M49 FN Rifle

chofo

Regular
Uber Super GunNutz
Rating - 100%
78   0   0
Location
Aylmer, Qc.
Well... as some of you know I've been looking for a civilian M1 carbine ( no luck yet...) but as I was rooting around and sniffing out leads, an old lad offered me an almost mint Model 49 FN rifle. Cheap...I thought, at $300.

HOWEVER... the guy said it's Prohibited...I said not so, that he was confused with another type of FN rifle...like a C1 or a FAL... but he was sure it was on the "list".

So...what's the verdict? I can't believe it...not a big clunker like that...and semi-auto to boot, fixed 10 round mag. He's got to be wrong.

Any comments on the price? Too high, low, etc, etc.

Cool looking thing though !! And 30-06 so it would make an awesome moose gun for someone with mighty forearms and a strong back.

Thanks!

chofo
 
IF you do not want it tell me where it is.....

At that price it is a STEAL!!!

They are not PROHIB........(but that mag is pinned to 5 btw)


Please do not sporterize it in any way to turn it into a moose gun.

I had one once and regretfully sold it years ago. Dying to have one again.
 
Wasn't there something about the early serial numbers of FN-49's being prohibited? There was a select-fire version produced in small quantities, presumably that would be them. It could also simply be incorrectly registered - but surely not with our infallible registry..

Sounds like it is, potentially, an incredible deal anyway.
 
Don't let that one slip away. If it's in any sort of good shape that's less than half of what it's worth. Post pics when you get it. Lots of other posts here on the FN-49 too if you want additional validation for getting it.

Well... as some of you know I've been looking for a civilian M1 carbine ( no luck yet...) but as I was rooting around and sniffing out leads, an old lad offered me an almost mint Model 49 FN rifle. Cheap...I thought, at $300.

HOWEVER... the guy said it's Prohibited...I said not so, that he was confused with another type of FN rifle...like a C1 or a FAL... but he was sure it was on the "list".

So...what's the verdict? I can't believe it...not a big clunker like that...and semi-auto to boot, fixed 10 round mag. He's got to be wrong.

Any comments on the price? Too high, low, etc, etc.

Cool looking thing though !! And 30-06 so it would make an awesome moose gun for someone with mighty forearms and a strong back.

Thanks!

chofo
 
That's an excellent price if the rifle is unrestricted and the barrel is in good condition.

When I bought my FN49 in 30-06 a couple of months ago, I was concerned about the low serial # (41xx) since I'd read that the first 5000 that were shipped to Luxemberg where converted automatics --- these ones would fall under prohibited status in Canada.

An easy way to verify is to look at the left side of rifle, just above the middle of the trigger guard and look for a scalloped cutout in the stock --- this cutout is for the selector. Semi-only rifles have no apparent cutouts.

The other thing I sadly found is that CFC expects the mag to be pinned to 5 rds even though it's not removeable.
 
Wow...thanks in advance for such quick answers!!

I knew he had it confused with the C1A1... and yes the mag is pinned to 5 rounds.

Concensus on the price seems to good... so next time I'm up the Pontiac I'll drop in on the old dude and "liberate" that old "Belgium Army Rifle" of his!

And don't worry Storm ! I'd never bubba it...ever...I know better...and I never, never drill and tap for a scope...I hear it halves a rifles value, not to mention the bubba factor. Drilling holes through inspectors marks and broad arrows...geeeeeezus!!!!!!!!!!

So...there it is...I'll post pics whenever I get the little darlin'...
 
Yes, the rifle itself is an excellent deal (half the going rate these days) and it is not prohib or even restricted even in this wonderful free country of ours. These are a wonderful rifle, even if a bit on the chunky side, reliable and accurate. The only issue you might have with it will be at the gas-port, which you can adjust after removing the forward handguard. Correct gas adjustment is with the empties just ejecting onto the bench beside you or just off the bench: no wild winging brass across the landscape. Rifle will shoot its best at this setting, also.

The Glorious Gummint, though, will demand that the mag be pinned to 5, even though the magazine per se holds exactly ZERO rounds. Remove the magazine BOX from the rifle (pull-catch behind box, operable with nose of a Ball round) and it dumps all your nice shiny rounds into the mud. The feed lips are machined into the frame of the rifle. The law was put in place because of the media-created spectre of people walking around with pocketses filled with 'high-capacity magazines' which likely were full of 'cop-killer bullets' for all those 'semiautomatic machine-guns' out there; just the idea was too much for those faint hearts in our media, nearly all of whom were infected with left-wing viruses while at University and still haven't figured out which side is 'up'. But you can walk around with your pockets stuffed with FN-49 mags and you still have ZERO rounds available because of the design of the rifle.

Technically, this rifle should not have to be pinned, but nobody has the money to fight it all the way to the Supreme Court. The antis and the Gummint, on the other hand, DO have enough money to do this (they get it from you), so all you can do is be just like all other good Canadians and Bow To Your Masters.

This is but one result of having a national gun law which is based on a paranoid left-winger Californian wish-list which was itself was modelled on the German Firearms Law of 1938.... and if we say who wrote that, it makes US paranoid. Ain't it wonderful when the same group, living off your tax dollars, gets to decide what is the Law... and what is politically correct... and what is sane... and even what is true... at the same time?
 
Ahhhhhhh God bless you smellie !!! You made my day...seriously !!!

Like my Old Man used to say... " We used to BOMB those sonsa#####es now they're over here RUNNIN' THE SHOW !!!" haha... what a great old bugger. Nav on a Halifax!

Anyways...thanks all for the input!

chofo
 
10% of the Belgian rifles were issued as selective fire.
Some did come into Canada as CAs along with the ones made originally in semi auto only.
As mentionned carefully examine the left side of the trigger guard for the clearance cut for the select fire switch, ad an "A" stamped on the side of the trigger guard.
Statistically, it is not likely going to be a prohib, but it could be one, incorrectly registered.
And if it is not currently registered, have a really good look before trying to register it.
 
All of the (few) selective-fire FN49's I've seen have had the trigger pack swapped out for the semi-only - . Sarco used to sell the trigger groups years back....
Chances are very good you'll never run across a prohib SAFN.
 
That's a great buy if in good shape and matching numbers. One other thing to check is whether it has a one or two piece firing pin; very important to have the two piece to avoid slam fires. I have a 7 X 57 that I am reloading for. To save brass from ejector damage I turn the gas setting to off and just cycle the bolt manually. It results in cleaner brass, a cleaner chamber, no brass damage and an improvement in accuracy too. I can't believe the groups mine pulls with peep sights this way.
 
That's a great buy if in good shape and matching numbers...

Even if it's wearing the wrong stock, mix-matched numbers and 50% of the blue is gone, it would STILL be a hell of a deal for $300.

I'm guessing I'll get flamed for it, but personally, I prefer the FN to the Garand. A fine rifle.

Pay the $300.00 If nothing else, you'll have kicka$$ trade for something you REALLY want. After you get it, post pics - and I bet you a box of stale doughnuts you have 5-10 offers to buy it from you next time you log in.

Oh, and good find =)
 
"...even though it's not removeable..." Doesn't matter. There's no exemption for 'em.
At $300, snap it up. .30-06 FN49's, in decent condition, are getting scarce.
 
All I was pointing out, guys, was the difference between what the law was supposed to say, what is actually says and what is being enforced.

As to the rest, I spent 25 years as a journalist and believe that I can speak with some small authority on the attitudes you encounter there. This is an important group and should be a target group for us to convert back to reason, sanity and supporting freedom rather than fear-mongering. There are ways to do this and I have written on the subject in the past.

Nice thing about a gas-operated semi-auto action is that t soaks up a lot of felt recoil by spacing it out over a longer period of time. You can get the best accuracy of which the rifle is capable simply by adjusting the gas system, and you still have a self-loading rifle which kicks a LOT less than it would with the gas turned completely off. The '49 is an easy rifle to do this with, but the adjustment sleeve is hidden by the forward handguard. so you remove this in order to make the adjustment. The adjustment itself may be accomplished with either a special tool, or with the point of a Ball round, with no damage to the adjustment sleeve.

Gee, these new pills have a GREAT taste! I'm gonna ask the Pharmacist for the same kind next month!

"A giggle a day keeps the Mortician away!" (Sidney the Profound)
 
Back
Top Bottom