MAS 1936?

Question
Mr. Little:

I have recently been searching, on the web, for information on a rifle that I acquired (and last fired) about 40 years ago.   I bought the rifle from another airman while stationed in Northern Maine in the 60s so I do not know the origin of the weapon. After reading your post I am a little confused.  Here goes?br>
I have a 搒porterized?bolt action rifle.  It has stamped on the housing 揗AS MLE   1936" and under that is a well defined P 9596.  The barrel has stamped: SANTA FE MODEL 1949, next line, GOLDEN STATE ARMS CORP PASADENA CALIF.

Question(s): 1.)  In your opinion, What do I have?
2.) I believe the cal. to be 7.5X54. (I had a casing that a Secret Service friend looked at, took it to the office)
3.) Is there any sort of interchangeable ammo that can be acquired/used? If not is there are reliable source for safe 7.5X54 ammo on the web?

Since I have kept the thing all these years I would like to put a few rounds through it before I head off to the retirement home to play bingo.

Thanks

Jim

Your post:

Expert: Doug Little
Date: 1/2/2008
Subject: War Gun???

Question
Your question was

I have a Santa Fe Model 1949 rifle made by the Golden State Arms Co. I
was told my grandfather used this weapon in World War II. Is this an
actual weapon used by our military or simply something he picked up
during or after the war. It has MAS M LE 1936 stamped on the side. He is
no longer living but I really want to know the background on this
weapon and what caliber it actually is. I would hate to think he had to
fight a war with this simple little gun.


Answer
Jim,

I have included the text of my original answer at the bottom for reference purposes, but let me answer your specific questions in order...

1.  What have I got?

Based on your description, I believe you do have a MAS Model 36 calibered in 7.5x54.  Golden State Arms was an interesting company.  Their primary line of business immediately after the war was to buy up surplus military rifles and 'sporterize' them by modifying the stocks, forends and other parts of the rifle configuration.  The idea was to appeal to the 'hunter/sport shooter' market.  Once the process was complete, they would stamp their own model and manufacturer info on the guns.  As indicated below, your gun began life as a french military rifle and at Golden State became the gun you have today.  Golden State Arms was not especially particular about model names, mixing gun parts, etc., so it is entirely possible that your gun was stamped Model 1949 even though the 1949 was typically a semi-auto.

2.  See above.  I do think you have a 7.5x54 caliber rifle as well.

3.  To my knowledge, there is no 'interchangeable' ammo for this rifle.  I did find a couple of reasonable sources for the caliber though.  One is Graf & Sons.  Here is the link:
http:www.graf.com/ammo/233
The price was $17.99 for a box of 20 which is pretty reasonable for rifle ammo plus there was another Yugoslavian made round for $12.99 a box.

Personally, I'd stay out of the bingo games and stick to shooting.  A lot more fun in my opinion.

Best of luck to you...

Regards,

Doug




"The information you've provided is slightly conflicted.  The stamping on the side of the rifle would indicate that the gun you have is actually a MAS Model 36.  MAS stands for Manufacture 'd Armes de Saint-Etienne.  This would appear to be a French battle rifle calibered in 7.5x54 which is a French cartridge and likely a little tough to find in the US.  If it the gun I think it is, you may find that it has a bayonet that actually resides in a tube in the front stock.  If you have one, it will pull out and when reversed will mount on the tube.

The Santa Fe Model 1949 is actually a different rifle.  If it were a Santa Fe 1949 it should carry the markings MAS MLE 1949-56 with a  the markings Cal. 7,5 below.  Some of the Model 1949's were imported by Golden State Arms, but not manufactured by them.  

Another thing to check, the Model 1949 was a semi-auto.  The model 1936 was a bolt action.  If your Grandfather was in the US Army during WWII he may have acquired the gun when he was overseas.  This was the rifle that was issued to French soldiers during the WWII.

I have provided a link to some details on the characteristics of the rifle itself.  I think you will enjoy reading about the unique history of this particular firearm.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting2005/mas36/index.asp"