santa fe model 1949

M

mudgobler

Inactive
I have recently gotten a rifle that I have no idea what is and was wandering if anyone can help. The barrel has Santa Fe model 1949 on it with Golden State Arms corp, Pasadena California under it. The receive has MAS Mle (I think) 1936 and what I assume is a five digit serial number under it. On the barrel under the forearm is a sideways a MAS 1946. there is no mention of caliber that I can find. Is there anyone out there that can tell me anything about this gun?
 
My guess is a sporterized military rifle since that is what Santa Fe was pretty famous for. Without pictures can't tell you much about the rifle, and if it isn't stamped take it to a gunsmith and have him do a chamber cast. After that he'll be able to tell you what it is.
 
Santa Fe Arms went out of business in 1966, so that gives you an idea of how long ago the rifle was imported. Santa Fe sold surplus firearms in various conditions, anything from as-issued military configuration, to sporterized (with chopped military stocks), to military actions in newly manufactured sporter stocks.
 
+1 on having a chamber cast made by a competent Gunsmith. The French chambered the MAS rifles in 7.5 Something-er-others. That was close enough to the .308 that some (many?) were reamed out to .308 Winchester. Everything fit and usually went bang when desired, however, it is my unnerstanding that the .308 case isn't supported as well as it should be. And an improperly supported case could lead to blowout, hotgas, possibly a wrecked rifle, and possibly worse- a wrecked you.
 
Hello mud, sorry but I just saw this post. A picture would be nice but I am 99.9 percent sure of what you have. Is it very short with a rear peep sight, front sling swivel, rear sling attatches on the side of the butstock (vs the bottom ) and probably no safety unless you have one that has a simple push pull (basically a piece of flat stock metal ) safdty that blocks the trigger.It is a sporterized version of the last bolt action rifle adopted by a major army. The French MAS model 36 in 7.5 x.54 . I have one and the caliber is not marked on the barrel. I would think that if it had been rechambered that the new chambering would have been marked on the barrel. It is a handy little rifle. 7.5 x.54 MAS cartidge falls between a 3006 and 308, uses a 30 cal bullet. The down side is that it is French ! Because it is an odd ball catridge nobody wants it ( cant get it at WM or LGS) and they are not worth much if anything. I love mine as I have hunted with it for decades, its light, small and we have some history together.
 
I would also like to add that the 7.5 x .54 mas case is longer than a .308 case. To convert this to .308 you would have to remove the barrel , cut some off the breech end and do a finish ream with a .308 reamer.
 
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