My French MAS Project

[carguy]

This arrived yesterday in a big brown truck...I think because it was just left on my front steps!!! :'(

Anyways, I (for whatever strange reason) just love the look of the MAS 36 and picked up this "sporterized" version...cheap!

I call it bubbaized and now that I have it I see why it was cheap...pitting on the surface of the barrel near the front sight, wear of the blue, scratched up (minor crack) of the stock. Lands and grooves look good but needs a really good cleaning.

This wasn't just dropped once when the French (don't get offended, I'm half French) put their hands up and let it fall. This baby was used or just abused. Needs some serious TLC and I am ready to give it.

Take a look and I let you know over the weekend how it cleans up and shoots.




If all goes well and I re-do this thing...it may look more like an Enfield instead of a MAS becasue Bubba cut about 3 inches off of the barrel! A new handguard will leave about and inch protruding from it...I think! This is gonna be fun...

[volfandan]

carguy,

that is a really cool looking gun. I like how the bolt is swept forward....very unique. We'll be waiting for a range report. Just be sure to check the bore to make sure that a white flag doesn't come out of the muzzle instead of a bullet

[carguy]

You guys are killing me!

I was hoping because of that "heritage" dropped once blah blah blah it would be in better shape...wrong!

[normsutton]

carguy

maybe it just wasn't drooped it might of been thrown down (LOL)

NORM

[blinddog]

I really like the rear sight set up on it Carguy. Looks like a peep site with an elevation bar. That should make it easier to focus on the target at longer ranges. At least it usually does for me. Good looking gun. Belonging to the French it should have never been shot.

[papabear]

carguy

maybe it just wasn't drooped it might of been thrown down (LOL)

NORM

+1 Norm......... ;D

[garry]

Carguy~ Congratulations ! I think it looks pretty good as is ,BUTT, It will look good when you finish it ! I have seen alot worse looking guns than that one.
I know what you mean about the "left on doorstep" deal. My wife won our Sony Handycam at work and one day when we got home , there it was, sitting in the rain on the front porch! Box was very wet. It works tho so i guess that is all i can say about it. Our neighborhood is not so safe as to leave valuables laying around outside. (In the catalog that camera cost was $836 at the time) Needless to say, I felt fortunate to ever see it in the first place ! My neighbor and I have a pact where we watch out for each other's orders and we let each other know when we have orders coming ,so we can watch for them. (My folks and his folks both live across the road from us,so, we have a small watch group.)
Soooo.....
How does it feel in your hands?
does it weigh heavy or feel light?
What caliber is it?
Did they try to fix the muzzle crown after they chopped the barrel down?
How long is the barrel now?
How was the overall quality of it before bubba got it?(are they very well made?)
Good Luck and Enjoy it Carguy ! Let us Know what you find with it. G

[carguy]

* It feels nice and balanced even though it is shorter than originally issued.
* It is not overly heavy but it definitely has a hft to it for such a small rifle.
* It is the original 7.5x54r caliber.
* They did a decent job of re-crowning the muzzel after the chop job...at least it appears that way to me.
* The barrel is now 17.5 inches long (originally 20 inches). The rifle was only 40.5 inches long originally!!! So it has always been a short, carbine size rifle.
* It appears to have been used and neglected more than abused or had anything bad done to it. I just can't understand why anyone would want to chop this down and reconfigure the stocks???
* I think it was originally a very nicely made weapon. Other than the saftey rattling around it appears to be tight as a drum so we'll see.

A thorough cleaning awaits it this afternoon if I can figure out how break it down completely...SurplusRifle.com will come in handy I'm sure. I'll keep you all up to date with my newest project as it progresses...

[carguy]

If anybody can help me with some advice I would appreciate it.

Take a look at the 3rd picture I posted of this MAS and look for the upturned piece of metal to the right of the end of the bolt, on the stock...under the bolt.

This moves like a saftey but there is no saftey on a MAS 36. Could this have been added on importation, aftermarket? I can find nothing on it. no mention of it or pics with it on Surplus Rifle .com or anywhere else.

I've posted on the French Board at Gunboards and got 1 response with no hlep so far.

Thanks

[normsutton]

carguy

see if this helps
http://www.e-gunparts.com/schemzoom.asp?schem=0980z1936
http://www.e-gunparts.com/productschem. ... =0980z1936

NORM

[carguy]

Thanks Norm...been there, that is how I priced out what I thought the project might end up costing me. Nothing on either schematic so I just don't know. I'll be dismantling it tonight to see what I can figure out about it and give it a good cleaning.

[normsutton]

carguy

its been over 35 years since I even handled a MAS and it was a friend of mine's rifle and he sold it , back then no ammo for it at all in HOMESTEAD, if you could take a pix of the part in question might help

NORM

[garry]

Hey Carguy ~ Thanks for the great description ! I will also see what I can find out about it for ya. does it lock the firing pin ?
I'm sure you must have seen this already? though, I don't see that button in the same location as yours.
http://www.surplusrifle.com/mas36/fulld ... as36hs.pdf

Well Good Luck and Here I go off to start the search With you Compadre ! I LOOOOVE MY PC !!!!! G

[garry]

Carguy, I found this site by google searching the word "municion" and then used the translated version, This site is about AMMO and is very informative. I have posted it before on another link, I think you and I have talked about it before Carguy, "It haves broken very badly of english. Translation this site of him being very read difficulty." Recall that? hehehe G
-looks like you'll have to copy and paste the complete adress and paste it into your address bar. or do the google search of the word "MUNICION" http://translate.google.com/translate?h ... =es&u=http://www.municion.org/&sa=X&oi=translate&res ... 3Dfirefox- a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3DrrG
http://translate.google.com/translate?h ... =es&u=http://www.municion.org/&sa=X&oi=translate&res ... 3Dfirefox- a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3DrrG

On the left column of the page you can find out TONS of different ammo info including headstamps for most of the different factories. I hope these give you some help.
I am still looking for that button info though and the more I read about that MAS the more i like it. Some of them look wicked. The sniper versions caught my eye awhile back and i think they look cool.

[carguy]

I actually heard from several other "French" afficionados on Gunboards and I have a saftey that was installed, by GSA Imports in the 50's, on shipments they had "sporterized" (bubbaed as I like to say).

They simply drilled the tang of the receiver put in this bent piece of sheetmetal and pinned it under the bolt and over the trigger mechanism. It definitely works but is cheap and I think more dangerous than no saftey.

So as I broke it down today to thoroughly clean, I played with it and with one tug pulled out the pin and the strip of sheet metal just fell off...ooops ::)

Boy did I get what I paid for...a mutt (every part has a different serial number) and lots of surface pitting on the barrel and receiver. Little signs of rust in lots of places so breaking down everyting I can...bolt, trigger magazine etc. The bore looks sharp but dark so we'll see as I experiment tomorrow morning. Hopefully it will lighten up as I shoot it.

Thats for the help. I'll keep you posted...bon souis ???