FN-49 locking shoulder Questions.

[LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1]

I made an impulse buy, a Venezuelan FN-49 in 7mm. had it field stripped in the store and apart form a kinked recoil spring, no mag and a loose upper handguard it looked alright. made an offer and the seller accepted so I brought it home.

Just got it apart and noticed a few odd things. First, the bottom metal/trigger assy was very stiff on the action, the area where the middle screw threads in seems to be very tight in the trigger guard. Is this normal? I have an egyptian FN49 and the trigger guard is not too stiff.

Also, when cleaning the receiver I noticed a broken part. On the left side, there seems to be a pin that goes through the receiver with a rectangular head. half of the head is broken and the piece is missing. Ill post an internet pic since I am away form my camera. If you look at the pic, right above where the magazine catch would be, there is a rectangular piece. Mine is broken. Was not there when I bought it so who knows when it broke. metal is dark so been like that for a while. What part is it? Is it critical to the safety of the firearm? looks like its not meant to be removed as the "footprint" of where it was is bear metal.

Just had a good look, it seems the pin is the bearing surface for the locking lug on the bolt. SO, with the broken head is this a problem?

Also, where could I find a magazine and a new recoil spring?

Thanks.

 

[LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1]

Just did a bit of googling, the part that broke is called a locking shoulder. Like I mentioned the head of the part is broken however the actual load hearing art of the shoulder is still in tact.

My guess is that it had a fault and the stress of being pressed into the receiver probably cracked it and over time it broke off.

 

[milsurpo]

LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1: Are you saying a small piece is broken off the end of the insert? Try to show it with a photo if you have time.

milsurpo

 

[LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1]

here is a pic.

Apart from a few small issues like a loose hand guard, no mag and a kinked spring I thought it was a nice find. Bore is good and bright, bluing is in good shape, wood is decent with nice markings. Until I found that broken shoulder I was starting to get excited about the rifle.

I did manage to find the part at numerich, but there are several different sizes and each one is 20 bucks. They are numbered but the one in my rifle is not.

 

[claw808]

I have a ven fn 49 in 7mm. I kinked the spring when putting it back together, the bolt wouldn't go back. Put it back correctly and it seems to be stovepiping but I think it might be due to my low power reloads. It also has a thread protector instead of the flash hider. Also, there is a vendor that does the manitoba gun shows. He has mostly milsurps, I may have seen a fn49 mag body, spring and follower in his display case. I've seen him at past carberry gun shows, if he's at the upcoming one I can pass along his contact info.

 

[LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1]

OK, So I was thinking I should order a few different locking shoulders from numerich. And install the one that will provide the best head spacing.

Anyone know of anyone that has played with the FN49 shoulders before?

Also thinking of seeing if the store will take it back since it is potentially unsafe to fire.

 

[DaveGP]

No danger from what the pics illustrate - if the locking shoulder is loose or the headspace is questionable, that's a different story.

 

[points]

I am not too familiar with the FN49 but with my experience with the fn fal I would say there are a few red flags.. You should be able to mic the shoulder once it is out and match it up that way. Also, check the receiver around the locking shoulder recess and look for cracks. I would then find a gunsmith with a set of headspace gauges to check it out once put back together.

 

[diopter]

From Wayne Johnson's book, The FN-49 The Last Elegant Old-World Military Rifle.

You should be good to go, unless it starts to backs out.