MAS-60, safe to fire?

[LMTAR]

I inherited an old MAS-60 from my grandfather about 25 years ago and it has sat in the safe ever since. I've recently discovered a few places selling the 7.5 french ammo and am interested in taking this thing out to the range.

What should I do to make sure it's fully operational and safe to fire?

Thanks!

[ccandgc]

Take it to a gunsmith for a once over. Preferably one that is somewhat familiar with Milsurps.

[Grendl]

My Google-fu fails me. What is a "Mas-60" or do you mean a Mas-36, Mas-49, or 49/56?

[LMTAR]

Hurdur! Yes, 36. Not sure where I grabbed 60 from!

Currently I do not know a reputable gun smith. What would one do? I assume investigate with a bore scope, but don't really know what to look out for. I really don't care if it's accurate or reliable etc, just want to make sure it will click and go boom without blowing up in my face!

[mike415stone]

My Google-fu fails me. What is a "Mas-60" or do you mean a Mas-36, Mas-49, or 49/56?

I think OP made a mistake and is really talking about his M60, lucky SOB

[THBailey]

I assume the gun has no obvious flaws. If it was mine I would pull the bolt and run a few patches down the barrel, wipe things down with a lightly oiled rag and call it good. The gun has no safety so I would not chamber a round until I was ready to fire. If you are worried about it, tie it to your spare tire and for the first two or three shots pull the trigger with a long string from a safe location.

[billped]

What I would do ... If you fire it without a gunsmith first examining it, be sure to wear safety glasses and gloves.

[LMTAR]

I think OP made a mistake and is really talking about his M60, lucky SOB

Grandpa was a generous man!

[LMTAR]

I assume the gun has no obvious flaws. If it was mine I would pull the bolt and run a few patches down the barrel, wipe things down with a lightly oiled rag and call it good. The gun has no safety so I would not chamber a round until I was ready to fire. If you are worried about it, tie it to your spare tire and for the first two or three shots pull the trigger with a long string from a safe location.

Correct, nothing obvious. Bolt functions well. I was thinking about how to do the "remote fire" proceedure with a string. Good idea on the spare tire.

And yes, she's gonna get a good cleaning before heading out.

Thanks!

[Narutakikun]

I bought my MAS-36 from Krausewerk in San Mateo about two years ago. It's a joy to shoot and maybe the best military bolt action rifle ever made. Unless yours has something obviously wrong with it (i.e. a bad bubba job, deep rust or pitting, a bulged barrel), it should be perfectly safe to fire.

[LMTAR]

I bought my MAS-36 from Krausewerk in San Mateo about two years ago. It's a joy to shoot and maybe the best military bolt action rifle ever made. Unless yours has something obviously wrong with it (i.e. a bad bubba job, deep rust or pitting, a bulged barrel), it should be perfectly safe to fire.

The only thing that makes me a bit nervous is light rust on the barrel. I can't see inside all that well which is why i was wondering about a bore snake.

My g-pa shot it a ton (a lot of the nickle plating is worn off from when he received the rifle) and said it kicked like a mule, but said he could never find ammo hence me never trying to look for it.

Heading out to the desert in a few weekends here so will pick up some 7.5 and tie it down to the spare tire like THBailey mentioned and see how it goes!

[Grendl]

Where is the nickle plating? Might be a Vietnam bring-back. Is it import marked? A picture would be awesome as I'm a fan of the MAS series in general.

[hk91666]

I shoot mine all the time ,



Cartridge is similar to a light 308 in recoil etc..

[LMTAR]

Where is the nickle plating? Might be a Vietnam bring-back. Is it import marked? A picture would be awesome as I'm a fan of the MAS series in general.

Yeah, it came from Vietnam. My grandpa said his CO had it nickle plated and presented it to him when he got some medal (I think a silver star, but I don't recall exactly. My aunt has the history/story documented, and I'm trying to get it from her for an ancestry project we're working on as well).

From what I remember, everything was nickle plated, but he said a lot of it wore off as he used to love shooting it.

Please excuse the crappy cell pics. It's the best I can do on short notice!

[LMTAR]

Is it import marked?

What's import marking, and where would I find it?