swipes like that at any other nationality/race/religion gets you called a bigot?
I'm not going to get in to politics here, but it seems like the main reason people like to beat up on the French is because they didn't support the U.S. going in to Iraq. Well, with all due respect to our troops (and none at all to our politicians), look how well that's turned out? Sorry for the sermon, but it rubs me the wrong way when people think its OK to malign a whole country to get a laugh.
That said, the MAS 49/56 does have a good reputation as a full-power semi-auto battle rifle, well liked by the troops who used it in intense combat in Southeast Asia and North Africa. For that matter, the MAS 36 bolt-action before it and the FAMAS after it also have great reputations.
Here's something fun - the paratrooper version of the MAS 36, intended to fold up for parachute drops, with a folded aluminum stock and a sling that rolls up automatically like a seat belt. Maybe it's the ancestor of the Kel-Tec Su-16? ;-)
I'm not going to get in to politics here, but it seems like the main reason people like to beat up on the French is because they didn't support the U.S. going in to Iraq. Well, with all due respect to our troops (and none at all to our politicians), look how well that's turned out? Sorry for the sermon, but it rubs me the wrong way when people think its OK to malign a whole country to get a laugh.
That said, the MAS 49/56 does have a good reputation as a full-power semi-auto battle rifle, well liked by the troops who used it in intense combat in Southeast Asia and North Africa. For that matter, the MAS 36 bolt-action before it and the FAMAS after it also have great reputations.
Here's something fun - the paratrooper version of the MAS 36, intended to fold up for parachute drops, with a folded aluminum stock and a sling that rolls up automatically like a seat belt. Maybe it's the ancestor of the Kel-Tec Su-16? ;-)
jason10mm
Member
It is certainly an example of simplicity. The mags attach via a big clip in the side and the night sights are a slip on sleeve for the barrel with glow-in-the-dark spots. Works about as well as sliding a 1911 slide on the end of the rifle 
Plus it blocks the bayonet attachment, so it is either or for french night fighters
Still, a cool gun. I'm looking for a Mas-36 bolt-action to round out my French collection.
Plus it blocks the bayonet attachment, so it is either or for french night fighters Still, a cool gun. I'm looking for a Mas-36 bolt-action to round out my French collection.
Vaarook,
Quick question. we have a 7.62 conversion that had the gas system reworked by Bill Toth/ Design Systems Technologies. Before the repair, there was some very obvious, serious gas system problems. It seems that those were fixed. However, about half the time it cycles fine. The other half of the time, the bolt locks to the rear, leaving the spent case in the chamber, and in one instance it left the spent case in the action. The ammo was late production SA Surplus, and the magazine was not marked 7.62 (it was a 7.5 mag). Do you think that those could be signs of a weak recoil spring?
Yeah, MASes are meant for very hard primered military ammo. If you VERY SLIGHTLY blunt the firing pin tip, which increases the surface area of the pin, you can reduce the chance of that. Or get a McCann titanium replacement pin.
MP510, sounds like you're still getting too much gas too early, which is why an expansion chamber is suggested in the gas system. The 7.62 MASes are about an inch shorter than the original rifles, and that means the gas impulse is not only stronger with the higher pressure NATO ammo, but also hits the bolt carrier sooner. Either put in an expansion chamber or, yeah, try a new recoil spring.
A case in the chamber certainly suggests too much rearward oomph, where rearward momentum outdoes extractor strength plus chamber traction on the case, so you should slow it down somehow.
Semiautos are pretty wierd in how recoil springs, gas pressure and impulse timing, and cartridge friction all interrelate.
MP510, sounds like you're still getting too much gas too early, which is why an expansion chamber is suggested in the gas system. The 7.62 MASes are about an inch shorter than the original rifles, and that means the gas impulse is not only stronger with the higher pressure NATO ammo, but also hits the bolt carrier sooner. Either put in an expansion chamber or, yeah, try a new recoil spring.
A case in the chamber certainly suggests too much rearward oomph, where rearward momentum outdoes extractor strength plus chamber traction on the case, so you should slow it down somehow.
Semiautos are pretty wierd in how recoil springs, gas pressure and impulse timing, and cartridge friction all interrelate.
R.W.Dale
Member
You know that we (the US) aren't exactly batting 1000 in the past half century of warfare. We have an annoying habit of leaving things half finished and worse yet fighting like a 8yr old soccer game. We fight wars till we get bored then we take our ball and go home.
MachIVshooter
Member
Sorta like the one in the middle of the photo, that I paid $120 for?
(I also only paid $300 for the M96 with bayonet and $125 for the sporterized M38, including the old Weaver scope
)
That little ba$t@rd kicks, though. I'd put it right with a Mosin M38/M44
I do still need a MAS 49, though.
Click Click Boom
Member
I cant remember what site I saw it on but I saw a MAS 49/56 turned EBR....... I just want a plain normal MAS!
22/22mag
Member
Halo
Member
I do think the French get a bit of a raw deal. It's hard for us to conceive what it is like to have two World Wars fought on your home soil in the span of one generation, so I think their pacifism is not without reason.
Remember at one time Napoleon's army was the most feared in Europe, and without French help our Head of State today would be Queen Elizabeth. France has also just agreed to send more soldiers to Afghanistan, and is considering rejoining the NATO integrated command. They're not all cowards.
Remember at one time Napoleon's army was the most feared in Europe, and without French help our Head of State today would be Queen Elizabeth. France has also just agreed to send more soldiers to Afghanistan, and is considering rejoining the NATO integrated command. They're not all cowards.
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