FN49 vs. M1 Garand

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wasrjoe

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College is out for the summer and as such I've nabbed myself a full time job. This means more money, so I am considering my next rifle purchase. It will probably be a couple months away, but it doesn't hurt to get the research out of the way early.

I love the FN49 rifle - as you can probably tell from my sig line. However, the Garand has also been calling to me, so I'm beginning to have trouble deciding which one to own first. No, buying them both is NOT an option, and the acquisition of the rifle which I decided to wait for would probably be a year or more out.

With that in mind, I would like to hear the pros and cons of each rifle from a target shooting/plinking standpoint and from a "battle rifle" standpoint. I'm going to use the rifle for target shooting and plinking, but I still enjoy hearing which one serves its original purpose, that is as a "battle rifle", better. Right now they are looking to be pretty similar rifles, both lacking a detachable magazine and shooting full powered cartridges.

Thank you for your help!
 
Ummmmmmm...... The FN49 DOES have a detachable magazine.


For plinking: M1s are easier to find, parts are easier to find, and Springfield Armory is making new ones.

FN49s were only made in a fairly small number (It was adopted by Belgium, Columbia, Egypt? A few others)..... there are NO new FN49s and no major supplies of parts out there. The M1 was issued to one of the largest armies in the world from 1936 to 1957. The FN was around for about ten years.

The M1 is better understood and not quite as complex. Fewer problems with it, it's a very mature design.

The M1 evolved into the M14, as the FN49 contributed bits and pieces to the FN FAL.

Personally for plinking the detachable mag matters little. The M1 is an extraordinarily accurate rifle, it still serves in the national matches, though the M1A and AR15 have taken over mostly. I've not shot an FN49 myself but I know others who have, and it's quite accurate for battle purposes, it probably won't exactly measure up to the M1 for long range hole punching.

As a battle rifle, the M1 rarely ever had problems and kept on trucking as long as it had ammo. The FN occasionally does have some jams and misfeeds, as some FNs aren't well taken care of. There is a reason the SAFN/FN49 did not take off in sales (market glutted, and the design is overly complex for what it does). It's a decent rifle and I'd be fine with using one, but I would personally prefer the M1. Except for suppressive fire the 8-shot en bloc clip of the M1 does not matter, and for long term storage, the en bloc clip is superior (stored loaded, no springs to deteriorate).

It's up to you, but I would take the M1. Just FINDING an FN49 in good shooting shape and a supply of spare parts will cost you quite a bit. And then, finding one in the proper caliber (Columbians were in .30-06, the others, in 8mm Mauser).
 
The last batch of FN49s that I saw available for sale were though Southern Ohio Gun (SOG). By all accounts I read about in the various C&R forums these were horrible. Lots of quality and reliability problems. I'm sure some of these are making their way to the private sale market.

Mags will be very expensive as well.

I vote for get a rack grade Garand from CMP and have it rebuilt to like new, choosing either 30-06 or .308 if you prefer to shoot cheap surplus ammo. Mine in .308 is superbly accurate and 100% reliable.

Garand.jpg
 
Having owned several garands and a couple of FN49's, the FN49 is the superior rifle in almost all areas. Parts are plentiful but it seems the FN49 really doesn't suffer that much in the way of broken parts. I guess accuracy wise the Garand wins but I don't know of anyone other than Americans who devote much effort into re-manufacturing their MBR into target rifles.
 
FN-49

Well I have one of each and after stripping both for cleaning I have to say the FN-49 is the simpler of the two. It has a much simpler operating mechanism and is a well made rifle. The gas piston and bolt lock up system of the 49 has fewer parts then the M1. If it had been produced at the same time as the M1 it would have given the Garand a run for its money. Mags are not an issue, you do not reload by changing mags, it is loaded with stripper clips or 1 round at a time. The feed lips are built into the reciever. When you drop the mag the spring and follower pop out. It can be topped off and does not need clips.

The M1 has better sights with finer adjustments then the FN

My FN is Egyptian and in great shape in 8mm, which can be found very cheaply right now and parts are available if you look.

I like both of them very much and would have a tough time choosing if I could only have 1. They are both well made battle rifles. The 49 would probably be cheaper. If you want to get a good shooting battle rifle start with the FN-49 and buy an M1 when things improve. The supply of 49s will dryup long before that of M1s. But if you also want the mystique that goes with it get the Garand.

TC
 
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I had a beautiful Egyptian FN-49. One of those 80's imports by CAI. Accurate and reliable...for 49 rounds. Then it jammed. Always the same.
Unfired round would be halfway chambered. Fired case would be sideways on top of the unfired round and on top of them, wedging the whole mess together like a weld job, was the extruded gas piston. Required complete disassembly and a sailor's vocabulary to clear. Tried every setting on the gas adjustment. Still did it about every 50th round. Sold it and bought a new Garand. 100% reliable. However, I'm unaware of anybody else having the same problem with their FN-49 so mine may have been an anomaly. Pro's with the FN: No one get's "FN-49 Thumb," ammo is cheap,
no one's whining at you if you didn't get your FN from the CMP. Con's: mine jammed. As I recall, some came with two piece firing pins that broke easily. Mine had the one piece. Parts can be had, but they might not be pretty. Good stocks are particularly hard to find. I used Romanian ammunition. It's great. But it's filthy. Made cleaning the entire thing a chore. My 2 cents worth.
 
Hmmm, conflicting reports. :)

Ummmmmmm...... The FN49 DOES have a detachable magazine.
Click to expand...

The way I understand it when you take out the magazine it doesn't hold ammo. Am I mistaken? I know this is not true for those 20 round .308 guns though. I am pretty sure I read that was how it worked, though (as always) I could be wrong or misinformed.

Still undecided... keep the posts coming. :p
 
The only detachable-mag FN-49's are Argentinian-modified.

Get an 8mm Egyptian FN. They're more plentiful, and are the one's that are most likely unmodified. Stay away from other calibers unless you've done your research - FN's other than 8mm are, more than likely, modified. Some of the modifications are down-right dangerous (I had an FN-49 converted to 30-06 without a crossbolt - spells KABOOM!!).

As was said, M1's will be around much longer than the FN's will. Get an FN-49 now while you can, before the prices go up. Who knows - you might be able sell it one day for two M1's.
 
The Garand has a lot more folk lore, a lot more competition events, exellent parts availability, and a lot of over-the-counter expertise.

Nothing against any other rifle. But every time I take a Garand to the range, I wind up with most of the guys there standing around talking about them.
 
To emphasize what others have said about the removable magazine. On the 8mm, the magazine is removable only in the sense that it comes off the gun. You can't load the magazine off the rifle and slam it home like an M-14 or AR. I do remember reading somewhere that the BATF still regards it as a removable magazine, however.
 
My Lee-Enfield is loaded through the action, but push a button and the mag comes out. It's still a "Detachable magazine" as it's not physically part of the rifle, and is regarded as such by the government. That's what I meant. You may not normally load the FN49 by dropping the mag, but it DOES come off.
 
The M1 does nothing for me. The FN49 is magic.

Hold both. Shoot 'em, if you can. The FN just feels right to me, and I can hold "minute of pot" (helmet) all day long...

John
 
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