French MAS-36

Patreon: / blokeontherange
Teespring: teespring.com/...
The Chap takes you through his French MAS-36 rifle, and gives it a good wringing out on the range.
Adopted by France for rear echelon troops while front line soldiers were supposed to get a shiny new semiauto, this rifle ended up as a state of the art front line weapon instead. The Germans also used them in large numbers as "Beutewaffe".
Facebook: / blokeontherange
GUNS IN THIS VIDEO
MAS-36 aka MAS36 aka MAS 36

[@pickeljarsforhillary102]

I traded out an Inland M1 Carbine for a three MAS-36 (1 pre-war, 1 post war, 1 36/51) and a MAS-49/56 at a gun show years ago. People laughed at the time. I am laughing now at how much in value these things have gained.

[@kayraaa2646]

So you traded the WWII US rear-echelon rifle for THREE French rear-echelon rifles? Sweet!

[@badchefi]

Kayraaa2 no, it was four.

[@foleymaj]

And the the M1s, you can get reproductions. Not so with the french rifles...

[@timblack6422]

So you know about REMFs... good to know! I thought that was an American thing..🤗

[@thebotrchap]

This is a perfect illustration of why I don’t participate in the official mad minute series. I suck and even Mr. Beige would do a better job 😝

[@Broadgate]

The Chap : to be fair, it’s a french rifle..

[@thebotrchap]

Broadgate 75 Care to expand on your statement without invoking tired old cliches and preconceptions 🤔

[@Gungeek]

I did a Rolling block mad minute maybe that is more your style :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYWbgYudpd6Ufck

[@carbon1255]

I thought you did very respectably. Having the best mad minute is a bit like owning the fastest snail.

[@thebotrchap]

Carbon 12 My issue is self confidence to line up the sights quickly and pull the trigger, I tend to spend far too much time trying to get a good sight picture and ending up with tired eyes, when my eyes are poor at the best of times.

[@brandonsimons543]

WAR WERE DECLARED!!!!!! ~C&Rsenal fan

[@thebotrchap]

Well of course!

[@timblack6422]

Yes!

[@WasatchGarandMan]

Got mine and 220 rounds of ammo for 200 bucks back in 2013, one of the best buys Ive ever done. Love the MAS-36

[@Japanese_moped_guy]

You totally look like McVeigh

[@simonferrer]

That was surprisingly smooth for a rifle touted as being a generic backup weapon, Chap. I do wonder though if the charger clips not being push-out was by deliberate design. Considering the French military took the small arms shortage of World War I to heart as a lesson learned enough to develop the MAS 36 in the first place, they must have given some thought to other logistical shortages that might occur in the event of a mass reserve call up. The charger clips themselves are aluminum, an unusual choice for the period, but one that would lend itself well to archival storage without the clips being subject to corrosion and without using up precious brass (the other weatherproof solution) needed for cartridges. Also, considering that calling up and equipping a few million reservists would at least temporarily put a strain on the ammunition supply until munitions plants could step up production, it would make sense to encourage soldiers to save anything that could be re-used. Each soldier would likely only get a limited load out of ammunition anyway, at least until production could catch up, and would have to husband their ammunition and charger clips. Second line troops armed with this rifle would be likely to only load on command except in an emergency, so a loading system that requires the soldier to grab the empty clip makes sense. In a lower tempo rear echelon situation, the soldier could just as easily stow the empty clip in his pocket as throw it away. He could then reload the clips when resupplied later. This is especially so if hastily produced replacement ammunition arrived at the front loose in boxes rather than already loaded on fresh clips. Maybe I'm just reading something into what could have just been a bureaucratic oversight, but considering how the MAS 36 was in every other respect carefully optimized for ease of use and emergency issue in the event of a national call up, I can't help but think that the charger set up might have been deliberate.

[@royperkins3851]

The French crossed a mauser and a Lee Enfield bolt it locks in the back and the bolt is aligned with the trigger like a Lee Enfield bolt but it's based on the mauser. It actually can be manipulated almost as fast as a Lee Enfield bolt which is about the greatest compliment as you can get in my book! I still prefer my Lee Enfield

[@adamkilby2273]

I haven't watched the channel for a little while and thought I'd had a stroke before I realised it was the chap and not the bloke.

[@braincowlol]

The MAS 36 is such a awesome rifle ! Mine is from Mars 1939 and it's always a pleasure to take it to the range. Didn't have the chance to shoot any french semi-auto rifle, i hope some day ! Thanks for the video guys

[@Whitpusmc]

This is an interesting rifle when compared to its contemporaries like the 1903 Springfield or K98K or especially the M1 Garand. This rifle is about as simplistic as a battle rifle can be and has an amazingly low parts count and is intentionally made as unadjustable as possible by the individual soldier. No windage adjustments possible without swapping rear sight leaves, no safety to mess with and low parts count as said before. The M1 Garand on the other hand has a very high parts count even considering it’s a semi auto and this is a bolt action.

[@fattywithafirearm]

I recently purchased a slightly post MAB model D for my collection. Now I need to get a MAS 36 to go along.

[@wierdalien1]

It is a classically french rifle, not quite like anything else.

[@koosh138]

when you mentioned the finger thing I had no clue what you were talking about. After seeing the other guy shoot, wow I'm going to test this technique out for myself.

[@panzerabwerkanone]

I had one of these five years ago. I never really enjoyed shooting it. I felt like I was holding a 2X4 for the stock and the bolt was clunky and not all that smooth. Ammo was scarce too. I had a chance to buy a 1971 nickel plated Colt Series 70 .45cal. I sold the MAS36 to buy the Colt which only cost me $350. Best deal I ever got on a gun!

[@edmoore1661]

With the front cap/band off you can adjust the front sight post for windage. Not too much either way however as the front cap/band needs to fit back over the adjusted front sight post.Great video guys!

[@williamprince1114]

I am now regretting not buying one of these when they were cheap and plentiful on US market.

[@frankperkin124]

I hear ya! :(

[@minutemanqvs]

Nice one...a simple but cute little rifle :)

[@renngretsch]

Watching the Bloke vigorously tug on the Chap's weapon in a more excited manner than the Chap managed(to tug on his own) was less entertaining than I expected. Glad you both wear glasses though...you could put someone's eye out with that!

[@LUR1FAX]

The MAS-36 is a really cool looking rifle. Got a lot of good qualities.

[@georgeleake1603]

Bought one of these MAS MLE1936 in the wrap from century arms back in 96. Paid $117. L 606XX. Scarce ammo so never did get to shoot it.

[@thebotrchap]

Reloading components are easy to get nowadays.

[@chrisloUSA]

Buy online my dude.. gunbot.net/ammo/rifle/75french/

[@Airborne80]

I bought one in 1985 for $50.00 and still have it. It’s in mint condition.

[@rednecksniper4715]

The mas 36 bolt reminds me a lot of the arisaka the way it disassembles

[@KB9813]

These are not that common here in Canada, I've yet to seen one for sale. Really like the looks of it.

[@wrxs1781]

Try a gun show, still see the odd one on a table for sale. The imported surplus dried up years ago.

[@wrxs1781]

The for stock attachment seems to be borrowed from a Martini Henry, there were lots on the surplus market years ago but never really caught on as a collector piece. In Canada.

[@th3rdmonkey159]

Good show , Mr. Bloke ... That's a fine specimen of French weoponery you have there.

[@batickell]

Thank you for making this! There is a deficit of videos on this rifle!

[@skepticalbadger]

Brett Tickell So you're saying that we need....Mas MAS?

[@sqike001ton]

i actually had one of these in the 90s i bought it at a country store and used it to hunt whitetail for many years sold it when i got out of high school i always like have a pokey bayonet on my deer rifle

[@Greentangle]

A combination of Le-enfield and Arisaka rifle design into one

[@thebotrchap]

Note that they switched from front locking (Lebel/Berthier) to rear locking.

[@GenScinmore]

"show the mag dump!" "weeeeeeee!" XD

[@skymycat1]

I have one love shooting it was like buying a new gun 7.5 have alot of rounds stocked up when it was cheap to buy couldn't find them now occasionally I enjoy shooting it cuz when I burn ammo it's irreplaceable I love my 36

[@mixererunio1757]

Looking how you smile takling about this beatiful rifle is priceless:)

[@simplymadness8849]

I’ve heard many people say that this was the best bolt action of the war. Is there any truth to that or are those people just being contrarian? Bolt disassembly seems ridiculously easy, looks very similar to Arisaka bolt disassembly.

[@BlokeontheRange]

Give it a 10 round mag and a clip that self-ejects and it probably would be.

[@thebotrchap]

Best in the sense it being a rugged rifle with perfectly adequate battlefield accuracy that was simple to mass produce at low cost. I don't think anyone will claim it was the best in terms of accuracy, but then again the FRF1 and FRF2 sniper rifles were built on the same action so obviously the potential was there.

[@thebotrchap]

They only went to 10rnds with the FRF1 and FRF2. I really don't get why they didn't make the stripper clip self ejecting though, it's such an easy feature to include.

[@simval84]

Bloke on the Range ...and maybe a safety.

[@Gunsbeerfreedom87]

Safety on a infantry rifle is a bit superfluous, especially for the way that the French used their infantry.

[@grayflaneur4854]

Ah.... REMFs. A term I have not heard in a long time. A long time... good episode.

[@TulaTom]

The bolt takedown is reminiscent of an Arisaka bolt disassembly.

[@M80Ball]

The French Collection.

[@thos.bennett567]

If you're fumbling, want to see you on something that you are highly proficient in.

[@frankperkin124]

Very informative. Nice job.

[@Nooziterp1]

What was not mentioned is that, along with previous French rifles, there was no safety catch. This was because, unlike other nations who had the policy of carrying rifles into battle cocked and with the safety on and releasing the safety before opening fire, with the French the policy was to carry rifles with an empty chamber then cock it when ready.

[@chrissilsby4312]

Back in the 1980's, I could have got one of these in 7.62NATO for around $80 and the MA'S 49 for around $140

[@marcogram1216]

I'm late to this video but TFB did a "run-n-gun" with the MAS and the clips will eject with the cycling of the bolt.

[@BlokeontheRange]

Doing that trashes the lugs on them. Look how hard he's slamming the bolt. We're demonstrating this in another vid soon...

[@Paches92-]

marcogram I asked the same thing, lol

[@McGuireJJ]

Love the subtitle for the video!

[@admiralpercy]

There are so many antique rifles that I want, but I HATE aperture sights. Absolutely, thoroughly despise them.

[@roadpanzir]

Well done!

[@alexunfiltered5756]

You almost make me want to trade my N04 MK1 Lee-Enfield for one of these

[@am17frans]

Looks like a pretty comfortable bolt action rifle compared to mot others we seen here.

[@MrSeriousfighter]

thank you

[@pieshka4509]

Husah! The channel is back!

[@strydyrhellzrydyr1345]

Bloke is so full of himself... He says... Ohhhh yeah... Oh yeah... Lol..

[@brandonwestfall3241]

I was under the impression that the forward swept bolt handle was that way so you could pull the trigger with your middle finger without ever taking you hand off the bolt handle.

[@BlokeontheRange]

Err, nope, the French were not into that kind of thing. Its position would be better for that if it weren't cranked forwards.

[@sqike001ton]

if my knowledge of the mas 36 if it was referbed in the early 60s it probably seen service in Indochina like any weapon theirs no way to tell but it had a high probability of it being a gun from that time

[@sqike001ton]

i was talking about the french who took the over to Indochina after ww2 to fight to keep the colony

[@duanesarjec6887]

les fusils français n ont pas été fabriqués pour tirer à 100 m pour cette distance ils tiraient des balles en plastique à charge réduite , sinon la balle monte à 100 m normalement on doit pouvoir toucher une cible de la taille du quart du guidon ce qui fait 400 m et si vous vous demandez comment les français y arrivaient en tirant moins de 60 cartouches pendant leur service militaire ..... et bien c est que s ils n y arrivaient pas ils étaient punis et à force de porter ce fusil pendant des marches de 20 à 60 km , on finit par avoir un lien réel avec le fusil et une fois qu on a verrouillé la culasse on a le sourire de plaisir de celui qui a déjà touché sa cible avant de tirer , les cibles française étaient un demi cercle noir sur fond blanc de la taille d un casque d infanterie tout le monde faisait un groupement de 15 à 20 cm à 200 m , sinon c était rentrer à la caserne à 7 kmh

[@brandonwilliams143]

The first rifle I ever bought was a MAS 36. Paid next to nothing for it and I loved it. Used it for traget shooting as well as hunting whitetail deer and some hogs. Miss that french Beauty just wish I was able to get more 7.5 french before I had to replace it. Any places you or anyone else might know where I can get a another MAS36 and ammo ?

[@thebotrchap]

brandon williams Ammo is easily reloaded, brass and bullets are easy to source and there is plenty of reloading data out there. As for rifles, depends on your local market I suppose. I had a hard time getting mine despite France being a couple of hours drive away.

[@randomworld1]

Hi Bloke, Serious question - how did you come to living in Switzerland? I live in the UK myself and have been considering a move for a while now. Great video by the way :)

[@BlokeontheRange]

I got a job here and moved. Simples :)

[@wenderia7990]

Saw one of these at a local gun store, sent to the US then sporterized. Only costs about 250 USD.

[@Fourthmark]

I'd jump on that. Also there was an offical line of sporters produced off the Mas 36 including a 10X66mm chambering which was roughly equivalent to .400 Nitro Express

[@BluePlainsOrangeFeels]

If it wasn't mutilated .It would of flinched 4 to 6 times more. Sad

[@thebotrchap]

Ye gods!

[@kayraaa2646]

"AH AYNT 'AVING NO MILUTERR RIFFEL DEY BLACK AN' SKERY YU GON BLOW A DERR IN 'ALF WIT DEM!"

[@ManDuderGuy]

This man loves his new gun. Reminds me of when I got my moist nugget back in the day. *sniff Bit of cosmoline got in my eye is all; nothin to see here.

[@thebotrchap]

Don't forget dust, it always gets in the eyes at the most emotional moment.

[@hamrite]

Shot with that monster during my military service in 1985, a dinosaur in comparison with the FAMAS, which was a great thing to play with. The MAS I shot with must have never gotten a zero check, totally useless.

[@r.eticdu1371]

A MAS 36 in 1985 ??? Not in the French Army ...

[@ragimundvonwallat8961]

@@r.eticdu1371 yep, just another mythoman

[@Strato50]

My next 'unicorn' rifle... :D

[@tokul76]

All Chap's mad minute shots went above the target. Sights set for different range?

[@BlokeontheRange]

By definition, since there's no 25m setting ;)

[@alexanderpalmer2647]

I really want one of these...sadly I don't know how to find them.

[@Paches92-]

I’ve seen videos of the mas36 kicking the clip out when the bolt was closed home. I wonder why this one doesn’t?

[@BlokeontheRange]

You've seen Alex's videos on TFBTV. Note how hard he's slamming the bolt and that the clip does not really seem to be coming out willingly...

[@crabyman3555]

will you make a video about Swiss webbing gear or machine guns or something along those lines???

[@thebotrchap]

craby man Machine guns unlikely, the Swiss full auto crowd is very discrete and want to remain that way.

[@GunPassion95]

Well Done Bloke! When will you be able to come in Lodrino Again? :-)

[@BlokeontheRange]

That's the hope!

[@GunPassion95]

Bloke on the Range when you will let me hope! I'll be in touch with Kevin and SBAM Too! :-)

[@bradjohnson4787]

That looks like a handy rifle for hunting (with some sporterizing). What do you think?

[@thebotrchap]

Brad Johnson There was a line of hunting rifles based on the MAS36 made by Fournier including big game rifles.

[@commonconservative7551]

I wonder if the bent bolt handle can be used with the middle finger , firing the mad minute...or was bloke doing that?

[@thebotrchap]

commonconservative Yes, it’s possible, I’m just incompetent at that sort of thing ;-)

[@strydyrhellzrydyr1345]

Wait... Does he not know how to take a rifle apart and put it back together... Why not take it apart.. I actually was hoping to see that part.. of this example... Now I really wanna see.. to see the fit and finish underneath

[@karlkruger7310]

looks like a no.4 from a distance.

[@skepticalbadger]

Karl Kruger Everything does at sufficient distance.

[@kevinbaker6168]

Even though it is post WW II production it could have seen service in Indo China or Africa.

[@BlokeontheRange]

It's mint. It hasn't seen service anywhere.

[@MadMadCommando]

In Alex C.'s Mas 36 run and gun video he automatically ejects clips with the bolt. Maybe Chap's example is too tight?

[@BlokeontheRange]

It entirely lacks the cuts which would be required for the clip to eject. No idea how or why Alex's one ejected.

[@skepticalbadger]

Bloke on the Range He is literally hammering the bolt and forcing/jostling the clip out of the guide. Not recommended.

[@BlokeontheRange]

I thought he might have been. It was certainly not coming out entirely voluntarily and more or less without resistance like it does on a Mauser 98, M1917, Lee-Enfield or similar.

[@ltrain4479]

It's a shame that a lot of French troops at the start of the war were given lebels and not the MAS 36. Did any of the Free French forces use them? Or did they mainly use British and American weapons?

[@thebotrchap]

Most Free French did indeed use US and British equipment, quite simply because of ammunition issues.

[@jodc2760]

+Gordon Adams . To sum up Free French weapons : From July 1940 to July 1942, a mixture of French weapons (brought back from Norway or captured in Africa/Syria) and British weapons (for ammunition issue as said The Chap). From July 1942 to July 1943 only British weapons. After switching side in November 1942, the French North African Army fought alongside the Allies with 8mm Lebel weapons. After July 1943 the new Army was equipped with American weapons (M1903 and M1917 but no M1 Garand).

[@ltrain4479]

@@jodc2760 Thanks for the info, I wonder why no M1 Garand? What about the M1 Carbine? Also did they use the Thompson, grease gun, BAR or 30 cal machineguns? Were they issued US grenades? I noticed the tankers had US tank uniforms on.

[@jodc2760]

+Gordon Adams , Until the end of 1943, the US where short on M1 (Springfield were still used for training) : not enough M1 to give it to 8 French Divisions. Instead various Thompson were given to the French to have more "firepower". At the beginning of 1944, the "French Liberation Army" is 80% a copy of the US Army (minus M1 ) : weapons, trucks, tanks and uniforms.

[@lkatsmeow]

Arisaka type 38 bolt copy.

[@gatlingbert]

No rimjams with this ammo

[@thebotrchap]

Indeed, no "confiture de bourrelet" with this one :D

[@bengalvin71]

Are those jackets mandatory? Would they actually protect you?

[@BlokeontheRange]

No, they're not mandatory. Yes, they protect your elbows and shoulder. They're just a convenient way to hang elbow pads, shoulder pads and a sling off of you.

[@bengalvin71]

Bloke on the Range Cheers Bloke

[@Treblaine]

This looks like such a good rifle then you look a bit closer and you go "huh, why did they do that!" like no manual safety! And why not have a fall away clip?

[@thebotrchap]

Treblaine After playing with it some more the clip does fall away if you really slam the bolt, but if you do it damages or shears off the nubs on the sides of the clip. Not a problem back then of course as they were disposable. As for not having a safety, it was a matter of military doctrine. After all there is no better safety than not having a round chambered. Nice easy rule to follow for conscripts to follow.

[@Treblaine]

"After all there is no better safety than not having a round chambered." uhh, I think a functional safety would be preferable, for a few reasons: -A proper safety catch will also hold the bolt closed, without needing to drop the firing pin and depend on cock-on-open spring. -A proper safety catch is far quieter to disengage than cycling the action. I didn't think this was important until I read the Canadian Officer's Survey of WW2 and founded repeated emphasis on laying in wait undetected for an enemy force to fully expose themselves, 15-25 ker-clicks all at once can be quite distinct and heard from a distance. Though the garand had an unusually loud safety catch and that was complained about a lot despite being quieter than quickly cycling the action of a turn-bolt. -It's so easy to be distracted when loading a rifle and accidentally chamber a round, it's far easier to train in a muscle reflex to just feel the safety catch to check its in position and a sergeant can silently without interruption see that every rifleman has their rifle in a safe position. -It's an easy mistake to make to screw up holding the rounds down as you close the bolt when when you're tired, stressed, injured, grieving, fearful and being interrupted by things that could get you or your friends killed. It's inevitable error to forget if you are loading the rifle for a state where you won't fire it or to immediately fire and then there are problems which could go either way: -A policy of closing the chamber and trying to dry fire is going to increase the rates of negligent discharge as there are interruptions when that is interrupted then it's inevitable that many are either going to forget they chambered a round or tried to stop a round being chambered and failed, then they pull the trigger. You start introducing decision paralysis in basic manual of arms as soldiers get paranoid, after just closing the bolt without chambering, they then immediately crack open the chamber again to check... OR -If the policy is not to dry fire on a closed chamber that just takes the uncertainty down to another stage. If you rely on a safety and you try to press the trigger, the trigger feels different and you get positive visual feedback on the safety catch's position, you know why it didn't fire, you forgot you left the safety on. If you press the trigger while aiming and nothing happens you are now in a huge dilemma as you have either forgotten to chamber a round, or you have a hang fire in which case you should definitely not open the bolt. What do you do? Immediately open the bolt as the case explodes or wait like an idiot? There is no prompt feedback as to why the weapon didn't fire when you rely on empty chamber safety rather than a safety-catch. -Crawling from position to position you may need to fire one or two shots then ASAP clamber and scramble to another position. This is far easier to do flipping a safety on and off. -Also when bringing the weapon up to aim, trying to do it as quickly as possible while bringing it to your shoulder, it's inevitably much easier to short stroke the bolt as you're trying to do it quickly while not in a steady shooting stance. This is the furthest thing from the "best sort of safety". In theory it's the best because there's no way an empty chamber can fire, but in practice it's very bad because of the practical uncertainties and needless complications of keeping and being sure there isn't a round in the chamber. It's actually not a nice easy rule to follow. It's a simple concept, but in practice many problems come up. Why not hammer into them the muscle memory to always keep the safety in the safe position, always be feeling the safety to make sure you have it in the safe position and just part of aiming the rifle is an action to feel the safety, an automatic muscle reflex that always works, an action that always disengages the safety or confirms that the safety is disengaged. As far as I know, MAS-36 doesn't have any sort of loaded chamber indicator. Which really all firearms could benefit from as it speeds up fixing failures so much, it completely eliminates the dilemma of "Have I got a hang fire or is there no round in the chamber?" except in a very short stroke where the empty case isn't even ejected. If you want more than a safety catch then do what is done in this video, leave the action entirely open. A state where the action is closed but supposedly on an empty chamber isn't a particularly high-safety state. It depends on you breaking one of the golden rules of safe firearm handling which is: "Never assume a weapon is not loaded" which includes thinking (or trying to with 100% reliability recall) a round isn't loaded in the chamber. So to make a weapon safe you don't just remove, empty or cut-off the magazine and cycle the action, you leave the action open you can both see there's no rounds either in the chamber nor in the feedway.

[@thebotrchap]

Treblaine I suggest you take the matter up with the French high command from year zero to 1949. They obviously had no idea 😐 We are applying modern principles to 1800 to early 1900s way of thinking. I agree with you now but it’s simplistic so say „back then they were idiots“.

[@Treblaine]

I don't think I said "back then they were idiots" or if I did say words to that effect that was not my intention. I don't want to be one of those people who go on about 'old fashioned practices were old fashioned' of course they were. For example how long did it take for everyone to get out of the bad habit of casually resting their finger on the trigger? Everyone did that for so long. When you said "no better safety than not having a round chambered" I got the apparently wrong idea it was, you know, just a general idea. Rather than just as it's now clear you mean, the attitudes of that particular time and place. I was talking generally, regardless of attitudes of any particular time or place, how acceptable is it really to depend on an empty chamber for safety. Though I can think of some upsides. It's far more difficult for an action to entirely open and close while a safety catch can quite easily be actuated accidentally. PS: I completely didn't realise you were THE Chap. I tend not to read usernames when youtube notifies me as most of the time they change nothing, it's a name I've never head of nor will hear again. If I had, I'd have given you far more benefit of the doubt on what you must have meant.

[@thebotrchap]

Treblaine No probs, we like genuine discussions, don’t hesitate to question 👍 As you say, I was talking about the specific case of the French doctrine 🙂

[@lptomtom]

At last!

[@darkspire91]

A tad high on the aiming.

[@jeremyorr7469]

Love to have one of them in 308 win

[@paulvarga9696]

I shot mine today after work

[@JenniferinIllinois]

First Ian, now the Chap. The French are invading!!!!!!! Hehehe...

[@johntaylor1310]

No getting any notification on your videos not sure why

[@johntaylor1310]

Great video btw

[@HAACKER45]

Are you sure that the clips you have aren't just not made to the correct specs? On the TFBTV video "MAS 36 Run and Gun" his clips self eject without issue.

[@BlokeontheRange]

In the video to which you refer, he slams the bolt so hard he actually breaks the lugs off the clips. If you look at the rifle's receiver, there's no way for the clips to leave automatically: surplused.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/MAS-36-Action.png

[@HAACKER45]

@@BlokeontheRange Ok that makes sense. On that point, it's interesting that even post war guns like my FN 49 seem to not be designed to self eject clips. It's also a pain to load, i'd take an M1 with 2 less rounds than have to deal with stripper clips in a fire fight.

[@BlokeontheRange]

Oh, 8 rounds in an en bloc vs 2x5 round chargers is a no-brainer.

[@dther6314]

@@BlokeontheRange but that was the way to do it. Clip are not meant to be reused originally, load the ammo, slam the bolt and done. that why they are in aluminium, cheap and easily deformable

[@MrBillcale]

can you or have you done the mas 49?

[@thebotrchap]

William Sands Rare as rocking horse poo here. If all goes well though I should have a MAS49/56 early next year.

[@MrBillcale]

@@thebotrchap merci bo coupe

[@admiralpercy]

2:43 between the mumble, the accent, and my lack of knowledge, I need explained the ammunition change problem.

[@thebotrchap]

The first 7.5 French calibre was originally 7.5x57, used in the FM 24 light machine gun. However there was a lot of 7.92x57 Mauser still in use in France (WW1 capture) and it would unfortunately chamber in the FM 24 and lead to explosive failures. It was thus decided by 1929 to shorten the cartridge by 3mm to prevent any mix-ups and the definitive 7.5x54 MAS was born. PS: I have an accent?

[@admiralpercy]

The Chap thank you kindly

[@halfcantan1208]

I thought that rifle had a six round mag

[@thebotrchap]

Halfcan Tan Definately a 5 shot.

[@halfcantan1208]

What short bolt action rifle from ww2 had a six round box magazine and not the 1917

[@BlokeontheRange]

The Italian stuff and the Swiss stuff.

[@cdp9544]

This looks like a shorter version of the lebel rifle.

[@thebotrchap]

Weeeeell I suppose that with the two part stock and slab sided receiver a glancing eye might be deceived into thinking its a Lebel R35 carbine.

[@wierdalien1]

The Chap the french did like that type of two part stock

[@thebotrchap]

The French were late the party with the 1884 Kropatschek, the Brits (Martini), US (Peabody) and the Swiss (Vetterli) did it first.

[@wierdalien1]

The Chap oh i have no doubt, but they held onto

[@thebotrchap]

Alistair Shaw It’s much easier to manufacture and robust since there is no delicate machining for openings for receivers and mag wells.

[@b.griffin317]

what in god's name were the French still doing with bolt-action rifles in the 60's?!

[@BlokeontheRange]

Massive conscript army based on reserves. British non-infantry, particularly TA, were still on No.4's into the 60 and beyond, and that's a professional / volunteer army.

[@hjorturerlend]

Using them for their original purpose - equipping troops who weren´t riflemen. Think of it like the French M1 carbine.

[@pommel47]

Were the Frenchies(sink me) still using these fighting colonial revolts after WW2?

[@b.griffin317]

according to wiki they were used in indochina, algeria and suez (the former two might have been for colonel auxiliaries and the later as a sniper rifle, though that's a bit unclear to me).

[@angiefav1847]

These guns have no safety on them just load and fire, for safety's sake don't load one in chamber l have one nice short battle rifle

[@chrisfyfe4047]

Has anyone ever converted one to 7.62 NATO ?

[@BlokeontheRange]

Yes.

[@thebotrchap]

They were also converted to chamber random African big game cartridges on the civvy market.

[@druisteen]

Never handed dropped once

[@ggyy311]

It's a new and special gun, because it only drop once 😂😂😂

[@thebotrchap]

ggyy311 YAAAAAWWWWWWWWNNNN! Aren’t there plenty of Francophobic sites out there were you can post such playground level tired old cliches instead of polluting the comments with them?

[@BlokeontheRange]

Quite. It's a bit bloody tiresome by this stage...

[@Christopher-N]

(10:00) The shots are all over the place, because the French would rather make love than war. *;)*

[@thebotrchap]

No just because I’m crap at rapid fire. Bloke does it far better.

[@samj.s3132]

Yuck, french rubish . Get that stuff outta here bloke