"FUSTAN" - The Competition Rimfire MAS-36 for North Africa
Forgotten Weapons
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11m
While the French military adopted a .22 rimfire training version of the MAS-36, that rifle (the "Tir Réduit 5.5mm") was intended for military training, and not for formal competition. During World War Two, the design shop as MAS continued working on rimfire designs, and developed an experimental version with a much improved trigger. This was not adopted by the military, but the parts were used after the war in 1947 to build a run of 200 competition rifles for FUSTAN - the Fédération des Unions et Sociétés de Tir d'Afrique du Nord. That is, the Federation of North African shooting societies.
This model of MAS 36 is a single shot, .22 rimfire with a finely adjustable rear aperture sight. It has a very nice trigger and a tube in place of the bayonet for adding weight to set the precise balance of the rifle. The French junior shooting champions of 1948, 1949, and 1950 used the FUSTAN MAS-36, in fact. Only a small number survive today, and it was great to be able to show this one to you!
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