MAS 49: A Universal Service Rifle

Preorders now open for my book, "Chassepot to FAMAS: French Military Rifles 1866-2016"! Get your copy here:
www.headstamppublishing.com/french-rifle-book
As the MAS 44 saw combat service with French Marines in Indochina, some of its shortcomings began to reveal themselves. The rifle was reliable and durable, but it lacked some capabilities, most importantly rifle grenade launching and optics mounting. After a test series of MAS 44A rifles, a new pattern was adopted as the MAS 49 and put into production in 1951.
A total of about 80,000 MAS 49 rifles were made, and they incorporated a scope mounting dovetail in the left side of the receiver and a grenade launching muzzle device and sight. In addition, the bayonet was left out, as it was no longer seen as necessary. Not all rifles were used with scopes or for launching grenades, but with the universal capability it was simple to adapt any rifle to whatever specialized role was required. Ultimately the MAS 49 would be replaced again in only a few year, by the MAS 49-56 iterative improvement - but that's a subject for a future video.
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[@LibertyTreeStudios]

I dunno why but this rifle just has some really nice aesthetics to it

[@EoineyMTX125]

Agreed all the MAS rifles do

[@jccs98]

only nazis like the aesthetics of this gun

[@jccs98]

real americans like the mini 14 folding stock

[@AtlasJotun]

They blocky and kind of clunky-looking... but in a really svelte way? I don't know, but that's the coolest grenade sight ever.

[@Lavi-Aemilia-Astori]

@@jccs98 funny lad

[@natebarfoot1277]

I saw Ian at Ron Peterson in Albuquerque NM he was doing research for this book he took a couple of pictures with me I will be buying this book. P.S Thank you Ian for taking time to take a pic with me your awesome!!

[@JenniferinIllinois]

Jeez all these French rifles. Did Ian write a book about French military rifles? 🤣🤣🤣

[@genericpersonx333]

Cheesy joke is still good joke. :)

[@sqike001ton]

Nope he wrte and published one xd

[@d4ngru5h83]

@@genericpersonx333 ...cheese....french cheese....

[@matthayward7889]

I’m sure it would be very popular!

[@ihcfn]

Why hasn't he mentioned it before? 😉

[@Krongfah]

I just played Rising Storm 2: Vietnam this morning, saw this gun in the game and thought, “huh, never heard of Mas-49 before, I wonder if Gun Jesus ever covered this gun.” Then lo and behold, he uploads this vid.

[@paulmundt144]

All hail Gun Jesus

[@justiceforjoggers2897]

Praise be Gun Jesus

[@aeis3007]

He heard your prayers and answered them. All hail Gun Jesus and his miracles!

[@sqike001ton]

I just had the video above this in my feed is a rs2 playing with the scoped 49 then this one

[@sisamusudroka3000]

Proof of concept, gun jesus hears our prayers

[@hopefullytemporary1]

FYI: The sheet metal strap/ring holding the scope on is known as a "T bolt clamp", frequently used in automotive and hydraulic applications. It has the advantage over normal worm screw clamps in that it applies even pressure along the entire surface area as opposed to pinching specific points like a worm screw clamp.

[@philippefrater2000]

Hi Ian! I think this is the gun my father did use in the Algerian conflict. He told me so many stories about what they were doing with it... (Camels exploding far in the night when shot because they were convoys loaded with explosives, guns and ammunitions), for exemple. He spent nearly 3 years in this war serving in a Special Division. (Penfentenyo). Each time he started to talk about that period his eyes started to fill with tears and he had hard time finishing the story...

[@alexmuller1680]

But as French we can be really thankfull to your grandpa to have fought for France in Algeria. History may have been rewritten to give bad image of them but we shall not forget them. Respect to your grand dad!

[@markwalker4485]

My old friend loved his m1 carbine and refused to use the MAS at all and he was DBLE so I trust him

[@jamesr792]

@@alexmuller1680L’algerie est Francaise et le restera!

[@Echowhiskeyone]

I remember seeing the MAS 49 in an arms of the world book many years ago. I found it to be a beautiful rifle back then, and the more I see of it, the more I love it.

[@VonRammsteyn]

4 me, the line of MAS 49 rifles and its derivates are the most beautiful of the french rifles.

[@jerrell1169]

Too bad it and its brethren have only gotten more and more expensive, I’ve only I could go in time.

[@kyleschafer6275]

I swear, these rifles went from easy to find to hard to find overnight ( and im not talking about the mas49/56).

[@megalith7796]

Rising Storm's new update did it.

[@johnhans2929]

And they are about to get even harder to find.

[@LN997-i8x]

They've nearly tripled in price here in Canada over the last 2 years. They were sitting at $700-900 for a long time, but all of a sudden jumped to $2000+.

[@kyleschafer6275]

@@LN997-i8x No BS, i was meeting with an elderly gentleman looking to sell his (well he claimed it was a mas 49, could've been a 49/56,saw the advertisementat a range club), he was gonna sell it for $450, when i tried to meet up with him he was nowhere to be found, when i called him again he doubled his price ( i cant recall the exact price but it was $750-$850). I was a little upset.

[@denisvermeirre1024]

Hi Ian. You would have loved it! One of my parents' friends had been a French Legionnaire. He decided to collect one copy of each rifle he'd had in the Legion. Interesting collection, not just because of the variety, but also because he kept them scattered throughout the house. In each closet you'd find a rifle of some type. And as a Legionnaire, there was no way he's accept to leave them unloaded.

[@AtholAnderson]

Ian, if you have enough money from your Kickstarter left over once all the book expenses are accounted for, you should do French Rifle shoot with as many of the guns your books covers as is possible

[@sixstringedthing]

Sounds like an excellent reason for another collab with C&R!

[@johnparrish9215]

You know, if your French Rifle squad had to launch an ambush, everyone opening with Rifle Grenades looks to be a very effective start to a successful ambush.

[@domnicke]

You actually wouldn't want to start an ambush that way. When you fire a rifle grenade there is Delay between the time of firing and the time of the explosion which can give your position away to the enemy and allowed the enemy to take cover. This is the reason why the US military is trained not to start an ambush with a M320 or m203 launcher.

[@johnparrish9215]

@@domnicke Good Point

[@freakingabagool3510]

@@domnickeright, you start an ambush usually with some sort of remote-detonated explosive, such as a Claymore/MON mine, or tripwire device. Too close to hear the report before you’re either mangled and screaming, or it’s “no longer your problem”

[@krip4804]

This gun just got added to Risng storm 2: vietnam

[@darranhirose8153]

49/56 technically. So the lightened version. Is anyone having the issue with the gun sounding absurdly quiet in game?

[@jamesgarratt9334]

The creator of Rising Storm must love Gun Jesus.

[@GIR9595]

@@darranhirose8153 Nah it's just the MAS-49. The front end is very different on the 49/56

[@iamcrimsonspecter2]

@@darranhirose8153 All the guns sound pretty quiet. I do dig incoming snap reports, but that's it, snaps.. no whirrs or anything, fine game.

[@KurwaRomek]

Shame the scope isn't available

[@sarjim4381]

I bought one of the Century Arms 7.62 Nato conversions in 1991 for $220. The bore was well done, and armory had redone the parkerizing and refinished the wood. What Century didn't do was enough testing after the conversion. Apparently they shortened the barrel so they could cut new metal for the 7.62 chamber, shortened the gas tube to match the 9/16" barrel offset, and left the original French springs and recoil system in place. A friend of mine ordered one at the same time. I think these were among the first Century conversions. Mine would never fire a full mag without a jam of some kind, some of which got stuck so badly it required a rod and rubber mallet to free it from the chamber. My buddy's rifle would happily go through multiple mags without a problem. Type of ammo didn't matter in mine, but his could fire cruddy surplus ammo all day. Mags for the 7.62 guns are also crazy expensive now, $50 and higher last I looked. Unless you can confirm from the owner his gun is a shooter, avoid the Century conversions. I've heard of slamfire issues with the 7.5 guns, but they can be fixed with a change ot the firing pin, again from what I've heard. I will say mine was a good shooter when it was feeding rounds properly, about equal to a Garand in accuracy. Unless you're like Ian and just an aficionado of French guns, there are many better shooters than the 56/49.

[@samhansen9771]

The century arms conversions were notoriously bad. And the slam fire problem was because French cartridges have extremely tough primers, necessitating a very heavy firing pin. This can be fixed by filing down the pin a tiny bit or getting an aftermarket titanium firing pin. Mas-49's have a reputation for reliability in harsh environments.

[@earthenjadis8199]

With the iron sights, my father used a MAS 49 to kill an FLN fighter in the desert around Timimoun . When they got to the body, they estimated the shot was just short of 500m. "Être et durer" was etched onto his memorial plaque when he passed away in 2016, along with the Brevet parachutiste militaire. And the Algerians have their nation.

[@Froggmeningreen]

Reminds me of the movie "The centurions" somehow

[@Tobias-ld2pv]

It is sad that your dad had to fight for french colonialism. I hope he could repend for the crimes he committed for the french state.

[@sebl9198]

@@Zezezeze69 Albert camus

[@MrPh30]

Heard the rifle was good,know about some 1eme Rep there that liked it very much and had a good career in Algeria.

[@justiceforjoggers2897]

@@Tobias-ld2pv Oof

[@willie_brydon]

11:51 the Syrian owner of the rifle seems to have inscribed his own name on there as well, I think it says "Jawad al-Hurri"

[@onyx9943]

@lzydwg More like Jawad From Huran, a Syrian city... Whether or not he is virgin is beyond me XD

[@alexmuller1680]

Wow, that's really the power of internet, getting informations from all community and give this particular gun it's own personal story, who knows maybe Mister Jawad wrote his regiment number somewhere else on the stock! You're great to have given that info, thanks a lot!

[@VALDIGNE]

I have noticed that this weapon is often used by Islamists.

[@TheSirPrise]

Jawad is correct but I think the second word is المحوزي, (Al-Mahwzi) which is just a surname in Arabic. So basically this is Jawad Al-Mahwzi writing his own name on the rifle, identifying it as his property.

[@troy9477]

This concept makes a lot of sense. Issuing a scope to say every 8th guy, along with a little extra training and practice firing, would give u 1 DM per squad. Another guy can be a designated grenadier, and everyone can carry 1 or 2 rifle grenades to help out. I always thought these and the 49/56 were pretty good rifles, and interesting. I'm sure the Foreign Legion liked them, and did some good work with them. Great video as always. Thank you

[@jon79jon]

Those clever frogs! That Grenade launching setup is ingenious.

[@LawrenceFlash18]

Proud to say I inherited one of these after my grandpa passed. No idea where he got it from. I have ammo for it but I have yet to shoot it. Just for you, Ian, I think I’ll take it out soon.

[@curious-relics]

When you do shoot it, just be careful - these rifles absolutely will slamfire using commercial ammo if they don't have the modification to the firing pin Ian talked about. If you're shooting it without that mod, I'd only load a max of 2 rounds into the mag at a time.

[@mrjohnbrush]

Monsieur le Président, consider making this man a member of the Légion d'Honneur!

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you , Ian .

[@florentleider222]

one can see it in action in the best french war movie "la 317ème setion", depicting the last days of a french squad during the indochina war. Remarkable for its authenticity.

[@jonbush7467]

Congratulations on this project! I know how much you enjoy the history of France's story of firearms development. Been watching you for years and dare say... I'm proud of you! (Whatever that might mean to you idk..) I'm still happy about your accomplishments!

[@theprojectproject01]

When I think about what these were selling for in 1995, I could just weep.

[@AutismIsUnstoppable]

Just rember that and think of what guns are cheep now but will likely rise in price in a decade or so.

[@benjaminjohnson628]

Great video, it would be awesome to see a series of these books detailing the history of service rifles for numerous nations eg a book for the UK, US, Germany ect

[@bend1483]

Benjamin Johnson yes. Yes yes. Absolutely. Yes.

[@NRJenzenJones]

Keep your eyes peeled...

[@alexmuller1680]

Imagine if he was writing a book about FN Herstal🤤

[@Deftonesdsm]

I hope Ian writes more books. I hope he overshoots his goals by a lot everytime. Gun Jesus come to save us again from boredom

[@Ostenjager]

These videos show just how challenging it is to collect French military arms in the U.S. Between our importation restrictions and the French state arsenals unwillingness to export, it's a wonder anything made it here.

[@oldgoat1890]

According to some French sources, France signed some UN agreement to destroy obsolete military weapons. I was curious where 80,000 model 49's got to. I talked to people in Canada, Australia, and Europe. Finally, some of the French claim the rifles were melted down because of the UN agreement. That would explain why there are so few French issue 49's in the U.S.

[@ultramagnus4374]

I’ve only seen on MAS36 in person. I bought it

[@reddevilparatrooper]

Very clever design indeed. Like you said the French were ahead of the curve in concept of a universal service rifle which the Americans followed in suit with the M14.

[@johnkelinske1449]

I remember seeing one in a local gun shop in the late 1960s, it was brought back from Vietnam by a returning vet. It was only about good to very good condition wise, the price tag was $125- quite a sum in those days.

[@gunner678]

Great shot of this in the French war movie 'Section 317', superb film! Excellent video as ever, one of my favourite rifles.

[@joshsquatch7474]

This is one of my favorite old military rifles, no particular reason why just a neat gun.

[@luisantolafrancis519]

Siria also has a bunch of MAS36 that apeared in bulk in containers with other guns like the STG44 that are being used in the Sirian civil war .

[@csabaweisz8791]

The syrian war has every kind of interesting old weapons, from colonial lee-enfields to a german WW2 PaK 105 cannon stolen out from a museum

[@rogainegaming6924]

My question is just how they all feed their own rifles. It can't be easy finding 8mm kurz or .303 in the middle of Syria

[@luisantolafrancis519]

@@rogainegaming6924 the bulk of occidental Surplus ammo could be dry out but orient and ex soviet pole countries are plentifull of this stuff and even some countries like Serbia still produce 8mmkurz PPU.

[@callhoonrepublican]

I've seen them at gun shows years ago, and didn't know anything about them or how they worked, I'm actually very impressed and wish i had bought one when i'm sure the prices were much lower.

[@breekiwalker]

Hey Ian, ever thought of making a video on a Vigneron M2 SMG ? There's almost nothing about on KZbin and it'de be pretty cool having you talking about it

[@BaronSamedi1959]

Ah, the Vigneron! The Belgian Army still used these in the 1980s, all the way up until they introduced the FNC. By that time the Vignerons were so much used up that they actually became quite dangerous to shoot, with safety catches "half engaging" at odd moments causing misfires or jams all the time. But it was still one of the more stylish SMGs I ever fired.

[@breekiwalker]

Now that I think about it, I've never seen one in museums or other exhibition here in Belgium. The only way I know it exist is from my father and friend of his talking about shooting that gun during their military service, along with the FAL and the FNC

[@thomasvanstraelen5848]

The Vigneron already had a bad reputation in 1969 when my father was doing his service. In the 80's, the joke was that, if you ever ran out of grenades you could throw a Vigneron at the enemy since even a light shock would cause it to discharge its entire magazine on auto.

[@DiggingForFacts]

@@breekiwalker I think the fortress museum in Dinant has one on display. Rare gun to see for sure.

[@moekitsune]

Ian made a video recently in case you haven't seen it

[@kampase]

The condition of the stock and grips is really nice

[@M855Patriot]

I think it's pretty cool that after I watched this video this morning, I went to my LGS and they happened to have one of these for under $700. Pretty cool to see how the grenade sights worked in person and interesting how they went with a plastic charging handle knob.

[@danlovestotravel8159]

Always do a good job covering a weapon. Easy to listen to and keeps it simple. Keep up the good work.

[@marcoburino1000]

It looks beautiful...

[@treyriver5676]

I think the French on again off again relationship with NATO and lack of export versions also makes the French cold war rifles less known.

[@TheWhoamaters]

These and the 36 are some of my favorite rifles

[@oldgoat1890]

This was the rifle with the marking transitions all done in the same series. I have an early one with a script F prefix. Sometime during the "F" series, it changed to a block prefix with a horizontal number, like the one in the video. The last change was to a vertical serial number and a block letter. All in the 1949 series rifle.

[@reaperthemad8731]

Haven't seen anyone do a comparison, so here's my idea for a fun video: MAS 49 vs FN-49. Good excuse to shoot (if anyone needs one), and unless I missed something, all your videos on the MAS or FN are on scoped editions. I have an Egyptian contract FN-49 that I could possibly lend.

[@otherhethermocking8243]

The MAS 36, 44, 49, 49/56, and FR derivatives of the 36 are all pretty cool. Nice! Wouldn't mind one of those Syrian ones but they're probably expensive

[@alexmuller1680]

Right, that would probably be expensive...but you will buy a piece of history! That rifle was made in France, sent to our protectorate in Syria, after independence some stayed stocked, some was bought from the French by the new government, then was issued to soldiers, maybe took part in the six days war, was stocked again, and then some 50 years later it arrived in your country, I assume you are from USA. Maybe you'll even get the name of the soldier wrote on the stock like on this particular one. It's not a rifle you'll spend money for, it's a piece of history and that's priceless, exciting, living History in your hands!

[@avtomatkalash7431]

The Syrian ones aren’t bad, less than a standard French mas 49

[@otherhethermocking8243]

Thanks for the input, fellow disciples of Gun Jesus.

[@sabre0smile]

I kinda prefer the Syrian version. Even if it's not entirely useful, gotta love a good bayonet. Another great video!

[@jerrell1169]

Sebrenity I agree, bayonets can make a gun look very nice, the only guns I don’t prefer with bayonets are modern polymer rifles and AKs/Type 56s

[@winkleried]

This Rifle is on my bucket list....

[@96royalstar21]

I bought a MAS 49 Syrian (Bayo) out of shotgun news in 1988 for $250 with 900rds of Syrian 7.5 french ammo. The ammo`s primers all started to malfunction after a few years and threw away 400rds (that was left out of the 900). The wood stock (once beautiful) had a oil level line where it had set in 1ft oil half way up in shipping crate I am guessing. The original bluing was light and bore was dark. I love shooting it, never jams. Because I was young then and more into looks and not originality, I didn't like the dented blacken wood, so I soaked out the oil & I refinished it, It (wood), it now looks beautiful. I also didn't like nylon charging knob and machined a new one (still have the original).

[@oldgoat1890]

The nylon knob was actually an improvement over the bakelite knob on the 44's. The original bakelite knobs became brittle with age. Even a good bakelite knob will often crack just from firing the rifle. I have never seen a 49' with a bakelite knob, but I have never seen one under #12,000 either. I don't know when the change came.

[@timsmith1589]

I need one of each for my collection now too

[@thelegendaryklobb2879]

Finally, graet video. Looking for a newer shooting video with this one!

[@JableckiFM]

Damn, these MAS rifles are so beautiful.

[@AmusedWalrus]

That looks like a very nice firearm, it looks brand new!

[@andrewmccain8297]

Very interested to see a 2 gun with this rifle and scope

[@legentilhommedefortune]

I ve shot this weapon while in the french army many , many times , it was heavy , but very accurate at 400M (without scope), recoil was strong , even worse with the grenade launcher cartridges ( not possible to hold it) & it was jamming very often..

[@jimh6763]

Nice looking stock!! Very clean cut

[@KingKiavash]

10 years after the development of FG42, France and other nations were basically building broom sticks. Don't get me wrong, I love this rifle but it really puts things in perspective as to how far ahead Germany was compared to other countries when it came to small arms development.

[@STM1066]

If they had converted it to 7.62 NATO and added a 20 round magazine it could’ve been one of the best battle rifles of the Cold War. It’s very good (I own one in 7.5) but in a military setting I wager it’d be really handicapped by 10 round mags, especially considering it was used until 1979

[@avtomatkalash7431]

I agree, lost potential for sure

[@tbthegr81]

Thats a rly nice looking rifle

[@T3hderk87]

So this is a designated grenade marksman's rifle? Really puts the boom in "BOOM HEADSHOT!"...

[@DC2022]

Almost. The gun fitted with scope was forbidden for grenade firing and a gun who fired grenades was never fitted with scope after that. DMR MAS needed a perfect barrel and scope would not withstand an frigging grenade shot.

[@iamcrimsonspecter2]

Fine weapon for defending rice in the game Rising Storm 2 Vietnam - no shortcomings! Launches boom boom rice balls!

[@meinauto9048]

The French sure make some handsome rifles.

[@cerealata9035]

Such a beautiful and sexy rifle, though I'm torn between the original French version or the Syrian version.

[@giovannibattistaponzetto5860]

I want the book edition with the "Gun Jesus" H&K poster included!

[@00vondough00]

That rifle looks a lot like those found in the Valkyria games.

[@vchalmel]

It's always a great day when gun jesus celebrate mas'

[@csours]

2:42 Matt Parker-ised you say? This is a real Parker Square of a gun!

[@DynamicDurge]

Book looks epic, Ian!!

[@AtlasJotun]

That's the greatest grenade sight ever.

[@Arkeo36]

I would love to have one of these. A local gun store to me had one for sale a while ago but I have no idea if it's still there...but after this video I doubt too many of them are going to be left on the racks in a short while.

[@LewisRenovation]

From all the videos i have watched about French weapons, tactics, and doctrine, it seems there is a theme that they had very low expectations of their average soldiers.

[@Destitute77]

Some say, the scriptures tell of Gun Jesus’ ability to give sub MOA to any firearm he blesses.......

[@Bmd123]

PRAISE GUN JESUS FOR HE SAVETH ALL THE FORGOTTEN WEAPONS

[@ckl9390]

It would be nice if a modern remake of this could be made for the civilian market, but with the counter-sprung firing pin for safety, and for legal reasons the grenade hardware omitted and using an integral fixed 5-round magazine that is still fed by stripper clips.

[@patrickhernandez5460]

I remember seeing these on sale back in the day for $79.00.

[@TheWhoamaters]

Very well timed with the addition of this to Rising Storm 2. My new fav gun in that, kinda want one irl

[@koatsmagoats7145]

I can see I'm not the only one who came from Rising Storm 2: Vietnam. If anyone is curious a LOT of guns available in that game have been reviewed by Ian!

[@DNchap1417]

Now I can see where Eugene Stoner got his inspiration... one of the few DI weapons that's not an AR10 or 15.

[@Pcm979]

I'd worry about you driving up the price of these rifles, but I'll never live somewhere where I'll be able to own them, so it's academic.

[@Froggmeningreen]

Dude in France we can't get our hands on those, my father can't even own the rifle he did his military service with. How sadly ironic is that?

[@KurwaRomek]

@@Froggmeningreen goes to show you how we're subjects, not citizens. And it's even more depressing that no one seems to give a shit about the right to bear arms

[@Froggmeningreen]

@@KurwaRomek Well you can own SOME guns, but it is indeed quite complicated, and not encouraged to say the least.

[@KurwaRomek]

@@Froggmeningreen I was more talking about our rights to carry and self defence which don't even exist. I don't want to own a gun to keep it in a safe and have to beg for ammo

[@mohammedcohen]

I bought one of those scopes from S O G - it cost almost as much as the rifle (MAS49/56) that I bought from them - and it was evidently never issued/used...the directions inside the scope container had not been completely cut through by the cutting machine at the print shop...

[@ruthfelldman8285]

Is that a grenade launcher or a can opener?

[@masahirosakurai3733]

Ruth Felldman both

[@alexmuller1680]

Can be used for both! But I heard Israel have a can opener on their rifle! But I dont know if its true.

[@saintbulmers665]

@@alexmuller1680 bottle opener, but yes, the Galil has a bottle opener in the handguard

[@vonmazur1]

No it is a crescent wrench, and they licensed the design...

[@csabaweisz8791]

@@alexmuller1680 they have the bottle opener on the galil, because the soldiers liked to use the feeding lips on the magazines, and thus deforming them

[@jerryjohnsonii4181]

Very interesting rifle Sir

[@vadenummela9353]

I bought the poster!

[@jaysonpower9673]

I have a MAS 36 and a MAS 49/56. Now I need the middle parts

[@juanmanuelmarchioli]

Tnks Gun Jesus!!! Now I have one more grail gun...

[@theblueneko677]

The MAS 44 is in BF5 and its my favorite semi auto rifle

[@minuteman4199]

The stacking hook looks like a real anachronism on a post WW2 rifle. I'd be curious to know if they were ever actually used.

[@alexmuller1680]

Post war yes but it's really not that long after. They used older model of sight cause they got the tools around, so I do suppose they did same for other parts that wasnt needing a modern upgrade.

[@thevoxofreason8468]

I just revisited this vid. I have to say that one thing seems odd to me about this set up: the scope, particularly the eye relief. The relief seems incredibly short, much shorter than most other scopes I've seen on combat rifles.

[@wesleythomas1594]

Interesting that he says as many as 80,000 of these were made. The number I have usually seen in the past in most sources, including in Jean Huon’s “Proud Promise” by Collector Grade is 20,600. It is a great rifle, and I have as of yet not had a problem with double fire using Prvi Partizan 7.5x54mm Mle. 1929 ammunition and I still have the original firing pin.

[@oldgoat1890]

I have seen examples of serial numbers that range all the way up to 79,000 plus. I own one that is 79,8xx Once and a while you see a French issue pop up that is in the Syrian number range too.

[@highlandoutsider]

It would be interesting to find out just how many of the Syrian guns were sold off, remembering some of what was talked about in your videos in regards to craft built guns in current warzones, I wonder how many of these are still " in service"

[@ForgottenWeapons]

I believe about 3000 of them came into the US.

[@JACKBLACKTOSE]

Live Más

[@thebotrchap]

Does anyone have a MAS49 they want to trade for a kidney (or two)? Taking about 0,5mm off the firing pin tip also solves the potential slam fire issue.

[@jballew2239]

Turn one out of aluminum stock. I would have tried titanium, but did not have ready access to stock of useable (and affordable) dimensions.

[@evanacey1414]

I’ve never seen Ian respond to any comments on his videos before, but I have a (somewhat) personal question for him that I’m hoping somebody here is able to answer on his behalf: What/Who initially sparked Ian’s interest in collecting and learning everything about French firearms in particular?

[@ForgottenWeapons]

They are substantially distinctive from most other countries, under appreciated, and poorly documented in the US.

[@shawnr771]

Apparently you dont read the comments very often. If you ask a good question instead of paying homage to memes or mention that you saw the weapon in video game. Ian is cool enough to answer.

[@alexmuller1680]

@@ForgottenWeapons As French from Alsace (SACM, MANHURIN), I do have to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for your interest about our Gunsmith industry. Merci beaucoup Ian, tu es une merveilleuse source d'information et un historien passionné!

[@evanacey1414]

Shawn R I stand corrected

[@bruceinoz8002]

Regarding calibre: Allegedly, some 49's and 49/56's were made in 7.62 NATO either for proposed or actual sale to "fence-sitters" in "colonial" regions or for when France was still a part of NATO. I had one of those ex-Syrian ones back in the early 1980's, when Australia still had some remains of a sense of humour. No surplus or commercial 7.5 ammo anywhere. However, dies could be found and brass could be easily formed from 6.5 x 55 Swedish cases, which have a very similar head diameter. (Berdan-primed, of course). I never noticed any "slam-fires" and this is possibly due to the RWS 5608 Berdan primers being "mil-spec" and having more robust cups than their "sporting" (plated) ones like the 5627 or general commercial primers.

[@MadManchou]

France has not been outside of NATO ever since NATO was founded. It only got out of the joint command (which it re-joined under Sarkozy, so 40 years later), which in no way had an impact on either french arms development (and collaboration therein with other members), or more importantly the commitment of France to stand alongside its NATO allies.

[@bruceinoz8002]

OK, that makes sense. They certainly maintained their "individuality" in many things; the 7.5mm cartridge being just one. Being "outside" the Nuclear Planning Group" is another. Vive la différence!

[@jackbauer7742]

Interesting to see the elevation knob on the side of the scope and not on top.

[@Rain_Dancer134]

That's cool

[@andreinarangel6227]

Nice vid!!!

[@bubba200874426]

I know they were used to good effect, but the concept of a rifle grenade makes me very uncomfortable. Every part of me resists intentionally putting something down the muzzle and firing.

[@_heavens_hell_97_64]

I think of it as a mini mobilized mortor launcher, the Garand had something similar

[@dbmail545]

Actually rifle grenades are not terribly effective in addition to having to unload your gun, load a blank cartridge and mount the grenade before you can use one. The range on a dedicated grenade launcher using a dual charge (light charge to kick the grenade out of the launcher where the heavy charge sends it downrange ) is much greater and can be shoulder fired.

[@Froggmeningreen]

@@dbmail545 A dedicated grenade launcher is not very viable for military use, as the likelyhood of it being usefull is too low to justify the weight you add on your shoulders.

[@bubba200874426]

@@dbmail545 I never said they were the best weapon for the job. Just that they were used to good effect. They were better range than hand grenades and at least as effective.

[@simonlamoureux5440]

@@dbmail545 Rifle grenades can also be shoulder fired, or indirect fired like a mortar. Range depends on the launching system and the grenade for all types. Rifle grenades can also be as long and any form/shape desired (in additiom to other man's comment about width). Which can allow for more types of grenades as well as more powerful ones. Modern FAMAS AC58 has 350mm of penetration, only a proper full tank will resist it. And from what I could find on the wiki of M203 shells, the standard rifle grenade (APAV 40) is more lethal to unarmoured *and* armoured targets. The two advantages of a purpose designed launcher is speed of use and ease of use. (And there is no buckshot rifle grenade variant, but the M203 buckshot shell is desitned and primarily used for door busting I believe, and not combat)

[@americanpatriot2310]

That thing seriously needs to be cleaned same as the m44

[@BashingBambi]

This should have been what the French were using in 1939, a shame they weren't really!

[@jeanvaljean341]

It wouldn't have made a difference. France needed higher quality tanks and more of them. French tanks were designed for infantry support; They featured howitzer type weapons with AP weapons being secondary. French tanks were also slow and under powered. The rational behind this was that tanks only had to go as fast as the infantry walking behind it.

[@willh8950]

Jean Valjean The tanks, while not the best really weren’t the problem, it was the doctrine that they were used with. The much more lightly armored German tanks could still be knocked out with the weak AP or damaged by an HE blast, and quite a few of them actually had problems penning French tanks reliably in return. HOWEVER, French crewman were mainly Conscripts and much less battle hardened than the German army at this point, so when a tank was damaged they dismounted immediately. This coupled by TERRIBLE general staff leadership, who mainly couldn’t find their own asses with a map and a flashlight and we too busy bickering with each other, and the devastating effects that the highly skilled highly specialized German strike planes had on slow moving tanks.... Really, if they needed a better anything, it would have been a better officer core, and a much better Air Force. In which case I frankly think the German invasion would have gone much differently.

[@blitzhill9533]

Jean Valjean France was failing at everything, they had good stuff but not enough of it. The generals were crap too, French planes were placed all over France instead of putting it near the front..

[@BashingBambi]

@@jeanvaljean341Thanks for stating the obvious, the only problem with "what if we had been using such and such" statements are they tend to ignore the obvious fact that putting off a war for five years doesn't necessarily force development as it needs experience and also ignores the fact that the opposition wont have been sitting on its hands either. If we are playing what if then the French could have started their development ten years earlier which ignores the fact that experience is needed! In a defensive war automatic weapons all around are better than bolt action rifles!

[@williestyle35]

Will H , the French Air Force had sufficiently modern fighters, the problem was doctrine and use. As another comment stated: French planes ( of nearly all types ) were dispersed across the whole of France, and the doctrine did not demand either massive air cover over the fighting front *or* divisive counter-strike operations into German held territory. Your points are well stated: in reality France was not properly prepared for ( the then new style ) German warmaking ( though the Polish campaign gave good indications of *how* the Germans wanted to move quickly ). Leadership, communications, planning, elan, and equipment were all of a poorer standard than needed. A rifle like this would not have made very much difference, given the other major deficiencies you mention that hindered France. ( Side note: The French had 37 weeks of "phoney war" and still were overwhelmed 79 years ago this month.)

[@rocknepoovey4381]

Found a barrel for one of these, 50 dollars at a pawn shop- missing front sight post.

[@15Akbar]

YAAAAA

[@danishmoocow4424]

Cool the one bf 5 is the mad 44 so that model was most likely used in ww2

[@fabioquinones4607]

(1) The distance between the stock and the scope seems a little too long. This would make for a poor cheek weld and an awkward rifle to fire. Can you confirm this? (2) I've heard that the rifles converted to 7.62mm NATO would have reliability/safety issues. Any info on that? Thanks for producing THE BEST gun channel on You Tube!

[@ForgottenWeapons]

I will cover the 7.62mm version next week. I find the scopes a bit high without a cheek riser, but the eye relief is not an issue for me.

[@b.griffin317]

was it possible to still use the grenade launcher with the bayonet on the syrian version?