The FN model 49

Claven2 said:
Common enough that I have personally seen on "self-disassemble" and know of at least a half dozen others that have as well. Always with commercial primers and one-piece pins for the cases I know of.

The only two rifles I have seen "self-disassemble" more often are the AG42b Ljungman and the Hakim, neither of which I will own as in these cases, they went K-B with military ammo in rifles that appeared sound.

With the FN though, if you run the right pin and stick to military primers, they are totally safe.

My view on the Ljungman will likely be disparaged in posts below due to the growing following, but I've seen three now "go boom" in person, that's two more than any other rifle design and I stay away as a result.
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If i may add, i found the firing pin return spring are kinda weak on the AG42/Hakim compared to the FN 49 who require a strong pressure to get the firing pin moving. Since the AG42 action is violent, i guess that even with their spring loaded firing pin, they remain sensitive. Back to the FN, when i will set up to reload 7.92x57, i will have to experiment with only primed empty case using CCI or Win large rifle primers to see if they are safe. I found posts on gunboard of ppl using winchester and CCI standard primers without any problems, with the 2 pieces pin ofc. in doubt, i will source military primers.
Joce
 
I have a .30 cal Belgian FN, and I had a lovely time experiencing my one piece firing pin breaking, the ensuing slam fire, and turning my sliding dust cover into a u-shaped piece of scrap metal. Off to a gunsmith I suppose, I just hope I didn't blow her all to hell.
 
Got to see one of these in action today. All original matching numbers and looked brand new. 30-06 and it through brass a good 20-40 feet consistently, then dropped a casing at the shooters feet, then back to the long bombs haha. It was a good thing the guy had friends to help him collect it all up for reloading.

Only problem with the gun now..... Is I want one. Haha
 
I was looking into getting an fn-49, but after hearing about all of these ruined rifles they sound temperamental, I was under the impression they were the opposite. Great write up though.
 
My Venezualan 7mm FN-49 is quite accurate and a real pleasure to shoot. I used to have an 8mm FN-49 back when there was lots of surplus ammo for it but I sold it long ago for too cheap. The Venez's have the modified receiver that allows for the issued scope mounts - which I just picked up recently on Ebay.
Now trying to find a good era scope to match it up with. Thinking that the M84 Garand scopes would be a good fit - and there are many of them for sale on ebay too.
Of course the 30-06 FN-49s would be the most practical shooters. Ammo is plentiful and easily reloadable. There was a real beauty for sale on the EE awhile back but it was just too much money - double what I paid for the 7mm only two years ago.
I love FN. The handguns, the rifles, love em all. Maybe it was because the FNC1 was the first rifle I ever fired. You never forget your first.....
 
RedDotRyan said:
I was looking into getting an fn-49, but after hearing about all of these ruined rifles they sound temperamental, I was under the impression they were the opposite. Great write up though.
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With a 2 pieces firing pin and firing pin return spring in good condition, i wouldn't worry too much. The firing pin spring is very stiff, unlikely to cause a slam fire issue.
Joce
 
I'll be sure to have the right firing pin set up if I ever manage to get one. I don't think I could sleep if I did harm to a cherry looking rifle like yours.
 
I recently sold my Egyptian FN49 to a member here, awesome rifle that it was, and I am sorry I sold it, but I will add...

This rifle IS NOT DESIGNED to shoot soft point ammo!

I had a couple of FTF issues when firing this rifle with SOFT POINT ammo. Both times the projectile was pushed into the cartridge somewhere up the feed ramp. Thankfully the 2 times this happened while testing soft point ammo, the rifle DID NOT come into battery, if it did, I would have been faced with a dangerous over pressure situation.

If you want to hunt with this fine rifle, load one into the chamber and drop the bolt. Feeding soft point ammo in a self loading configuration could be potentially hazardous!

Remember, this is a military rifle!
 
svt 1940 - Very informative write-up. Thank you.
Do you or anyone ? know where or how I might get a mag follower for my Egyptian SAFN 49 (8mm, Mauser) ? The original was removed from the gun, along with the spring, by person(s) unknown, for who knows what reason and is now gone. I contacted Marstar a few years ago and ordered one from them - the one they sent is for something else (it's a stamped part and too long for the mag). When I contacted them afterwards, they said that, that was the only one they had. I've since had no luck finding the correct follower.
Additionally - is the Egyptian FN one of the ones with a 2 piece firing pin, or a one piece ? Or should I take it apart, to see for myself ?
Thanks for any help.
Regards - Doug
 
fire@will said:
svt 1940 - Very informative write-up. Thank you.
Do you or anyone ? know where or how I might get a mag follower for my Egyptian SAFN 49 (8mm, Mauser) ? The original was removed from the gun, along with the spring, by person(s) unknown, for who knows what reason and is now gone. I contacted Marstar a few years ago and ordered one from them - the one they sent is for something else (it's a stamped part and too long for the mag). When I contacted them afterwards, they said that, that was the only one they had. I've since had no luck finding the correct follower.
Additionally - is the Egyptian FN one of the ones with a 2 piece firing pin, or a one piece ? Or should I take it apart, to see for myself ?
Thanks for any help.
Regards - Doug
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For the follower and spring, try Numrich,but there's $25 fees added for order outside of usa. You should take your bolt appart to see what type of firing pin you have, mine egyptian had the 2 pieces type but the return spring was broken so i ordered a new firing pin set. You might have the 1 or 2 pieces pin, only way to know is to take the bolt appart. If you have the 1 piece type, i suggest you upgrade with the 2 pieces type along with a new firing pin return spring, can also be had from Numrich.
Joce
 
Thank you.
I did contact Numrich a while ago and was told they didn't have the requested follower and didn't know if/when they would.
I will take the bolt apart and see what kind of firing pin it is and also check the spring - although, it looks I'm going to be shooting a single shot rifle, so "slam fire" shouldn't be an issue, huh ?
 
fire@will said:
Thank you.
I did contact Numrich a while ago and was told they didn't have the requested follower and didn't know if/when they would.
I will take the bolt apart and see what kind of firing pin it is and also check the spring - although, it looks I'm going to be shooting a single shot rifle, so "slam fire" shouldn't be an issue, huh ?
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If you want to fire it single shot, i recommend you turn off the gas and when you load a cartridge in the chamber, dont allow the bolt to slap in closed position on his own, extractor may suffer and depend of the firing pin you have, maybe a risk of slam fire. Instead,put the cartridge in chamber and close the bolt slowly but be sure the extractor snap on the case by pushing the bolt carrier fully foward.
Joce
 
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I have had a number of them mostly in 8mm. When I first got into milsurps I bought one in beautiful condition, the tag indicated it was it was a 7mm.
After a thorough cleaning I went to the range and loaded up fired the first round and it didn't completely eject the case. I thought I put too much oil in the system, have you ever seen a 7X57 blown out to 30-06.

I told the store owner about the gun being labeled incorrectly, he just laughed and said I was lucky I didn't get my head blown off.
I never bought another gun from them now I have a library of about 2,500 to 3,000 books to research military firearms.
I sold the gun to a collector on Young Street in Toronto. I think he is a member of CGN.
 
I had one of these rifles in 30-06. Sold it a few years ago, as I never got around to shooting with it. As much as I liked it, I had no idea that it was such a gem. I really regret letting it go now.

Any idea where I can look to find another one?
 
I used to collect lots of semis, I have posted this pic before, but here were my 49s. Top to bottom, 8mm shooter, 7 mm shooter, 30-06 shooter, 30-06 unissued with a nice tigerstripe stock, 8mm unissued with sniper swivel, 7mm unissued.

Great rifles, great post OP.

649s.jpg
 
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fenceline said:
Any way to date a Luxembourg variant by serial number or other means?
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The Luxie contract was for 4000 30-06 rifles in Oct 1950, identical to the Belgian contract #1947, except not selective fire and with "AL" in script as the chamber crest. Have to presume serial numbers from 0001 to 4000 or 1000 to 5000. A further 2000 selective fire and 203 sniper variants were ordered in April 1953, serial number range 5001 to 7203. Between 53 and 65 there were additional orders for 50 rifles, misc spare parts, cleaning kit parts, bayonets and ammo.

So to answer your question on date:

Initial contract
First 1500 - Oct 1950 to May 1951
Next 1500 - by June 51
1000 - by Dec 51

Second contract
2203 - May 52 to April 53
 
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