[MGWLLW]

Guys -

I just bought my first French milsurp, a MAS 36-51. The seller that I got it from said that the rifle was NEW and unfired. As a matter of fact, he said that he never even cleaned the cosmo off of it when he bought it, instead just putting it as-is in his safe. I have to say that the bore is ridiculously shiny and does appear to have zero wear. There's a lot of dried cosmo on the exterior and a lot of wet cosmo within the internals To me, it does appear NEW.

With that said, how can I tell if the rifle is truly unissued or if it is arsenal refurbished to this condition? Thanks in advance for your guidance on this one.

Mike

 

[kelt]

Looking at the circular stamp (rifle accepted March 1951) on the right side of the stock, I would say it's been sanded, in which case it's a refurbished rifle, and you could confirm it by checking if the barrel fabrication date to be found under the forend is from a later date.
In the mid Sixties after the Army was downsized by reducing the duration of the national service by one year (3 to 2), most of the weapons used in Algeria 1955/1961 were refurbished before being stored as reserve for general mobilisation.

kelt

 

[orcmastiffs]

MGWLLW:

As above, and the rectangular cartouche of "C-66", upon the left hand stiffener millstep would give you the year of the rework. The French did such a remarkable job of refurbishment that the acceptance cartouche, rework inspector's stamps, and a new barrel if required, are often the only tells.

 

[MGWLLW]

kelt & orcmastiffs -

Thank you very much for the information! That's exactly what I wanted to know!

Mike

 

[orcmastiffs]

MR TX:

I would agree with you that the cartouched rework stamp is not that common upon the Mle 1936s. The pattern of inspection bugs seems to vary, based perhaps on when and where the work occurred. More common are the series of stamps atop the right hand ejection port rail. The opportunity to record these by date, and the extent of the rework, has been lost these past twenty years. Many inspection anomalies may be observed, and they suggest a chronology which will remain unconfirmed, I fear.

Edit: While I consider this to be within the realm of trivia, one might ask what signified rebarrel, restock, and reassurances when the receiver ring had been wiped. Also, what about the new butt-stocks that were numbered between the sling-bar and the butt-plate; pre-1954 or not?