I recently picked up a REALLY clean MAS 49/56 w/ the APX L806 scope. Shoots great. Can ring a ~12" steel plate at 250yds pretty easily w/ Prvi ammo. Have bought dies to reload it since it takes same pills as 308. Problem is that it tosses the brass as far as a HK does Very consistent 1-2 o'clock direction but chucks them out 20'+. I've already lost a couple.
So I was going to build a smaller port gas valve for it when I found a post by "starmetal" on gunboards back from 2009. He had an even better idea of drilling/tapping the end for a set screw to make it adjustable. That's a whole lot easier than trial/error of trying a couple different port sizes. So I went about building one...
For those that aren't familiar, the MAS 49 has a gas port drilled on top of the barrel very similar to an AR15. There is a gas block with a rearward port - again all very similar to an AR gas block. It however has a rotary valve in it that can shut off the gas for launching grenades. The original valve just has a slot cut in it that opens the barrel port to the gas tube port for normal operation. I have included the original part in the pics. Its retained in the gas block & grenade selector lever by a small circlip (not shown but you can see the groove in both parts.) There is a small 'D' flat cut on the rod so the lever can turn it. A setscrew goes in the far end to choke down the gas flow as needed.
Its made from 7mm O1 drill rod and uses an M4 setscrew. I probably wont heat treat it as its not really necessary. Just polish the ends a little and cold blue. Too lazy to park a part that small just by itself. No changes were made to the rifle and the original valve will be stored w/ the other spare parts I have. Will be nearly invisible once installed. Looking forward to not loosing any more brass!
So I was going to build a smaller port gas valve for it when I found a post by "starmetal" on gunboards back from 2009. He had an even better idea of drilling/tapping the end for a set screw to make it adjustable. That's a whole lot easier than trial/error of trying a couple different port sizes. So I went about building one...
For those that aren't familiar, the MAS 49 has a gas port drilled on top of the barrel very similar to an AR15. There is a gas block with a rearward port - again all very similar to an AR gas block. It however has a rotary valve in it that can shut off the gas for launching grenades. The original valve just has a slot cut in it that opens the barrel port to the gas tube port for normal operation. I have included the original part in the pics. Its retained in the gas block & grenade selector lever by a small circlip (not shown but you can see the groove in both parts.) There is a small 'D' flat cut on the rod so the lever can turn it. A setscrew goes in the far end to choke down the gas flow as needed.
Its made from 7mm O1 drill rod and uses an M4 setscrew. I probably wont heat treat it as its not really necessary. Just polish the ends a little and cold blue. Too lazy to park a part that small just by itself. No changes were made to the rifle and the original valve will be stored w/ the other spare parts I have. Will be nearly invisible once installed. Looking forward to not loosing any more brass!