SAFN 49 30-06 question

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stickhunter

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Hi guys,

I've been reading some of the threads hear about the SAFN 49 and have been considering adding one in 30-06 to complement by Garand. I just came across the following SAFN 49 in 30-06, but don't have much knowledge about them.

1) Would this be a commercial or military contract rifle? If military, what country was the likley recipient?

2) What are your opinions about the originality of the finish?

3) What would be a fair market value for this rifle?

4) I'm mainly looking for a shooter at the range, but from a collector's standpoint, is this likely to appreciate in value?

Thanks!

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It's a military contract. The only commercial variants are a handful assembled from leftover parts by Browning in the USA. According to my reference book 125,072 were produced in 30-06 for use by Belgium, Belgium Congo, Luxembourg , Indonesia, Columbia, and Brazil. $650 is a fair price for this one in my opinion. I just sold my FN49 in 7x57mm with a refinished and sporterized stock for $600.Hope this helps.
 
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Interesting, I just saw this thread:

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=363226&highlight=SAFN&page=2

And there is mention that the 30-06, up to serial #4999, are prohibited based on an original selective fire mechanism.

The seller mentioned that it was registered as non-restricted. Wouldn't the CFC automatically set the status based on the registered serial #? If it has a non-restricted registration, does that mean the CFC has OK'd it or would this simply be oversight on their part?
 
Have a look at the left side of the trigger guard area. Is there a clearance slot in the wood above the trigger? Is there an "A" stamped on the side of the guard?
About 10% of the ones made for the Belgian army were selective. I do not know if these were in one serial number range.
I would imagine that there are more undeclared CA ABL rifles than there are ones registered as 12(3).
 
If it is from the Belgian contract, I am told (by a Belgian collector) that they will be marked "ABL".

4186? That is one seriously-low serial number. Total production of the type, all calibres, totalled only 160,000.

They were offered in the buyer's choice of calibre: 7x57, 8x57, 7,65x53 and .30-'06. Egypt took them in 8x57, Venezuela in 7x57, everyone else in .30-'06. The FN factory states that they offered the rifle in 7.65x54 but that they never manufactured any. Alan Lever, back about 1965, had a whole RACK of them in 7.65x53, all stamped with the Argentine crest, so they must have made at least a FEW. Most Argentine rifles were in the American calibre, though..... something to do with those vast piles of US ammo that were being given away, a shipload at a crack, to everybody who piled on board (many of them at the last minute, mind you) in the fight against Germany.

Early rifles had the 1-piece firing-pin when manufactured. This was changed in SOME rifles but not all to the 2-piece firing-pin. This was an added safety feature to minimise the possibility of full-auto slam-firing from a broken pin. Later 2-piece firing pins are available in various places. I have had both types. The 1-piece pin turns up most often in Egyptian rifles, but it was standard for EARLY production, so this one should be inspected.

But they are a beautiful rifle, even though a bit of a handful. Nice and accurate, too.

If they throw the brass too far (anything more than just-off-the-bench is too far), you remove the forward handguard and open up the gas-bleed, just like with the FAL. On a CLEAN rifle, this can be adjusted with the point of a Ball round but likely it will be best if you make up a tool to do this with: that thing gets HOT!
 
Egypt had some selective-fire ones also. There is a super-neat one in the restricted collection at the Canadian War Museum, chopped down like a pistol, barrel chopped flush with the gas cylinder, selective-fire and with the Egyptian crest inlaid with hammered gold: one of the rifles carried by the bodyguards who rode along in King Farouk's car with him.

I REALLY want one like that!!!
 
tiriaq said:
Have a look at the left side of the trigger guard area. Is there a clearance slot in the wood above the trigger? Is there an "A" stamped on the side of the guard?
About 10% of the ones made for the Belgian army were selective. I do not know if these were in one serial number range.
I would imagine that there are more undeclared CA ABL rifles than there are ones registered as 12(3).
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Thanks for the info. I'll contact the seller in the morning and enquire about the left side of the trigger guard... unfortunately I only have pictures of the right.

I don't have 12(3) status on my PAL, so I'm concerned about the prospect of buying this rifle and then either being charged with illegal possession or having it seized by the CFC. It does look nice and clean, however, and a pretty interesting addition.

Another thing I need to check is whether the magazine has been pinned to 5 rds, as I can't find any reference to to the FN49 being exempt.
 
Perhaps it isn't exempt, but it certainly SHOULD be.

Magazine capacity is precisely ZERO rounds. You can't remove the entire magazine, ever: the top of the thing is machined into the frame of the rifle. The actual BOX does not hold ANY rounds when you take it off. Give it a try: rounds all over the place.

The INTENT of the 'large-capacity magazine' ban was to prevent people filling up their pocketses with 40-rounders and massacring elementary schools and things like that. Of course, it ALSO managed to wreck Practical Rifle matches, but Our Government Promises That They Will Not Ban Our Sports.

LIARS! They've already done it, one after another after another!

But it remains that you can't carry these mags around loaded with even ONE round. They should, therefore, be exempt, as should the original 10-round mag of the SKS.

Guys, I'm just going by THEIR law and what THEY TOLD US.

OF COURSE Our Government wouldn't shaft us.... or would they?

One part of this entire problem is lying politicians.

The other part is the fact that our laws are written by incompetent Lawyers who have no idea what they are writing about. The result is unduly restrictive and extremely confusing legislation which is written in the most confusing manner, very often contradicting the stated reasons for the existence of the law in the first place.

So, of course, we try to protect ourselves by wrecking our property in order to try to preserve some of it from the Civil Servants (our employees, paid for with our money) who think that only THEY should have firearms. Likely, this one should be pinned to 5, just in self-preservation: just another of the prices of being Canadian.

But it's sure pretty!
 
smellie said:
If it is from the Belgian contract, I am told (by a Belgian collector) that they will be marked "ABL".
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Well, I'm catching up on a lot of reading about the FN49. From what I've found out, it's very rare to find a Belgian contract FN49 with the crest on the front receiver ring intact --- almost all (as in, all except one!) have the crest ground/scrubbed off.

From one of the pictures that I showed, it seems that the receiver ring is black, although it's hard to be positive with the picture quality. If that's the case, then your probably right that this is a Belgian rifle.

As far as your comment about the "magazine", I agree with you completely! I just read a tutorial on disassembly and the magazine can not be seperated without losing the spring and follower.

Thanks for the info.
 
stickhunter said:
From what I've found out, it's very rare to find a Belgian contract FN49 with the crest on the front receiver ring intact --- almost all (as in, all except one!) have the crest ground/scrubbed off.
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I've handled 4 Belgian issue with intact crests....never seen one with it defaced.
 
DaveGP said:
I've handled 4 Belgian issue with intact crests....never seen one with it defaced.
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That's great to hear! I'm not yet sure if this one photographed is crested. My comment was based on US information from Wayne Johnson aka goose52, who wrote the book "FN-49 The Last Elegant Old-World Military Rifle" and conducted an online survey of FN49 owners about 8 years ago. See this thread:

http://www.falfiles.com/forums/printthread.php?threadid=253579

I'm glad to hear that there are several crested Belgian FN49's hear in Canada.

BTW I decided to purchase the rifle, so now the anticipation begins! Time to start reloading some more 30-06.
 
"...whether the magazine has been pinned to 5 rds..." Has to be. No exemption.
.30-06 FN49's, in decent condition, are getting scarce.
 
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