FN Made Colombian Carbine Pressures Question

Drachenblut

Drachenblut

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So...

I have a chance to buy a Colombian "Police Carbine" made by FN and chambered in 30-06, from a local. Are these rifles made to take a full 30-06 charge (i.e. sporting/off the shelf ammo) or are they converted from another calibre and have to be hand loaded for, similar to the Spanish carbines in 7.62 NATO, where commercial .308 Ammunition can be unsafe to use due to pressures being too high?

I plan to hand load anyways but would like the chance to see how commercial ammo fares in the meantime.

Cheers,
Drach
 
It is a 98 Mauser design with a very short barrel. Slightly less than 18in. IIRC they were all originally made in Belgium. FN did some of the conversions and so did Columbia. It is rumored that some were even purpose built for that cartridge. The Columbian retros should have the original manufacturers stamps erased and redesignated to model 1954 or something similar. The rifle I had was very nice, almost as new in appearance. After shooting five rounds through it I knew it wasn't for me and traded it to a friend that loves carbines of any type. It kicked like a mule and by the fifth round I was flinching. Muzzle blast was horrific.

The action and barrel are plenty strong enough for commercial or surplus ammo. Just keep your handloads within 50,000psi.
 
A book I have on the history of FN Mausers says the carbines were intended to be carried by Sr. NCO's.

I've always been leery of .30 calibre size carbines for the reason stated above - muzzle blast, with the associated fire ball. Now .308 AR's are all the rage with barrels as short as 16". Go figure .....
 
Fair enough gents. The markings on this carbine are not scrubbed and it is not 1954 marked or anything such. It does not seem to be a rebarrel or rematch, however, the receiver has a small cut out in it to make room for the 30-06 cartridge length... making me suspect it was once built for a smaller round. As for pressures, many of the 30-06 loads I have seen max out at just under 60,000CUP, not sure how that rates for PSI but is that still safe loading to just a hair under max for around 55 to 58,000CUP???
 
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Aren't they adorable?
 
As stated above, it's a M98. Super strong action that will handle any .30-06 round. The M98 is a standard length action but to be able to load .30-06 with stripper clips, it needs the notch cut in the top of the receiver ring. Not a big deal, it's been done to a million of them by numerous countries. Same thing was done to the Turk 1903 intermediate length receivers when they converted them to 8mm.
 
I remember when the Three Vets Outdoor Store in Vancouver (when it was still on main street) had a barrel full of 7.92mm Persian Mauser carbines at around $34.95. They were further reduced once word got out that they were kickers compared to the Jungle Carbines at the same price.
 
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