Trade my Garand for a FN49?

Should not have been in the hands of the French in French Indochina though they bought a few for testing they had their own M1949 rifle that was also developed initially before the Germans arrived. Their rifle used a gas system similar to the AR 15s and a ten round magazine as well and like the SAFN the French rifle was not intended for swapping mags with every reload and was loaded with the same stripper clip as the MAS 1936bolt actions. The French used an upgeared model of their 1949 rifle the 49/56 right up to the introduction of Le Clarone 5.56mm bull pup in the late 1970's. They typically wore one extra magazine incasae the one in the rifle failed and the rest of their ammo on stripper clips.

My understanding is that some French units in Indo China actually used the Kar 98k bolt action in 7,92mm Mauser. They also used a fair bit of US equipment to included M1 carbines and 1919 and M2 Machineguns in some units. They also used some US armored vehicles and unarmored military transport. The then US Vice President visited in 1951 and his advise was to support the French and non communist Viet government with equipment and stay the hell out...Richard Nixon was smarter than some folks give him credit.

Both Models of the M 1935 pistol saw service in FIC but I do not know if the 9mm replacement made it there though both US supplied M1911series pistols and Walther or Manhurin P38 pistols made it their. I always wondered if the heavily German Legion units tended to get the German equipment

The French did buy a few SAFN for testing but by then their own rifle was a done deal.

-kBob

saiga308 said:

308 would be a better choice it shhots a little more accurite and you can shoot cheap steel case for plinking like i do my sagia
for 26 cents a round View attachment 859669 verse 50 cents STEEL case a round for 06
https://ammoseek.com/ammo/308-winchester

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FN 49s and FALs and M1s and M14s do NOT get fed steel cased ammo!!!

Bwana John said:

FN 49s and FALs and M1s and M14s do NOT get fed steel cased ammo!!!

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Agreed. Save that crap for commie rifles

I'd keep the Garand and buy the FN outright. But, I do understand that family budget considerations do come into play. A difficult decision. Good luck with your decision.

I'd keep the Garand, and trade something(s) lesser. or see if the proprietor would put it on layaway for ya so you could make payments

Run and buy it! A Luxembourg contract FN49 today sells for at least $1,200 and I’ve seen near $1,500. Unfortunately the prices inflated to this ridiculously fast, but for $650 you can’t go wrong. If you don’t buy it I’ll drive there myself lol

You can always find another Garand in the US to replace it later down the road

never

Everybody and their brother has a Garand, but you'll not see many FN49's on range day. Do it and buy another Garand back someday.

I couldn't ever trade a gun in to a shop and take such a hit. If you're set on getting the FN, buy it on credit, list the Garand on Armslist and use the cash to pay off the credit card next month before you incur interest.

Finding a good FN-49 in 30-06 is somewhat difficult. I scored one that has a muzzle device from FAL, so I think it's not original. And it's not at all accurate. So, can't collect it and can't shoot it. But at least it's a conversation piece at a range.

BTW, reloading with enboc clips is faster. Just go to a match and guys with M1 will easily beat guys with FN49 on any course that's longer than 10 rounds. Remember that you have to re-load the 49 twice per magazine.\

I had an opportunity to buy a .308 ARA FN49 with 2 magazines and passed upon it. Not sure if I regret it. It was a nifty gun for sure. But it's just one of many in .308.

Tough call. I’ve begun to curtail purchases of late to focus on ammo stockpiles, what with multiple new rifles and pistols sitting in the safe that have yet to be fired but will want to be well fed when the time comes. If you gotta have it then work out a trade that makes you happier than what’s being proposed, meaning don’t forgo what you feel you should have for something you want. Dig deeper, scour the safe for what isn’t collectible or increasing in value like a Garand. Best of luck on your decision.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

I was wondering if a FAL flash hider would fit the barrel threading........

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You know, I may be misleading you here. I started checking what the real early slotted flash hiders for FAL look like, and they always have something else on them, like wrench slots or the grenade gas rings. But mine is completely flat, so it only looks like an early FAL at a first glance. I suspect now that it's someone's homebrew. Looks good though, slots machined at equal distance.

NIGHTLORD40K

In Vietnam the French also used their MAS 36 rifles, MAT 49 submachine gun, and our M1 Carbine. I think British mercenary "Mad" Mike Hoare may have used FN 49s in the Belgium Congo.

What Hoare was known for carrying in the Congo was an FN FAL with a Scope on it. The mounts were welded on to the cover and the scope was a US M84.

He appeared in pictures in the press with it.

-kBob

NIGHTLORD40K said:

And now the gun porn-
View attachment 859849
View attachment 859850
Saive really put a lot of thought into this one, as with all his designs. A couple of neat features on the FN49 are the retractable dust cover over the bolt channel and the cocking indicator stud at the bottom of the trigger guard- so you could feel it easily in the dark.

Here is the dust cover closed and the indicator in the "cocked" position-
View attachment 859851
And here it is with the hammer down and the cover open-
View attachment 859852
Im going to do a full field strip, clean and lube before shooting, and there is a little bit of rust speckling in the nooks and crannies which is going to get polished up, but overall, Im very happy with it!

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*Drool*

based on the pics you did real good, been looking at Egypt contract FN49 lately in 8mm, sometime I'll get one. Does yours have a crown on the receiver?

bannockburn said:

NIGHTLORD40K

In Vietnam the French also used their MAS 36 rifles, MAT 49 submachine gun, and our M1 Carbine. I think British mercenary "Mad" Mike Hoare may have used FN 49s in the Belgium Congo.

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I am currently doing a dive into african politics and what all happened say 1900-today.

Very interesting history....and history I would say that most americans have very very wrong.

With Mugabi now dead it is going to be a little interesting, lets see if his hand picked guy will keep an iron grip on that poor country.

Everything there is a mess......

Anyway I am glad you got to keep both your rifles OP, IMHO these days both guns are something to hold on to.

I would have loved to have found a FN49 in 30-06 with a like new barrel. Evolutionary, you can see the transition from the traditional wood stocked pre WW2 rifles to the later, all metal and plastic battle rifles post WW2.

But, and I think is an important butt, you need to be aware of the slamfire propensities of this mechanism. Never, ever, use commercial ammunition or commercial primers in the thing. Always use mil spec primers, which are the least sensitive primers around.

The designer did create "anti slamfire" features in this rifle:

Tilt Locking Breechblock for Automatic Firearms D. J. Saive July 18, 1950, 2,515,315

The spring 32 also forms a safety device (Figure 14) for preventing firing when the breech block is unlocked. As shown in 'Figure' 14, the firing

pin 31 has a groove 31a in it and the spring 32 has a lug 32a on it which acts as a safety and, by engaging in the groove 31a, holds the firing pin against forward movement when the breech block is unlocked . When the breech block is not locked (Figrue 8) the rear end of the slide projects beyond the rear end of the firing pin thus preventing the striker from striking said firing pin.

but based on the number of out of battery slamfire incidents reported with this rifle, the safety spring is not 100%.

Slamfire FN49 8 mm Factory ammunition

forums.gunbroker.com



I had a slam-fire once, in an 8x57 Egyptian FN-49. I was slightly injured by small brass particles that cut my forehead, and my glasses were scratched. The rifle was damaged, wood blown out of the bottom around the magazine well. I was using some relatively anemic factory loaded 8mm Mauser hunting ammo someone had given me to use up. The rifle "doubled" the second shot which was a slam fire nearly immediately following the first shot. And apparently the bolt lugs had not fully locked, the rifle firing out of lock and the case rupturing. Previously I had used only Milsurp full-power ammo. FN-49's are known to have firing pin problems, breakage which can leave the forward part of the firing pin extending through the bolt. I had no parts breakage, and the firing pin seemed to retract OK. I can only assume the slam fire had something to do with the soft factory primers, but I'll never know for sure. I felt very fortunate to not have been hurt worse. I don't want to repeat the problem, so I am very careful about high primers, and use only CCI-34's in my reloads for semi-auto rifles (Garand, M1A) which I shoot often in local matches. I don't know how an AK would handle an out-of-battery slam fire any better than anything else.

Out of Battery Slamfire in FN49


http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=543905

Hey all,
I recently had an 'out of battery slamfire' in my, two piece firing pin, FN49. I had made 8mm Mauser ammo from milsurp 30-06 cases. The dimensions of the cases (30-06 and 7.92x57mm S) are identical at the base and only need to be cut down to the correct length, sized and trimmed. The problem with making your own ammo for the FN49 is that it is a very robust firing mechanism that will ignite a sensitive primer before the round is seated in the chamber. I was using CCI 200 Large Rifle Primers which are reasonably sensitive for bolt action rifles and, I have found out, too sensitive for semi auto rifles. Even though I've used these primers for years in my FALs, and WASR AK47, I'm going to stop and use CCI 34 Large, 41 Small, or milsurp in the semi auto rifles.



The 'oob' slamfire caused the receiver and bolt carrier to become a bad fit! I searched (Google) and found a gunsmith in Missouri who could fix the rifle. His name is Guy Snelen at AMG International in Humansville, Missouri. He repaired it, test fired it, and sent it home to me. If anyone needs a good gunsmith, get in touch with Guy.


Kaboomed 8mm Egyptian FN-49 .... Now A Floorlamp!!!!


http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php?topic=132165.0

« on: July 03, 2014, 06:26:50 PM »

My LGS gave me this Kaboomed Egyptian FN-49 today. It's a CAI gun. To add insult to injury it was the second time it had kaboomed. The owner had it "fixed" and then it let loose again after a few rounds. I think I would have quit the first go-round.

The funny thing is when I took it apart I could not find any reason it let go unless it fired out of battery. The gas setting was fine. The only broken part was the rear of the extractor when the kaboom bent it out and cracked it.

When it let go (8mm Romanian surplus) it looks like all the force went straight down and bulged the mag and in turn stretched the sides of the mag well in the trigger group/guard assembly. I got the mag pounded back in shape and bent in the sides of the mag well opening true.

One thing I did notice was that the stock was repaired poorly after it let loose the first time. It would not have taken but a few rounds to have split it again. It is one of those beech CAI replacement stocks and it split darn near perfectly in half.

I could fix the stock but why bother, I'd never-ever trust the rifle. The guy got away twice with nothing but hurt feel-goods and a lighter wallet and I don't want to be the odd man out with a injury.

I was thinking of parting it out or selling it as is but I think I might make a gun lamp out of it instead to preclude anyone getting bad parts or crazy ideas of trying to shoot it.

I glued/screwed the stock back together well enough to start making a lamp of it. It will be real easy to do.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

Thanks Slamfire. I had already read about the propensity for out of battery firing in these. The consensus is that the problem was the early one-peice firing pin combined with worn FP return springs. I plan on installing a two-peice pin and new spring once I get the bolt apart!

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Oh absolutely! I’ve had mine go full auto on me at the range. Had to be at least 800rpm of 8mm mauser