MAS-36: The Backup Rifle is Called to Action 

You have to hand it to the French for trying to grunt-proof a service rifle and doing a fairly good job of it.

We usually take it for granted from Ian, but notice the high density of information provided, as well as the precise visualisation of every single technical information. This is very good work.

Wow, this thing has Russian levels of peasant/idiot-proofing build into it.

"How do I zero the sights?" "You don't, we already did." "oh......but if I need to rezero it, for some reason, how do I do that?" "What did you do to my rifle, Guy?"

Should've jumped on that MAS-36 I saw for $150 in a shop once.

Back when I was 12, and beginning to hunt, a local gunsmith offered me a MAS-36 for $80, via my stepdad (circa 1997 or so). I regretted it until two years ago when I got a smoking deal ($350) on a near mint MAS-36. They shoot great and are very light and handy rifles.

If nothing else, this channel has made me want to spend absurd amounts of money on French surplus.

The choice of aluminium for the stripper clip could be explained in term of what was easily available rather than designed that way. At the time some of the biggest aluminium factories in Europe were located in the Alps, south-east of France and Switzerland and a lot of aluminium was imported in Saint-Étienne and Lyon to feed the local industry (automotive mostly). So in the Manufacture d'Arme de Saint-Étienne they had a little non-critical (the material used is not really relevant) piece to produce in large quantity, why not use all those aluminium leftovers ?

A friend of our family "liberated" a MAS-36 some where along the line in 1944 and somehow managed to hold onto it and bring it back home in late 1945. He used the rifle for deer hunting and passed it on to his oldest son who still has it. Once or twice a year, in honor of his late father, the son takes it deer hunting himself. The rifle has harvested more than a few deer over the decades and is/was much loved as a "brush gun".

French rifle adoption (simplified): French government (1914): Are we ready to adopt our new, cutting edge, semi automatic rifle? Germany (1914): *invades France* French government (1940): Well that was a setback, but at least we've got the resources to adopt our new and improved semi auto ri- Nazi germany (1940): *Invades France*

Thank you Ian, for giving us a presentation on this gun. I really appreciate your obvious interest in the French military and French weaponry, which sadly many Americans ignore or are unaware of due to their willingness to believe in caricatures and stereotypes. My father was a French soldier that served in the Algerian War from 1957 to 1960. in those days he volunteered for a three year tour of duty with the paratroopers, initially called the 3rd Colonial Parachute Regiment and under the command of Colonel Marcel Bigeard. If you know anything about the French Army in the post-war period, you recognise Bigeard was one of the main inspirations for Colonel Raspeguy, the fictional lead of novel series "The Centurions". Anyway, my father was first issued a MAS 36 when he entered combat in 1957. He appreciated the gun for its reliability and its compact size (he was a small man). Even though he was assigned to an elite unit, he received a MAS 36 instead of a MAS 49 because he was new to the outfit and was also assigned to the 4th Company, which was the support company and handled the automatic weapons and the heavy mortars. In May 1957, his first real combat action was in the Battle of Agounnenda. Armed with his Mas 36, he was airlifted into an area where Algerian fighters had been spotted and the H-21 helicopter he was in immediately started taking ground fire. The company disembarked and formed a perimeter on a hilltop where the enemy was metres away in thick scrub land. My father was an ammunition carrier with shoulder bags filled with magazines for the FM 24/29 (which has also been reviewed on this channel?). Suddenly, out of the scrub came a big Algerian that my father always said "Looked like Fidel Castro". This was a member of the Algerian Zonal Commandos. On reflex, my father turned his MAS 36 to the man's chest and shot him at almost point blank, killing him instantly. Later on in the engagement, my father was wounded running to an FM 24/29 position that was low on ammunition. The weapon that got him? A Thompson. He received four .45 caliber bullets in the legs and arms. For this action he received the Croix de la Valeur Militaire with a regimental citation. This was the medal you got in Algeria since they couldn't give out Croix de Guerres since France considered the Algerian War at that time a "police action" and not an actual war. After recovering in France he returned to his unit and received a MAS 49, which he also liked but he actually seemed to prefer the MAS 36 on account of it being smaller and lighter. My father had a real hang up about carrying weight on combat operations. He later volunteered to become a voltigeur (pointman) for his platoon because they were required to carry nothing but their gun, some grenades and ammunition. So he volunteered for one of the more riskier positions in the unit because he didn't want to lag around a heavy kit! As a voltigeur, he was equipped with the MAT 49 sub-machine gun which he seemed to prefer most of all from all the weapons he was issued. In the close quarters fighting that took place in the bushland of Algeria, the range of a sub-machine gun was apparently enough. Hope in the future you'll be able to do a presentation on the MAT-49. By all accounts, it was a good sub-machine gun in an age when sub-machine guns were on the decline. It was also a bit on the heavy side.

This story is hearsay, I was told it by a old friend who was drafted into the French Army in the 1950's. The new soldiers were forbidden to remove their bayonets without being ordered to do so. The penalty was 1 day in the penal company for each centimeter that the bayonet was removed. He lost his bayonet while on night maneuvers. He placed his rifle in its proper place in the rifle rack. then he went AWOL Got drunk and purchased a replacement bayonet at the bar that was just off base. He returned to the barracks replaced the bayonet and pleaded guilty to being AWOL and did 5 days carrying A pack full of rocks over a sand pile instead of month +.

The bayonet is excellent for guard duty. It is also excellent as a signal to the troops before storming the enemy. And a rifle with a bayonet looks a lot more threathening than without.

I would pay for a repro in 308, the simplicity is attractive. It's like the cute little rifle next door.

love how the French anticipated the troops doing stupid stuff with their rifle , I can imagine it now: *sees infantryman bashing his rifle with a rock ' peirre these guys don't need screw holes alright? it might confuse them'

Fun fact Call of duty 2 big red one in the 2nd mission you can use this weapon. You fight against the Vichy France in the first African campaign mission.

It is genuinely fun to watch Ian get to talk about a French rifle, regardless of its overall importance. He is such an enthusiast, it's always a good view!

Ah yes, another cod big red one memory

I always thought that the bolt handle looked really weird and uncomfortable until I got to shoot one of these rifles. Contrary to my belief, it's actually really comfortable (at least for me). Overall, these rifles are (just like you said) really underappreciated. Good, useable sights for a military application, simple, rugged construction, good caliber.. couldn't really ask for more in my mind.

Shame you didnt show the weird variants like the experimental paratrooper model with the aluminum folding stock. Still though great progression on the french rifle tree.

I'm tired of hearing Americans bash on the French military. And I'm no francophile, there are plenty of legit things to criticize about the French state. But "cheese eating surrender monkeys?" "For sale: one French military surplus rifle, never fired, only dropped once?" I'm just not having it. I must speak! Listen up. In the spring of 1940, the Soviets weren't in the war yet, they were still recovering from the massive beat down tiny Finland had inflicted on them in 1939. Once almost every other power in the region save for Switzerland had been either assimilated or subdued by the Nazis, and the British had been kicked soundly and decisively off the continent with their tails between their legs, France was left to face the Germans alone. And yes, she quickly buckled under the blistering assault. So did the Poles. So did the Danes. So did the Norwegians. So did a lot of others. But unlike Denmark and Norway in particular, France put up a bit more than token resistance. In the 46 days it took Germany to overrun the country, France lost something on the order of 360,000 men. Think about that for a moment. Imagine seeing 326 healthy young men violently killed per hour, every single hour around the clock for a month and a half straight. That scale of violence is unimaginable to you and me. That's nearly 90% of total US combat deaths across all branches in all theaters *for the entire war,* in just a few weeks. The fall of France stunned and shook the world. The *only* country to ever stand alone toe to toe with the Germans and survive the experience was the Soviet Union, and even they were very nearly overcome. But the Soviet Union had a lot of key advantages that France did not have. 1. They had another year to prepare. 2. They had tremendous assistance from British intelligence and American materiels. 3. They had vastly more territory they could afford to lose. 4. They had inexhaustible amounts of people- men and women both- whom they could feed into the meat grinder that was the eastern front. 5. They had "General Winter" on their side. 6. The Germans royally botched the prosecution of the war again and again. 7. The Soviets were 100% focused on fighting the Germans and nothing else, while the Germans became increasingly divided as the war progressed, having to allocate huge amounts of men and equipment- including Field Marshall Erwin Rommel- to fronts other than Russia; occupied France, for example. Yet even so, the Soviets had to go the whole distance with Germany, taking almost 4 years, getting not insignificant amounts of outside help from the allies, and losing tens upon tens of millions of lives before finally sealing the victory. During the years of occupation, many French continued to engage in a war of sabotage, resistance, intelligence, assassination, and aid to downed Allied aircrew and Jews in hiding. They did so at great personal risk to themselves, and many would not ultimately survive the occupation. But as a result of their heroism and sacrifice, they kept immense quantities of Nazi resources tied down with the occupation, rendering them unavailable to fight allied forces in other theaters, where their absence would be most definitely felt. Oh, and not to mention, the French military existed prior to WW2, as well. They were by far the staunchest of the Allied powers in WW1, without a doubt taking the largest brunt of the Imperial German war machine. Hey, remember that scene in Lord of The Rings with the balrog, and Gandalf famously declaring, "You shall not pass!"? Yeah, that's a call back to the Battle of Verdun. In 1916, the Germans and the French slugged it out face to face for nine months. The battle is remembered for, among other things, the first time flamethrowers were used in combat. The fighting ran the gamut from highly precise, long range artillery and air strikes, to individual men in muddy darkness slaughtering each other with brass knuckles and spiked clubs that would have been regarded as crude even in medieval times. Each side lost hundreds of thousands of men before the Germans were finally forced to concede the territory once and for all. Neither army was ever quite the same after that battle. Both commanding generals, Erich von Falkenhayn for the Germans and Phillipe Petain for the French, suffered nervous breakdowns before it was over. It's one of the few engagements of the western front that can be said to have truly changed the nature of the war. There is also the minor detail that without the French military, the United States would almost certainly not exist. It was the French who prevented Cornwallis from withdrawing at Yorktown, forcing him to surrender to Continental ground forces. It wasn't until France threw in with the colonists that the tide of the war really began to turn in their favor. And I'll just mention Napoleon. You know, conqueror of Europe. Maybe look him up some time.

When is was in the (french) army as a conscript in 94 we had those (deactivated) MAS36 for drills and marching in, "l'ordre sérré" in french. It was a unit for Medecine and also Pharmacy students near Bordeaux . We staid there for a month for minimal military classes and to learn some military specific medecine topics and then we where dispatched to Units or military hospitals for the remaining (1 year total) of the conscription. We fired the PA MAC50 pistol but no long guns as we were officers (Aspirant, translate as Sub-Lieutenant i guess...) and medical personnel. For us it was quite easy and a cool experience but for the regular guys, private conscripts, it was no piece of cake. Souvenirs Souvenir...

These things are so damn gorgeous.

Sitting here, listening to this while I'm playing AoE II, and out of nowhere "Mon Dieu, we need more hrifles!" I freaking died laughing. Keep up the humor, Ian!

Watching French firearm videos makes me understand why Ian loves French firearms. To quote Ian from the FR-F2 vid, "The French copy no one, and no one copies the French."

Nothing like waking up to a new video about history of an old and unique gun

I'm early. Let me make a joke. Gewehr 43

"When it's time to do shooting..." Well, one supposes that one would, eventually, you understand, Monsieur, EVENTUALLY arrive at such a time... but a gentleman never really discusses this sort of thing. Another glass of Bordeaux?

I bought one a few years ago for $175, in good shape, not really knowing what it was. Once I actually found some ammo for it, and, fired it, I immediately fell in love! It is the best shooting bolt action I own.

I got one a few years ago for $500, ammo included. Always thought it was a 1950's era gun...but after watching this and having a K prefix serial, its definitely a 1944/1945 production, which is super cool to know.

Wasn't too many years ago, you could buy an unissued MAS 36 for pretty cheap. It's too bad those days are over.

this is why your channel is so much better than the mooks out there. Just saw 2 different gun channels that don't know crap about it. One guy with 53k subs literally said that because his rifle shot a bit to the left , it was a design by the french due to soldiers pulling the trigger as they fired. Also that the bolt was turned forward to prevent it from hitting your nose. WTF????? Another guy with 8k subs just looked at the bolt and said... "um , I don't know why the bolt was bent like this" . WOW!!!!

Thank you very much for sharing this knowledge. My grandfather fought for the US in WWII and brought back a K series MAS 36. Our family still has this rifle, beautiful piece of history.

That was a pretty good video. My first experience with a French weapon was a really beat up MAS 36 brought back from Vietnam. I bought it at a show for a couple bucks just to pull apart and check it out. I also wondered if the Japanese had some influence on the design. If I had a junk receiver, I would heat treat a piece to see if it was made of high carbon steel like the Arisakas were. The French just do things differently. Once you get past that, they have made some pretty good rifles.

I love my MAS-36, its one of my favorite rifles I have an L model built after the war. Oh yeah, the aluminum stripper clips work great btw. They really have gotten expensive now and I'm glad I got it before they shot up in price.

Looks like a pretty slick rifle that's quite easy to carry around. I'd want to own one if I could get my hands on it.

I was fortunate enough to find and buy 3 of these guns. Out of all the bolt action milsurp rifles I own, the Mas 36 are by far the most fun to shoot. It's light, handy, has little felt recoil and the sights are great.. Thanks for putting out this video. French rifles in general don't get the credit they deserve. Would love to see a future video on the semi-auto series of the Mas guns (44, 49, 49/56)

For 2 years, 1963 - 64, I used a MAS 36 for Deer and Black Bear hunting. There were only two types of ammo available at the time. Some mil-surp French ball FMJ's and a little bit of very expensive Norma or French soft point. I used a grinding wheel to open up the tips of the mil-surp to make OTSPT so that the ammo was legal for hunting here in Vermont. These worked!!!

8:25 Saint-Etienne wasn't liberated by american troops but by french resistance fighters the 25th of august 1944. The french 1st Armored Division which had previously fought in North Africa and had arrived in France during the Provence landings entered the town just the day after.

As originally designed the MAS-36 had no safety, as Ian mentions. Occasionally, a MAS-36 will be seen with a piece of sheet metal fitted under the back of received, just below rear of bolt, that slides to act as a safety. The stock slightly relieved in accordance. This was done sometimes in late 1950s or '60's by importer selling surplus and not an French variation.

6:44 You're welcome.

In hindsight, I feel like "Mon Dieu! We need more rîflès!" would have been a perfect tagline for a T-shirt to promote the book.

I reall looking at these in Shotgun News back in the 80's in both 7.5 French and .308 having been converted by Interarms I believe. Always thought I would like to have one but never did get one. Buddy of mine had one in 7.5 and it made a dandy deer gun even on the prairie, that 7.5 French is nothing to sneeze at.

I have a MAS 36 (M serial number block) and it is one of my favorite rifles. Minute-of-bad-guy accurate, quick, and easy handling.

I remember Alex C (formerly of TFB TV) judged this to be the best bolt-action rifle of WW2.

I think the biggest reason this truely great rifle never cought on until very recently is the lack of any reliable supply of ammo. You were lucky if you could score some of the crummy Syrian ammo now and then. The French Military ammo is normally good when it could be found. Today that isn't a problem, the ammo is commercialy available

Love that shirt. A subtle FU to the anti French types.

The question should be: "How will it do in the mud test?"

I'm not sure if I wrote this once before, but this is BY AND FAR THE VERY VERY BEST gun channel on the web. Fullstop. The amount of information, the detailed, humorous presentation, the very weapons presented... everything is absolutely top class. The very very best gun channel there is. Every single "episode" (for lack of a better term) is of the highes caliber (pun intended). Congrats from Croatia, Ian. Keep up your excellent work.

When I was in the French Army, a long time ago, there was in the armory some MAS 36 CR with folding aluminium butts in the company of USM1 with folding butts also who served as survival weapons for aircraft crews.

Mas-36 wouldn't have been captured yet by the Viet Cong as that organization would develop for the (American) Vietnam War. The French Indochina War would have primarily been between the French Empire and the Viet Minh, which was a predecessor but significantly different organization than the Viet Cong.

Nice to hear the full story on these. Looks like a great design, well thought out features (the bayonet especially), great sights etc. Ballistics are basically identical to the later 308, so we know that is fine. The rationale behind the rear locking lugs makes perfect sense. I wish all bolts were so easy to fieldstrip without tools. I better get one someday soon.

one thing i love about the MAS is the 2 piece stock, it remind me of winchesters

cycle the bolt is probably quicker than operating the safety on a Mauser 98

With the Mas 36 french produced a near perfect bolt action rifle in light of war use. In Mud test videos, other bolt action rifles have failed because of their mud in their locking lugs. The Mas would be super simple to clear and get back in the fight.

This looks like an amazing combat rifle that just came in at the wrong time

Years ago I wound up with a Mas 36 Vietnam buyback I bought from a son of a Vietnam vet who for some reason wound up selling it. Surprisingly in good shape. Made after the "war."

My dad "acquired" a Mas-36 during his 3 tours in Vietnam. When he got back he tossed it into a wooden crate and forgot about it. When he passed his collection was divided up among the brothers and I inherited the Mas-36 and his revolver he used for tunnel work. It still has the bayonet and everything else in it.

4:25 "an interresting frecnch solution to this problem" is Ian's way of saying "dude wtf"

I think you mean the ‘Viet Minh’, who were the Communist combatants during the Indo-China War. They became the Viet Cong in the later 2nd (or 3rd depending how you interpret it) Vietnam War.

15:43 Even MAS-36 had a montage. MONTAGE!

I've got an old mas 36 that looks like it was drug through three wars behind a camel. If only I could see what that guns seen.

I have had one of these for about 10 years now . It shoots better than any of the 8mm Mausers that I own . A real pleasure to shoot . The sights are great .

My local Pawn shop actually has a Mas 36 in beautiful condition, receiver blue and all. Only problem is the '.308' stamped on the receiver that makes me worried some jackass rebored it.

The rifle at the front looks beautiful, I would love to own it.

I purchased mine years ago and it was a post-war rifle, refurbished, and in mint condition. They are surprisingly heavy.

Ha, I got this shirt before it became famous!

I have a MAS-36, and it is a very robust and reliable weapon.

Now this is a rarity..Ian reviewing a French rifle :)

For a reality check, go to an estate auction. It can be a bit depressing to see the entirety of someone's life sold off for pennies on the dollar. While somethings may bring a bit of money most doesn't. I have seen a very nice dining set; table, chairs, hutch and sideboard; sell for $10. Often they just fill up boxes and auction of a box of stuff for $5 or $10. The reality is no one really wants your stuff. Most people want to assemble their own collections. And if you can amass the items, most likely a museum could as well.

never fired droped once

Here is a link to a French forum I found on rifles. This shows many photos with differences between models of the MAS 36. Text in French of course but still informative. www.tircollection.com/t9937-mas-36-elucubrations

I was hoping that you would address the fact that MAS 36 rifles have incredibly short butt stocks (also on my MAS 49/56) but when a MAS rubber recoil slide on pad is installed, they tend to lengthen the length of pull to a shootable dimension.....or more comfortable one anyway. Any explanations for this characteristic?

Magnífico e simples, grande arma !

I had a cherry MAS36 a few years ago...sold it and 5 minutes later regretted it

Ok, this weapon should be masses produced, (with a modification to the rear sight adjustments) in either NATO 5.56 or 7.62 during a zombie apocalypse. Also add a modification for the bayonet, because when we run out of ammo... (Chuckles In sharpening bayonet)

*Looks Left* *Looks Right* THE SMLE WAS A BAD RIFLE

It's a shame that France has left an ancient and glorious factory like the Manufacture of armes de Saint-Étienne closed and now the French buy the rifles from Germany

You meant they were captured by the Viet Minh,right?

Ian will always cut the French slack!

"Only Dropped Once" I love it!

If you've ever had to fix a Renault or a Peugeot, you'll be fully aware of the idea of the "interesting French solution" to problems...

If you want some butthurt.... The mauser is overrated

So they try to make a dumbass proof gun but somehow don't think its important to put an actual safety on it ? Make it make sense 🤣

Can you PLEASE do a video on how stacking rods work. They're a bit thin on RU-vid.

I saw a mas36 at a gun shop for 400$. I kind of regret not buying it.

"An interesting French solution" usually means it doesn't work properly

I saw this thing bubba-ed to hell and back with pic rails and ar15 style collapsing stock a pistol grip and all black

Ok, hold on a minute: If bolt-actions were so obsolete, then why did all the major militaries (except for the US with their M1 Garand) use bolt-actions as the main weapons for their soldiers? Germany used the K98 which was a shortened version of the Gewehr 98, the British used the Lee-Enfield, the Italians had the Carcano etc. etc....hell, even the US still used bolt-actions, especially for their snipers (M1903 Springfields - the M1-Snipers weren't as well liked, at least that's what I read)...some militaries even use bolt-actions today for snipers , even the US! The M24 is still used by the US-Army for example :)

It appears to be an extremely well thought out and well executed design. At the same time (interbellum), France was also producing some of the best tanks, single engine fighters, artillery, and warships of the day. I think a bit of credit is due.

Are you going to start doing more videos on "mainstream" firearms? I feel like if nothing else you could give good background and history on guns like the 1903 Springfield, SMLE, etc in their standard form.

Question for Ian or anyone else who might know. These rifles rear sights are "fixed" with replaceable leafs. Does anyone have any feel for how the PPU 7.5 French ammo is matching up to the original factory loadings? Thanks in advance. --Marky

One thing I would like to know is? Did soldiers in the German army that would be issued one of these. I wonder if they got made fun of by fellow troops or if they mdke jokes about these guns since they conquered France so fast. you know Americans would be trash talking enemy weaponry

The entire rationale behind the conception of the rifle shows out of touch with mechanised war the french were.

25 different rifles for one accurate rear sight would do it much better, french missed again ._.

the MAS 36 is a fascinating bridge between the pre and post-war philosophies of main infantry rifle design. I have always thought it was a particularly underappreciated rifle. Great video. Edit: 6:00 That rifle is one of the nicest-looking weapons of this vintage I have ever seen. Wow.

Are you sure this is a French rifle ? It doesn't look ugly enough to be a French rifle. Seriously though the mas 36 is a pretty awesome looking rifle, it looks so rugged and simple I'd love to have one if they could be converted to 308.

I've noticed that issue of using one of the protective ears to aim instead of the front sight with the T99 Arisaka.

I wouldn't mind carrying this rifle into battle. As long as my allies weren't French.

Ian, do you know what distance these rifles where zeroed at? And do you know of anywhere you can get the zero targets from a picture of it so it can be replicated?