My free gun help me figure it out...

[hotwheelz]

I got this gun from a friend of mine I believe its a french Mas??? the little bit of info I have found list it as a 7.5mm but Im not sure if know much about these guns can you give me some info thanks...:drinks:[



http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/hotwheelz-1/Picture253.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/hotwheelz-1/Picture252.jpg

[Ricochet]

Yep. Nice rifle! Yours has been "sporterized" by cutting off the forend. Dunno why people want to do that.

Read about it here: http://www.surplusrifle.com/mas36/index.asp

[hotwheelz]

I saw 1 like this on gun broker it says its a carbine it also had the short forhand, or did they all have the long forhand?

[Ricochet]

They're all carbines. The only ones I've seen have a longer forend and barrel band, as illustrated on the link I posted above. I could be wrong, though.

Hmmm, check out the bit at the bottom of the Wiki page about sporters: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAS_36

My guess is someone with a saw, rasp and sandpaper did it, though.

[EMC45]

I don't think it is any good. I will send you shipping details shortly[smilie=1:

[twotoescharlie]

It's a .30 cal. you can reform brass from 6.5 swede brass. Grafs had the brass several years ago. My two are good shooters.

TTC

[KCSO]

They were adopted prior to WWII to replace the Lebel sniper rifle and the Brethier. By the time they hit the troops the Germans had them beat already and most of them ended up surplus with good bores. Like most of the French stuff they have no safety. They are intended for a load in the 45,000 range and although some convert them to 308 Winchester by setting the barrel back and rechambering I wouldn't do this. The original rifles had a knitting needle bayonet hid in the forestock. Quite a few of these were converted for sniper use and saw use in inco china. By milling off the rear sight base flat you can drill and tap and mount a scope on on eif you are in the mood.. Graf's still has brass and Lee makes dies.

[Freightman]

Never had a bolt in 7.5 but had a 49/56 (regret selling it) and the 7.5 is easy to reload as I used the bottom lowest .308 data. The accuracy would beat my Hakim and that is saying something.

[Buckshot]

.............I bought one of these rifles back in the mid 90's. At the time I had the hots for a bolt action in 45-70. Having heard these MAS36's had a bolt that was .800" in diameter, I figured it would work.

http://www.fototime.com/4CE0AE555332580/standard.jpg

The result. You will learn before too many healthy loads have gone downrange to keep your thumb out from in front of your nose with that short pull these things have. Pleanty of room for a ventilated recoil pad.

http://www.fototime.com/C8BB51747ADBFB5/standard.jpg

The forend is held on by a piece if 1/8" thick steel in the original sheetmetal bands position. I 'cold forged' it, which means I beat on it unmercifully until it assumed the shape I had in mind. Then it got filed and sanded till it pleased the eye :-)

http://www.fototime.com/40E3E824477C745/standard.jpg

Recoil with some loads (I just HAD to go there) was pretty fearsome. I had D&T'd the barrel and the screw went through the forend and into the barrel. After having the forend walking forward all the time and bending the screws I 'mortified' it :-) I cut a dovetail into the barrel and fit a hunk of steel with bedding in the dovetail. The forend was hogged out a bit and a 1/8" steel plate was bedded in place.

Then it was D&T'd again for a 1/4-28 threaded screw. Hasn't let me down yet and I've fired loads out of it that had the whole left side of the rifle covered in slobber :veryconfu I ended my testing with results within kissing distance of factory 458 Win Mag ballistics. Doing that in a 45-70 case is kind of spooky so I stopped. Besides the neighborhood isn't awash in Rhino's or Elephants so there was no real need. Besides, after some bench sessions I couldn't remember my own name.

................Buckshot

[Linstrum]

All have supplied pretty good info. Be sure yours has not been converted to .308 Winchester, a lot of them were. Nothing wrong with the conversions, if it is a .308 in convert make sure you get the right brass for it.

I have two of them, both purchased new for $49.95 with the cheese cloth and Vaseline "mummy wrap" intact.

Don't shrug your rifle off until you try it for accuracy. One of mine is the second most accurate rifle I own, which is saying a lot. I bought the second rifle hoping it would be just as accurate but alas, it is was unlike its 1/2" at 100 yards brother.

The French 7.5x54 cartridge is nearly identical to the 7.65 Argentine/Belgium Mauser except the projectile is a true 0.308-inch diameter, not a "fat .30" like the Argentine. I make cartridges by running 6.5 Swede Mauser brass through a Lee 7.5x54 French full length sizing die and then load using .30-40 Krag or conservative 7.65 Argentine data.

The original French issue cartridge shoots a 139-grain .308 diameter fmj at about 2400 fps but I load mine up to 2400 with 147-grain U.S. surplus pull down bullets. Best powder for the 147-grain bullet is H380. I also use 39 grains IMR7383 with 139 grain empty tracer jackets I got from Hi-Tech Ammo a few years ago. Do not use IMR7383 unless you read up on it first, it can produce high pressure without the usual warnings that you are in the "danger zone".

Remember your rifle has no safety, unless one was installed to comply with later import regs. I ALWAYS carry mine with an empty chamber and the bolt open so I can see that it is empty.

Good luck!


rl372

[EMC45]

Nice work Buckshot! "Awash in rhinos and elephants"[smilie=1:

[redneckdan]

Hasn't let me down yet and I've fired loads out of it that had the whole left side of the rifle covered in slobber :veryconfu

................Buckshot



thats when you know you are having fun[smilie=1:

[hotwheelz]

.............I've fired loads out of it that had the whole left side of the rifle covered in slobber
................Buckshot

Back in my Football days we called that a "SLOBERKNOCKER" thanks for all the info IM looking forward to fireforming some cases as I have never done this before, and then let the shooting begin thanks guys:drinks::drinks:

[Linstrum]

Fireforming the 7.5x54 works great, I have a whole bunch of 6.5x55 Swede Mauser wood bullet saluting cartridges I bought for cheap from Samco Global as reloading brass for both my MAS 36 French and Swede Mausers. For my MAS 36 I used to just fire off a saluting cartridge in it and that fire forms it. For making a fire forming load, I think about 2 grains Red Dot with some Cream of Wheat (COW) on top of it is about right, maybe more than 2 grains, I have slept a whole bunch of times since the last time I fire formed anything. With the cost of primers going up and up and up I no longer fire form if there is another way, and I use the French die set from Lee for the 7.5x54 French MAS, Lee makes the die specifically with the 6.5x55 cartridge in mind for necking up.

Let us know how it shoots. Good luck!


rl374