MAS 49/56 in .308 unreliable according to JPFO?
Jews For The Preservation of Firearms Ownership, Inc. tested three French MAS 49/56 rifles that had been converted to .308 cal and found all three jammed after firing 20 or less rounds. By jammed: They were refering to the spent case failing to extract and the extracter pulling off the rim (bottom) of the case. JPFO designed and added an ajustable gas system to lower the gas pressure and all the rifle functioned flawlessly after that modification. My question is; have other owner of the MAS 49/56 .308 had problems as mentioned above?? Incidently JPFO claimed the 7.5 cal round produced 40,000 PSI while the .308 NATO Produces 52,000 PSI, and that was why the gas system needed modification. Comments??
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I've had the same problem with 7.5. Because of the grenade launcher, I, too, believe the gas valve may be the culprit. I must use only handloads from 6.5x55 cases to get around extraction/feed problems. 0 -
I've also heard bad reports from people firing the MAS rifles converted to 7.62mm NATO. The major reason behind all of this is that the importers obtained no guidence or assistance at all from the manufacturer of the rifles, just like the people slapping together CETME clones have never set foot in Spain! They just decided to wing it and hope for the best.
MAS produced two variations of caliber for the Model 49/56, the first being for French commercial sales. France, like many nations restricts the sale of military caliber rifles to its own civilian shooters. MAS chose to chamber its modified sporting rifle for the Winchester .284 cartridge and modified the rifle as follows: Larger chamber, modified bolt face, modified locking ramps, and modified gas system to lower pressure. The grenade launching capability was removed as was the ability to fix a bayonet. A special 2 round magazine was also produced and mandated for civilian shooters.
For NATO trials MAS produced a modified version of the rifle chambered for the 7.62mm Nato round. About 150 of these rifles were produced and these were externally identical to the 7.5mm rifles in all respects. The 7.62mm rifles used a modified gas system to lower operating gas pressures by approx. 20%, a redeminsioned bolt head, and a speical firing pin made of aluminum with a steel point. The special firing pin was mandated to avoid slam firing problems since the NATO primers are FAR more sensitive than the typical French primers. Chamber pressures for the 7.5X54mm M1929C cartridge is listed as the equal to 40,000 PSI, well below the 7.62X54mm NATO round. You can draw your own conclusions from this data.
Mark T. Christian0 -
I found some information on the web that said the gas-block could be drilled and tapped and a set screw add to regulate the gas flow. No pictures or spacific information as to the tap size etc. Sounds easy, anyone have ideas or comments? 0 -
I owned one. Took it to two gunsmiths and then I surrendered and sold it to a guy that wanted a rifle with a bayonet. If you see one for sale back away from it briskly.[V][V] 0 -
ROYC38, Did the gunsmiths work on the rifle and it still didn't work, or did they not know what to do to fix the problem? Was the problem failure to cycle? 0 -
I'll come down on the other side for the MAS. I have had one for about 5 years and it has fired flawlessly every time. I've put close to 500 rounds through it with no hiccups other than a couple of dud surplus .308 rounds. My 2 cents! 0 -
Bought one two years ago when they first were imported. Put a few magazines through it with cheap surplus ammo and had no problems. Was a lot of fun shooting bowling pins at 60 yards.
The conversion from 7.5 to .308 is supposedly done by setting the barrel and headspace back slightly for the .308 round. If it is not done properly, it could lead to problems.
Best regards,Rich0 -
well...here goes...i had bought three from century arms that were converted to .308....i had a friend come over that was going to purchase one of the guns...i fired three rounds no problem. he fired one round and i watched it blow up in his face..he suffered only minor gas burns to his face...the magazine was blown out of the gun and the frame was bulged way out..the bolt and carrier also were blown out of the gun...i still have the magazine and round from this firearm. century arms refunded my money on all three firearms no questions asked...i own the 7.5 and have had no problems..i would stay away from the converted ones...my two cents.... 0 -
hughs1:
The main problem was jamming. I live in Louisville, Ky. and I am blessed with having two excellent gunsmiths in this town. They looked it over and tried a lot of tricks. I did what I could changing ammo,etc. no luck. Once in a while I would get 4 or 5 in a row out of 15rds but that was the best I could do. The only thing I can say good about it was it seemed accurate. Now I met a guy who had one in the original 7.5 cal and I watched him shoot three full mags (45 rds) without a hitch. I told him what I had and he said don't judge the weapon unless you shoot it in its original cal. A gunsmith tried to explain to me how they were converted to .308 and he said that they did it the cheap way and "sometimes they work and sometimes they don't" and mine didn't. Thats about all I can tell you. From what I have seen personally, stay away from the .308(my favorite cal by the way)and go with the 7.5 if you like the rifle. Hope this helps.0 -
nice rifle and alot of conversions were sold...i would try to stay with the 7.5....ammo is not hard to come buy and price is not to bad if you shop around....tom 0 -
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redcedars0
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