Be fair and square to MAS49/56 in .308

[SlowShooter]

I wanted to come back and add my vote to the survey as a big thumbs up! This thing is built like a tank! It seemed awfully heavy at first but it is nicely balanced. The extra weight make recoil almost non-existent. So far, I have put 200 steel case Tula rounds downrange without any issues so I am very pleased!
I did have an interesting field strip as I checked the thing out before heading to the range. As you guys know field strip is very easy so that was the first plus. The recoil spring had already been replaced and the chamber looked good so that was another plus. I had already taken the bolt, carrier and firing pin apart and sprayed them with foaming cleaner then set them aside. When it came time to put it all back together I noticed that the firing pin did not just drop through the bolt as it should. It took me a while to figure out that someone had bubba'd a firing pin spring and the spring was stuck inside the bolt!
Getting it out took some experimentation and I finally succeeded with the always trusty custom paper clip. Not sure if it would have fired at all with that setup but it certainly would not have been very reliable and possibly slam fired. Good reason to always check things out before locking and loading. Anyway, like I said great gun and thanks for all the good info on this thread.

If you shoot Tula ($.31 a pop), you don't need the spring for the firing pin. I did toy with the idea for a while before I discarded it.

 

[tngunnut]

I did about a years worth of research before I figured out that most of the poor-mouthing of these in .308 is the normal CAI bashing. Not that they are without issues, but as Slowshooter demonstrated the fixes are pretty easy to perform. Seems that everyone that has taken the time to tune them up has them at or near the top of their favorites list. For some reason there have been several on Gunbroker lately (including mine) going for $400-$500 which is a pretty good price for a sweet old battle rifle.
I know what you mean about another caliber, I have been holding out against .308 for a long time but finally had to give in earlier this year because I fell in lust with the C308(also a great gun by the way). Since then I have added a Spanish Mauser and an Enfield and now the MAS. Weird how that works eh.....

 

[tngunnut]

If you shoot Tula ($.31 a pop), you don't need the spingfield for the firing pin. I did toy with the idea for a while before I discarded it.

My feeling exactly! I was prepared to go that route if need be. Murrays has them for somewhere around $35 bucks. I followed your advice and did not even bother with trying any of the brass I have stored up. Best of both worlds there, reliable and cheap! Weather is great here today so I'm sure I will be at my range later with my new favorite.

 

[smdub]

Tula ($.31 a pop)

where are you finding it for that?

 

[SlowShooter]

where are you finding it for that?

CHEAPER THAN DIRT BUT I PREFER SGAMMO. Keep your eyes at Slickguns.Com at all times.

 

[SlowShooter]

Weather is great here today so I'm sure I will be at my range later with my new favorite.

I bet you live on the West Coast. Around here in Washington Metropolitan Area, we are experiencing Monsoon. I can not take my black powder guns out to finish my test loads. It is too wet!

 

[SlowShooter]

I would love a good reliable one in 7.62/308. They look really neat. Not going to buy one in 7.5 French though. I don't need to worry about another caliber.

When I was looking for a SUV in 1998, I heard that the JEEP grand cherokee's reliability was under average. I came to the dealer and took a look at the vehicle. I came home with my beloved JEEP and still driving it today without any mechanical failure just wear and tear (my wife called me nuts that day). Since that time, I've never believed a word people circulate on the internet. I do my own judgment.

However I agree with you on your "wisdom in the garden". To live in peace you have to be ready for war!

 

[Erno86]

As with the issue on some other guns that had floating firing pins...who have a chance of a slamfire {especially while single loading a round with a soft non mil-spec primer}...I had the same issue --- slam fire problem with my Mas 49/56 while single loading rounds with soft primers.

Since I bought the $80 titanium firing pin for my Mas 49/56 last year...I've had no slam fire issues and only 1 blown primer --- Though I still gingerly close the action while single loading my Mas, an try to stick with mil-spec primers for the rifle.

 

[SlowShooter]

As with the issue on some other guns that had floating firing pins...who have a chance of a slamfire {especially while single loading a round with a soft non mil-spec primer}...I had the same issue --- slam fire problem with my Mas 49/56 while single loading rounds with soft primers.

Since I bought the $80 titanium firing pin for my Mas 49/56 last year...I've had no slam fire issues and only 1 blown primer --- Though I still gingerly close the action while single loading my Mas, an try to stick with mil-spec primers for the rifle.

Good point!

 

[SlowShooter]

Update:

Lately I bought a case of Tulammo .308 with 150gr silver bullet (Zinc plated) rated 2800ft/sec to try on my MAS 49/56. These are the cheapest ammo I can find on Slickguns.com. Just $.38 a pop shipped to my door.

1st try 3 weekends ago, after 10 shots, I realized that this stuff is a little too hot for my MAS. I saw a huge fireball came out at the muzzle every time I pull the trigger. The cases were thrown farther than the Brown Bear 145gr (rated 2700 ft/sec). However the rifle was still held up well and there were no malfunctions whatsoever.

The following weekend, I added up 4 turns of spring (the max) to the main recoil spring. It was harder to put the cover back to the gun but it is doable to all Frenchmen (I can't speak for Americans ). I put 20 rounds through it and found it works much better. I will by another case.

I hope that this info is helpful to you!