Mas 49/56

They are very common in the US where thay are usually in excellent shape and found for very good prices ($400-600). Some are even unissued down there with all the accessories included. Unfortunately, that is not the situation up here. They are quite scarce in Canada, rarely coming up for sale and when they do, they are usually fairly beat up (with some exceptions) and priced high ($800+) I have never seen a 308 version up here (though I am sure there are some) but again the US seems to have quite a few of these also! They are converted from the origional 7.5 French. Not sure how reliable the conversion was. I have it's ancestors (a MAS 44 from late WW2 and a MAS 49 sniper) I love them both but would love to have a 49/56 in nice shape (anyone have one for sale out there???) The 49 and 49/56 (not the 44) both have dovetails on the left side of the rifle that will accept a very cool scope. The ammo is tough to find but it's out there. I've managed to buy about 350 rounds over the past few years. Hope this helps
 
From what I have heard, the 7.62 conversions were not very successful. All were done in house by Century. The original barrel was set back and reamed, and that put the gas vent closer to the chamber. The result is hard extraction because the case is still slightly pressurized. Some work fine, some don't. Various fixes are recommended, like polishing the hell out of the chamber, downloading or using the Hornady TAP ammo with the black case.

That said, I would LOVE to have one in either calibre, but as mentioned, very few up here.

I don't beleive that the French made a factory 7.62 version, though they did offer FR sniper rifles and AA-52 GPMGs in 7.62 NATO.
 
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