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I actually like a relatively short stock on my guns, but for the life of me, even the MAS stock is too short!! What was going on when they originally sorted the dimensions? From what I've seen in photos, French soldiers were not short, barrel chested men, nor does it seem that ballistic armour or chest rigs were in vogue.....

So what the hell was up with doing that?!!

Don't want to jack the thread, but how much do MASes go for now?

The short stock issue is something I've often pondered and sometime wonder if at manufacture and at refurb there were plans to issue them to indigenous colonial troops, Indochine springs to mind.

dromia wrote:The short stock issue is something I've often pondered and sometime wonder if at manufacture and at refurb there were plans to issue them to indigenous colonial troops, Indochine springs to mind.

I used to have a surplus store nearby that had a steady supply of French issue grenade launcher recoil boots that gave a nice extension to the butt stock length, alas they are gone and no more boots! Perhaps the French had in mind the same thing that the U.S. did when abandoning the separate rifle and carbine concept when we went to the 03 rifle: not only was the barrel length shortened to 24" but the length of pull was also reduced to shorten up the overall length of the arm to make it usable by cavalry and infantry. The 36 is certainly a compact length rifle, longer than a carbine but shorter than a traditional rifle.

Even then other nations managed to sort that issue without having such a short stock, I've become used to it, but the other day I shot it after not having used it for some time and it felt just a little too small for a guy of my stature when compared to my Mauser K98k

rufrdr wrote:

dromia wrote:The short stock issue is something I've often pondered and sometime wonder if at manufacture and at refurb there were plans to issue them to indigenous colonial troops, Indochine springs to mind.

I used to have a surplus store nearby that had a steady supply of French issue grenade launcher recoil boots that gave a nice extension to the butt stock length, alas they are gone and no more boots! Perhaps the French had in mind the same thing that the U.S. did when abandoning the separate rifle and carbine concept when we went to the 03 rifle: not only was the barrel length shortened to 24" but the length of pull was also reduced to shorten up the overall length of the arm to make it usable by cavalry and infantry. The 36 is certainly a compact length rifle, longer than a carbine but shorter than a traditional rifle.

The french strategy at the time the 36 was developped was defensive (remeember the Maginot line). Moreover, the shooting doctrine was not maximum accuracy at longer ranges, but saturation at combat distance.
With this in mind, it needed a rifle as compact and handy in ckie conditions as possible to depart from the Lebel and Berthier 07-15 concepts. Even the bayonet had nothing to compare with the 'Rosalie' lenght (conversion to the 29C cartridge was intended for those venerables as well).
R.G.C

re-
The order of battle for the French infrantry man fom May 1940 dictates that he wears his great coat at all time as far as I know .