Milsurp After Hours

Im posting this here so the real mas36 owners arent offended. LoL... Yesterday I saw the strangest mas36 at a gun show in upstate NY where I live. It said it was a mas36, it had the right rear stock but the front stock piece was definitely sported. While at the show I used my old pal google and searched pics of mas36's and saw a few examples of the same 'sported' look. How could it be that there were other 'bubbas' who made the same mods to their guns and all these examples looked the same?

Turns out Golden State Arms in the 50's and 60's imported a whole bunch of mas36's, cut the barrel down and inch or so, reinstalled the front sight and put on new front furniture. . I know I know some of you are cringing but when these mods were made they were done by professionals and there are quite a few of them out there. I was hunting around and they, because of the history, have some collectability.

I took it home and cleaned it up and the bore is bright and has well defined grooves. The ole codger I bought it from said he had it sitting in the corner for 50 years. Never really used it. I paid him $110 for it so I dont feel bad about the buy. I have seen them on various sites with price tags anywhere from $225-$375.

May be my only chance to say I've shot a mas36 so for now it'll have to do. Now to find out if its still chambered in the 7.5 or not and then find some ammo!!

Heres a pic of one looks like. Its not mine, I got it off a site but mine looks the same. Cheers!

Hi Nick. I like it. The only problem with a mas36 is the short butt stock it does not suit everyone. Personally I love my mas36 its great fun and they are really accurate.
the ammo is really expensive over here now. I reload for mine Its a .308 bullet and they are in good supply. The cases can be difficult to get hold of but you can use a 6.5x55 case just run it through the full length die and trim to the correct length. I use .308 Winchester load data I start low and work up. I have just stuck a mount and scope on mine I had it out on Saturday. It was not a great success the scope is to close to my eye for my liking. I'm paranoid about my eyes now a days. So I guess it will go back to its original set up.

Golden State Arms has a long history of turning old military weapons into something other than how they started out. Some ended up as fantasy arms...like the M1 Tanker or some as variations on a theme...like their Enfield Jungle Carbines. Here is a pretty good overview of the company.

http://www.m1carbinesinc.com/carbine_santafe.html

The MAS36 was often a bitser when arriving in the US as surplus. I have one that I got in 1999 that has different serial numbers for forestock, buttstock, trigger guard, magazine floor plate, etc. Amazingly enough the bolt and the receiver numbers match...although those numbers are the only two that do.

From your photo it's obvious the whole front end had been modified. And... no bayonet would have left a hole in the forestock.

That Golden State Arms info site is great! Lots of great history. Thanks NiNer!

Take care of them eyes Dave! You'll need them for mapping....LoL

I'm done with the mapping Nick. The shooting reloading and my machine shop are mutch less demanding.

Lets skype sometime. Catch up. PM me when you get a chance.

That would be good. Sounds like a plan.