Manufacture nationale d'armes et de munitions de Fès (MNAM-Fès, _National Manufacture of Firearms & Ammunitions of Fez_ ), in Aïn-Chkef suburbs, that was launched in 1962 with the help of Beretta and other Italian industrial companies.
Do we know why the Moroccans went with the Italians, was it fuck you to the French or were the French not even interested? French colonial investment was always pretty poor sadly, I can see either or both, many members of the French Union/Empire/Community thing were not very happy about it and everyone was fairly happy to leave. Part of that did stem from how France treated the colonies, even when it finally went with a granting independence approach. The South Africans are happier about being in the Commonwealth than the most Africans countries ever were about being in the Union or Community. Right now us Canadians are bitching that Harry and Megan might want to live here and we might need to pay for them and the monarchy in general, but we liked a lot of our Governor Generals and then did stuff to invest and improve this country.
@@Lowlandlord from a casual observation of this weapon, it would appear they desired the most expensive and least effective answer available. And that seems to be the italian mantra.
@@randymagnum143 I don't know: the BM 59 seems like a cheaper, more effective version of the M-14 concept than the actual M-14. The Beretta 92 series also seems like a reasonably priced and effective family of weapons (for their day).
@@jic1 the Beretta 92 was a p38 with a hipower magazine. They are weak and prone to infiltration of foreign material. Many, many changes were made over the life of that design, and beretta fought every one. The greatest attribute of the bm59 is how little was changed from the Garand.
A lefty select fire "Carbine" with improved magazine. I bet it's killing him to see how it would work for 2 gun comp. Just when you think he has to be running out of "forgotten weapons" he shows up with stuff you didn't even think about.
Never had a problem with original GI 15 round magazines in a real M1 Carbine in good condition. 30 round M2 mags are another story. Vietnam vets say the 30s always misfed in semi-auto. The follower is too crude to stay aligned in the curved 30 round housing, and the spring is funky.
@kev french The Royal armouries hold the reference collection for the British government. If its upstairs in the public galleries its a paperweight in case things get stolen. If its downstairs in the reference collection where researchers, police and assorted techs can get at them they're very functional though possibly limited by lack of ammo in some cases.
@kev french Hey at least this way they stay historically intact, nobody insists you have the receiver pulled off, sawed in half, re-welded and bubbad before your allowed to pull the receiver off again, make it semi-uto and put a new longer barrel on all so its legal.
@kev french You did notice he disassembled it? The reference collection is not deactivated. As for it being illegal in the UK. That is not the case. You just need the license for it (Which is a bit harder than the USA to be fair) If you can demonstrate a good reason for having it, you can get most things. Including machine guns, cannons and explosives. No. The "It's cool and I want one" does not count sadly.
@kev french The reference collection is a mixture of historical and current weapons. It is still used for its original purpose at times. The UK government uses a variety of private and companies for many things (since it has a boner for private enterprise). H&K for the rifle, Level Peaks Associates for the magazines, the Elcan SpecterOS to replace the SUSAT. BAE make the ammunition.
@kev french . I said you need a good reason to have one. In the UK there is not a good reason for a member of the public to have an automatic weapon. Dunblane put an end to general pistol ownership and shooting in the UK. A man with an agenda shooting school kids made it easy for the government to ban them. The Cumbria shootings didn't help either. Admittedly I am guilty of over simplifying however I have learned from experience on here that discussing the intricacies of firearms legislation is normally a quick route to insanity. As for not licensing a a firearm, I do not have a legitimate reason for one but I am friends with a man with a tank and a live cannon. Other of my friends have rifles for target shooting. Yes we are in the UK.
So basically, they took everything that was actually quite excellent on the M1 Carbine (for the intended purpose), but ditched the potentially problematic open top receiver, complicated op rod rail, and (likely most importantly) that really annoying long bored out blind hole for the recoil spring (often the biggest problem when people tried to make new ones in the 60's and 70's). I love the M1 Carbine, but I can see where it had some failings, especially in production complexity of the receiver. This looks to correct some of those production problems and potentially fixes the 'disposable' mag problem as well.
@@Paladin1873 I don't know, the bolt handles on the M1 Carbine, M1 Rifle, M14 Rifle, SKS, AK, and numerous other designs are on the right side as well. At the time, the only people that were really even playing with left side charging were the Germans and the Belgians for the most part. As long as the ejection pattern sends the brass away from your face, I see very little problem with the ejection port as well. The safety I'll give you, but the sight is stiff on this example, it might not be on one that saw actual use rather than sitting in a museum collection. Also never had trouble with a paddle mag release, though this one is quite small, so I'd have to try it myself to know for sure (and I know that's not happening), so it will have to remain a question.
@@Paladin1873 The charging handle is where it almost always is. The safety is visible when you are aiming, so it's easier to remember it. M1's magazine release was made only for right-handed. This is actually more immediate to use and ambidextrous. Rear sight is stiff on this sample, that has been in a museum without being used for who knows how long. It' suse is more immediate than the M1 one.
@@Paladin1873 Fact is that almost all the rifles, SMGs, LMGs, HMGs etc... that are not ambidextrous have the charging handle on the right side, M1 Carbine included (maybe because right handed shooters doesn't find it so convenient to place it on the left side?). To say that Beretta's charging handle is: "bassackwards" when is exactly where the same M1 carbine have it... "intuitive" in weapons is a WAY overused word. People are supposed to know their weapon and there is no rule, or intuition, "forward for fire, rearward for safe". The safety is bigger, more easy to operate (especially with gloves), to see and to remember than that of the M1 carbine. The push button magazine release of the M1 Carbine is supposed to be used with the right hand tumb when at the same time the shooter is pulling out the magazine. Those are two completely different movements to do at the same time. With the paddle lever of the Beretta carbine, you only have to grab the magazine to activate the paddle. It's ambidextrous and simpler, so nothing had been " flubbed". You can see in the actual video that the magazine doesn't need to be "rocked" at all. It goes straight in and out. You are tinking of the M14, not of this gun. A peep is what you want, not necessarily what's better. Many rifles have no peep sights. To judge the sight picture without having handled the rifle makes no sense at all. Many successful rifles/AR have the rear sight further forward than this one. An open notch sight MUST be placed further forward than a peep sight.
@@Paladin1873 Maybe you mean "I have never heard a right-handed shooter praise a right-side charging handle, but I have heard many complain about it." Obviously those that speaks are those that complain. Those that are fine with it take it for granted.IE the Beretta ARX100 has switchable charging handle. How many right handed shooters have switched it to the left side to you? On military rifles, made thinking to right-hand shooters, the charging handle is on the right side for two reasons: 1) A right hand shooter mantains the alignment of the rifle with the left (forward) hand, so better mantain the alignment of the rifle, and use the most able hand to reload. 2) If the right hand is reloading, there is no risk of the shooter pulling the trigger until the operation is complete. Infact, when you say "forward for fire, rearward for safe" you are not talking of "intuition", you are talking of what you are used to. For someone that don't practice regularly, "forward for fire, rearward for safe" and "forward for safe, rearward for fire" are completely indifferent. Motion memory are formed through practice, and soldiers practice with their weapons. For someone used to the AK-47, the AR-15 controls are awkward at first, and the AR15 was not a thing in 1957 anyway. The safety on the M1 Garand and on the M14 is "forward for fire, rearward for safe", but at the same time is easy to engage, but not easy to disengage (to push forward that little lever with the trigger finger is really not natural). Many shotguns have a cross-bolt safety but, when a cross-bolt safety shows up on rifles or pistols, many complains about it, not because it doesn't work as well as a lever safety, but because it's not what they are used to.
@Jackie Tearie Infact, as said, if the gripping hand is reloading, there is no risk of the shooter pulling the trigger until the operation is complete. In general, lefties that use a right hand charging handle (that's, reversed, the same thing) are divided among those that use the steadyng hand to charge, and those that use the left hand, charging the gun from over the top.
Hada houa bach 3tina tri7a ljazair fe 7erb rimal, ou khdemna bih fe sahara marocain au debut sa3a ma laye9ch comparé el ak47. D'ailleurs remplacinah bel ak47 durant le conflit
From my research i have gathered that Beretta simply thought during the timeframe that this gun was developed that left side ejection was better suited for select fire intermediate cartridge arms on the grounds that range officers and platoon leaders tended to give their instruction on a soliders right side. They quickly realized that this was a moot point.
I purchased a new Iver Johnson .30 Carbine in about 1998, it remains my favorite gun to shoot. I'm a smaller frame guy so the size, weight and recoil suit me very well. AN all around good range and varment rifle.
I almost bought an IMI Automag in .30 brand new when I was stationed in Germany. Just decided the paperwork was not worth it. (military has special storage and licensure requirements for POWs) (yes, actually the IMI and not the AMT version)
There was an Ar style gun made in .30 carbine by some company in the mid 2000s. I don't think they make it anymore. There is also the Ruger .30 carbine revolver.
My theory for the left-hand ejecting on this here Totally-Not-An-M1-Carbine is that it was simply done to follow suit with the Beretta 38 SMG, which as we all know, had a similar right-hand charging handle/left-hand ejection setup. Basically, Beretta probably said, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".
Ian: "Is it OK if I disassemble it?" Museum: "um Ok sure" Sometime later...…………………... Museum: "OK now put it back together again" Ian: "I never said anything about that!" "Don't you know how?" How one person has that much knowledge about firearms is absolutely amazing to me. But then I have trouble remembering my own name sometimes.
Finally, a video on this. I fell in love with it ever since seeing it on gunlab. A neat little thing is that the barrel extension is brazed onto the receiver, rather than being, say, press fitted. Next stop, the Christobal Carbine!
It's very clear the M1 30 cal carbine is a amazing weapon. Beretta took the great and favorite beretta 38a 9mm and combined the two and it's an awesome weapon too!
I have a guess: The ejection port is on the Left Side because if there was a malfunction, it's easier to look. And figure out what it is. The empty casings probably just fly straight out the side. And you can just reach under the gun to reload. Like some tacticool AK reload.
This is mechanical very similar to my beretta a390 sporting shotgun that tappit gas systems is very reliable and super smooth for a 12 gauge and it’s adjustable!
I was there on Sunday. I spent 2 hours on the first part of the Asian gallery, so really only had time for the 4th floor in a 4 hour visit. Amazing collection!
@@nathangilbert7774 tula is a business. If there's a sufficient market for the cartridge, they'll make it, even if there isn't a .30 carbine chambered rifle in all of Russia.
M.N.A.M - FES means Manufacture Nationale d'Armes et Munitions de Fès. One esplendid city of Marroco. It worth very much to visit. Great weather, Marvelous people and outstandin cultural values.
Ian didn't have to take the rear action screw out to disassemble. It's hooked, like an M-1 carbine. Might have been a little tight. The bayonet lug assembly screw is cut like the M-1 carbine, to use a cartridge rim.
This is the best channel on RU-vid hands down, it may be because I’m a gunsmith but I watch every video that shows up in my subscriptions religiously! And In Range TV isn’t far off either!
If memory serves the Dominican Republic also has a caliber .30 M-1 indigenous rifle called the Cristobal. It too uses the Beretta trigger design. The US had indeed supplied a few M-1 carbines and lots of ammunition, but the Dominican Army needed way more weapons than the US had supplied, so they made their own design. I believe they made about a quarter million of them and sold some to Cuba (pre-Castro) and some other places. Last I heard a few decades ago they were still in use with the Dominican forces.
I'm so happy you uploaded this and the m2 video recently. I love pretty much any firearm (pistol, carbine, rifle, smg) chambered in 30 carbine. I love the history of the caliber, the handiness of the caliber and the fact that so few firearms have been chambered in it. I'm happy as a pig in shit right now.
A pity there aren't more of these, from the way it comes apart you can tell that it's possible to make a shorter one with a different stick and maybe a shorter barrel.
I would actually really like to own one of these. I'm a huge fan of .30 Carbine, M1 Carbines, and old Beretta firearms so this seems perfect for my collection!
0:50 I'd imagine that these "surplus" gun were already depleted by the 60s as other they were sold or given to friendly countries like Korea, France, Malaya the philippines, south vietnam, taiwan, other latin American countries et cetera. If they wanted to buy newly produced M1/M2 they might as well as buy a better version from a much closer country
@@neutronalchemist3241 Not exactly true tho. Buying surplus is a great way add to the inventory without spending big, especially to third world militaries. Stuff like used Hueys, M109s, C-130s, P-3s, M113s, etc from surplus US stocks always found new home in other armies
The stamp abbreviation says that the gun was manufactured in the city of Fes, in 1964. M.N.A.M stands for "Manufacture Nationale d’Armes et de Munitions", french for "national manufacture of arms and ammunition".
I am guessing, MNAM stands for Manufacture Nationale d'Armes et de Munitions. Edit: I would love to cite in MLA format but Ill leave a link that lead up to my guess: www.cartridgecollectors.org/headstampcodes Hope everyone has a happy wednesday, Im late for work!
Morocco initially got M1 Garands and M1 carbines from USA 1956, ( AA Augusta Arsenal Refurbs), then moved to Beretta for the M57 .30Carbine, and in 1960, the Beretta BM59, with M series Numbers. I have a M series BM 59, fitted with a M1 stock ( AA marked) and fitted with M60 Side Sling Butt Fitting ( reduced to SA only, by removal of Front Receiver Ring Selector Mechanism ( similar to M2 Carbine system) I don't know if Beretta or MNAM ( alternate interpretation : Manufacture des Armes Maroccaines) did any M1 rifle conversions to BM59 specs...Beretta did offer several rebuild packages: Full conversion, part conversion to 20 round M1 in 7,62 NATO, simple 8 round To 7,62 Conversion with possibility of Selector Switch. Beretta also made BM59s for Nigeria ( "N" series) and Indonesia ( ? Series). PB eventually sold all the Technical BM59 Package to Pindad Indonesia for their own manufacture. Never seen a Pindad BM59, but they were used in the Sumatra (Aceh) revolt in the 90s- 2000s. Doc AV
My theory on the left handedness of the Beretta MABs is that the standard bolt action infantry rifle is awkward for lefties. Therefore each typical infanrry platoon would be given two or three SMGs for that minority to use.
The Beretta 57 had been designed in competition with the Franchi LF58 (that was inspired by the Stg.44 in shape, like the Beretta 57 was inspired by the M1 carbine www.exordinanza.net/reprint/Franchi_LF-58-59/LF58.jpg ). The problem adressed was that of the controllability of fire. Any sane manufacturer knew that .308 Win was not controllable in full auto. While the Brits tried to impose the .280 British, the Italian manufacturers thought there was no need to reinvent the wheel and, since the Carabinieri had already adopted a good number of surplus M1 carbines, so the round was already in use by the Army, tried to offer ARs in .30 Carbine (if more muzzle speed was required, the cartridge could have been easily necked down, so saving all the design apart for the barrel).
Jan, why you wonder? It's really simple. This is a direct MAB38 derivative. So it have the same double trigger and the charging handle on right and ejection on the left.
Its a reliable enough magazine if you use maybe 4 or 5 times, but similar to the aluminum 20 round magazines for the pre-a1 M16s, the things were designed to be cheap and were intended to be discarded, rather then reused dozens if not hundreds of times.
Yeah, I saw a video (I think with Ken hackathorn) where they said that WW2 GIs were replacing their carbine magazines every week when they got resupplied with ammunition.
I own a new purchased Iver Johnson .30 carbine (1998) . Only 15 round magazines have worked well for me. Neither new 30 rounders or old stock used South Korean military magazines have worked well for me. For the sport shooting I do the 15 rounders are best, the 30 rounders just look cooler when I display the gun.
The first center fire rifle I owned was an M1 carbine. Fired 1000's of rounds through it and never had problems with the magazine or operation. Very reliable gun.
Mom was a VA nurse married the carrier captain flyer whom dreamed up the Navajo code scheme. He introduced me to a lot of people cheaply moving hundreds of tons of silver and gold . Indian metal. Discount. Roadrunner was a supplier to the southwest for markets and always had 1)2 ton of silver and gold on board wholesale. Across from his motorhome and armed to the teeth watching the show room . The gun he had was the Barretta 57. . Nobody tried anything..m
I note that the stock has a cutout for something on the left side above the trigger guard but only flat metal is in that area, oversized.. And it's where the safety flips in. THAT is a weird throw and design.
It is a curious question as to why Morocco bought the Beretta 57 when you consider Morocco is a longtime ally of the US for over 230 years. Not only are they the very first country to recognize US independence (December 20, 1777), they have been since an ally from the very beginning of the US starting in 1787 with full diplomatic relationship and the American Legation building (now a museum) in Tangier, Morocco is the oldest US government owned building on foreign soil in the world. Today, Morocco is a major non-NATO ally of the US. The Treaty of Peace and Friendship (signed in 1786) between Morocco and the US is the longest unbroken treaty in history between the US and another country. With all that, why didn't they adopt the US M-1 carbine? My guess is that the Moroccans may have gotten wind of the stories about the problems with the M-1 in WW2 and Korea.
Looks like an M1 Carbine Deluxe. Unfortunately a bit too late for WW2. But if Italy had made an assault rifle in WW2, whether in .30 carbine or 8mm kurz, I would expect it to look a lot like this.
@@fabiovarra3698 Probably. And it probably would have been more controllable than the AVS-36 or most battle rifles for that matter. Now that I think of it, something like this would have been kinda similar to the Fedorov.
Fes is a city in Morocco and M.N.A.N is the abreaviation of Moroccan Army basically 1964 might be the date of the delivery of the weapons maybe, I guess because I used to live in Morrocco and know a bit of the history specially during the decolonization era.
And the action is much more closed, one of the problems of the Garand actions, and it has several stamped parts to ease production... I wonder if this rifle, converted in in .223 Rem, competed with the AR15, instead of the Winchester Lightweight Military Rifle, what would have happened.
It would be interesting if you could do a video on the “Universal Carbine”. I have one my grandfather gave me, and there are some slight differences between it and the M1 Carbine.
The US had a quartermaster-type effort in the area prior to our involvement in WW2 called Military North African Mission, but I don't know why the Moroccans would continue to use the term on their weapons.
