handle is nearly all the way down and the bolt locked. On opening the bolt the fired case will be extracted and ejected from the action—the cycle can then be repeated. The rear of the follower is beveled and does not prevent the bolt from closing when the magazine is empty. The magazine can be unloaded by removing the floorplate. There is no safety, but the bolt handle fully raised makes an effective safety.
Takedown and Assembly
Make sure the chamber and magazine are empty. Remove the buttstock by turning out the trigger guard screw. Pull the trigger guard from the stock and away from the receiver, and pull the stock back and down from the receiver. Remove the forend and handguard by turning the cross screw out of the front barrel band and pulling the band forward. Turn out the screw from the middle barrel band and remove it, then lift off the forend and handguard. Reassemble in reverse order.
Remove the bolt by raising the bolt handle and drawing the bolt to the rear as far as it will go; pull the trigger back all the way and then remove the bolt. To disassemble the bolt, grasp it in the left hand and, with the right thumb, depress the bolt button and turn it clockwise ¼-turn or until it snaps out. The bolt button, mainspring and firing pin can then be removed from the bolt. Reassemble as follows: insert the firing pin in the bolt with the cocking cam lug resting on the flat spot of the cocking cam. Insert the mainspring and bolt button, aligning the left index mark on the bolt button with the index mark on the bolt. Press the button all the way into the bolt or until it can be rotated counterclockwise ¼-turn.
The extractor can be removed using a screwdriver and lifting its front end up, away from the bolt, until the extractor can be pulled forward and out of the bolt. Reassemble in reverse order.
Depress the button on the right front of the floorplate and pull it, along with the spring and follower, from the magazine box. The follower and floorplate can then be pulled off the ends of the follower spring. In reassembling, the narrow end of the follower spring goes into the follower. To remove the floorplate latch and spring, drive the small latch retainer pin from the floorplate.
Remove the trigger assembly by driving out the sear pin, then pull down on the rear of the sear until it is free of the receiver. The trigger pin can then be driven out to separate trigger, bolt-stop/ejector and bolt-stop/ejector spring from the sear. Reassemble in reverse order.
The barrel is threaded (right-hand threads) tightly into the receiver and it should not be removed unless necessary, and then only if you have the proper tools.
Markings
The French MAS Model 1936 rifles are boldly marked with the designation MASM LE 1936 stamped on the left side of the receiver. The serial number is stamped below the designation marking, as well as on the floorplate and on the stem of the bolt handle. Various French proofmarks and inspector’s marks are stamped on the receiver ring and the breech end of the barrel.
Comments
I have gone to some length describing the MAS Model 1936 rifle and action because I think this action is most interesting and unusual. To be sure, this action has some faults, but it also has some excellent features worthy of comment and consideration.
It appears to be a very strong action. The two locking lugs are solid and massive. There is a lot of metal in the receiver bridge to support the lugs when the bolt is locked and there is no chance that these supporting shoulders will fail. Though the left side wall of the receiver has a thumb notch, there is ample metal connecting the receiver bridge to the ring. The receiver is strengthened further by the ridge of metal along each side and by the heavy walled integral magazine. There is little chance of the receiver parting in the middle even though the locking lugs are at the rear of the bolt. I cannot see how the receiver could “stretch,” and the very heavy bolt is certainly not going to compress when firing the rifle. For many years, the prevailing opinion has been that only a bolt action with at least two forward locking lugs is worth considering. If we consider the success of the fine Schultz & Larsen action, the Remington Model 788, the Steyr-Mannlicher SL and others with locking lugs at the rear of the bolt, then I can see nothing wrong with the MAS design. The MAS design also results in a shorter bolt travel (the reader may want to compare the action specifications in this book), and this may aid in speed of operation. An important result of this design is that the cartridges do not span any gap between the magazine and chamber, the resultant feeding being more positive and reliable.
I believe the MAS M36 is also a very safe action because the front of the bolt is surrounded by a solid ring of steel when the bolt is locked, the bolt face nearly contacts the barrel, and the rim of the cartridge is almost fully enclosed; the rear of the bolt is entirely closed so that gases can’t escape.
The bolt of the MAS is relatively short and the long receiver bridge gives considerable support resulting in little “play” or looseness of the bolt when the action is open. On the few rifles I have examined and handled, bolt operation was easy and smooth. I noticed too, that the actions were generally very well made and finished. I especially like the extractor of this action. It is simple and strong—modern designers of turnbolt actions might do well to copy it. I certainly would consider it better then some puny modern rifle extractors like those of the Remington M700 and Weatherby actions.
As for the magazine box being made as part of the receiver, I have not decided whether I like this or not. The same goes for the two-piece stock design imposed by the “housing” type receiver. However, I have always admired the Model 99 Savage rifle with its exposed receiver, and I do not believe I’d mind the exposed MAS M36 receiver on a sporting rifle. To my way of thinking this receiver has rather nice lines, including those where the buttstock contacts the receiver. I like the magazine floorplate and the way it is released, although I’d rather have the floorplate fitted so it would be flush with the bottom of the magazine box.
Bolt head of the M1936 MAS showing: (A) extractor, (B) cartridge head recess, (C) ejector slot and (D) bolt stop notch.
Top view of M1936 MAS action.
French Model 1916 Berthier carbine in 8mm Lebel caliber.
I found the box magazine to be a marvel the way it will accept and feed a wide variety of cartridges. It will only handle cartridges about 3.0” in overall length, but many cartridges fall within these limits. For example, it will feed perfectly such cartridges as the 22-250, 25-3000, 243, 6mm, 257 Roberts, 7mm, 284, 308, 35 Remington and 358. All of these cartridges have a smaller rim diameter than the 7.5mm French cartridges and this would require that the rim recess in the bolt might have to be reduced in some manner, and the claw of the extractor made longer.
The MAS M36 is an astonishingly simple action with a minimum of parts—fewer than any other high-powered turnbolt repeater of which I am aware. For example, this action has twelve fewer component parts than the M98 Mauser, which has fewer part than the 03 Springfield. The entire M36 bolt assembly consists of just five parts; bolt, extractor, firing pin, mainspring and bolt button. An action that has few parts is not always an indication it is good, but like any piece of machinery, fewer parts lessen the chance for breakdown.
This action has no safety and that may be a strike against it—depending on one’s viewpoint. I can’t see how a safety could be incorporated in the bolt to lock both the bolt and firing pin, but a simple safety could be built into the trigger guard to lock the trigger.
There is one
