FN49 questions

[cruddymutt]

Well I had thought the recent purchase of an AG42B would quench my semi auto thirst but it has not. I am now looking at an FN49 once my gun buying fund is replenished. I see they come in 4 different calibers but I only have found 3 for sale, 30-06, 8mm, and 7mm. Which one has the least/most amount of ammo problems? Which rifle is better built, if there is one? Thanks.

[smle-man]

Generally the .30 and 7mm rifles haven't been used as heavily in service as the 8mm rifles. Some of the 8mm rifles are parts guns put together by Century. There are a few 7.62mm rifles available too but are pretty expensive. The one I owned as pretty beat up.

[Paulie Lugnuts]

We have an Egyptian that's 8MM. I can't remember ever having any problems shooting it. Its a very solid well made rifle. You won't regret getting one.

[Hardwarejunkie]

We have an Egyptian that's 8MM. I can't remember ever having any problems shooting it. Its a very solid well made rifle. You won't regret getting one.

I think someone has/had a C&R FFL. I'm very jelous - I never got an Egyptian FN49 when I had mine.

[Cessnapilot89]

I have a Venezuelan 7mm model. Absolutely love it. Can hand it to my girlfriend and she shoots it no problem.

[cruddymutt]

I have a Venezuelan 7mm model. Absolutely love it. Can hand it to my girlfriend and she shoots it no problem.

I like the looks of the 7mm alittle better because of the muzzle. Reminds me of my SVT. Any problems finding ammo?

[Paulie Lugnuts]

Yea, I have a C+R. Nice to see another Rasheed. Ours was advertised on GunBrokers as an Egyptian SKS.

[eighteenninetytwo]

Can you get these in 7.62 x 51 nATO?

[cruddymutt]

Can you get these in 7.62 x 51 nATO?

The calibers Ive seen are 30-06, 8mm, 7mm, and 7.62x51 nato. I guess theres a 7.65 versian as well but very hard to find.

[Anubis Laughed]

My Lux Contract FN49 in .30-06 runs perfectly, but ALL of the FN49's are high-quality rifles, n any caliber. Just look for one with a strong bore, and give it a good breakdown and cleaning prior to firing it, to remove any crud left there by previous owners.

[smle-man]

The calibers Ive seen are 30-06, 8mm, 7mm, and 7.62x51 nato. I guess theres a 7.65 versian as well but very hard to find.

Argentina used them in 7.65 and then converted them to 7.62x51 which is why the 7.65 is never seen.

[Mustang]

Argentina used them in 7.65 and then converted them to 7.62x51 which is why the 7.65 is never seen.

There are still a few 7.65 x 53 FN 49's around...they are just extremely rare. I'm not sure how they escaped the conversion, but I've seen a few at auction over the years.

The 7.62 x 51's are usually seen with a 20 round magazine and hence are not legal for sale in California. I guess if you permanently modified the magazine to 10 round capacity, you would be ok.

[Mustang]

Well I had thought the recent purchase of an AG42B would quench my semi auto thirst but it has not. I am now looking at an FN49 once my gun buying fund is replenished. I see they come in 4 different calibers but I only have found 3 for sale, 30-06, 8mm, and 7mm. Which one has the least/most amount of ammo problems? Which rifle is better built, if there is one? Thanks.

I've got several 8x57 FN 49's and one each Lux 30.06 and Vene 7x57 Fn49's. They all seem to be well built and none seem to have any ammo problems.






The advantage that the FN 49 has over the Ljungman is an adjustable gas system and an easily activated gas system vent that makes it easy to single fire the rifle. This seems to take care of any ammo problems, just as the adjustable gas port on the Hakim overcomes most 8x57 ammo cycling problems.

The 8x57 FN49's seem to be the least expensive and most common, in my experience. One other advantage of the 8x57 FN49 is that new barrels are available and relatively cheap...if you can find someone to install it.