MAS FR-F1 and FR-F2

France's bolt-action precision rifles on the MAS 36 action: Saint-Étienne and the MAS 36, the FR-F1 of the 1960s, the FR-F2 that served from 1986 until 2,620 SCAR-H PRs replaced it in 2023, how the rear-locking action works, how to tell the variants apart, the optics and ammunition, the US imports and law, and a machinist's path to an FR-F2-pattern rifle on a MAS 36.

Firearms

MAS FR-F1 and FR-F2 · Deep Dive

MAS FR-F1 and FR-F2

Most FR-F2s were never new rifles: the Ministry of the Armed Forces says they are 1960s FR-F1s whose receivers Saint-Étienne milled and re-machined for 7.62 NATO.

France's bolt-action precision rifles on the MAS 36 action: Saint-Étienne and the MAS 36, the FR-F1 of the 1960s, the FR-F2 that served from 1986 until 2,620 SCAR-H PRs replaced it in 2023, how the rear-locking action works, how to tell the variants apart, the optics and ammunition, the US imports and law, and a machinist's path to an FR-F2-pattern rifle on a MAS 36.

Photo: FRF2 Afghanistan by davric · CC BY-SA 3.0

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    Volumes

    1. Vol 1 Saint-Étienne, the MAS 36 and the French Marksman Before 1964 The state arms factory, the rear-locking bolt action it put into service in 1936, the short 7.5 mm cartridge it fired, and the scoped rifles the French Army made do with until it asked for a purpose-built precision rifle
    2. Vol 2 The FR-F1, 1964–1986 A precision rifle on a strengthened MAS 36 action: who asked for it, three competing adoption dates, the A, B and C types, how many were made, the GIGN's shots at Loyada, the Gendarmerie's 7.62 rebarrels, and the Air Force rifles built later on infantry receivers
    3. Vol 3 The FR-F2, 1986–2023: Rebuild, Service and Replacement How most FR-F2s were made from FR-F1s, the dates that conflict, where the rifle can actually be shown to have served, the foreign armies that bought it, and the 2018–2023 programme that replaced it with 2,620 semi-automatic SCAR-H PRs
    4. Vol 4 Variants and Identification MAS 36, FR-F1 Types A and B, the 7.62 mm FR-F1, the FR-F2, the Air Force's FR-G rifles and the lookalikes built on infantry actions: comparison plates, a tell-them-apart table, and the features a photograph cannot settle
    5. Vol 5 How It Works: The Rear-Locking MAS Action, Part by Part Receiver, bolt, the four movements of the cycle, trigger and safety, magazine, free-floated barrel and muzzle device, the thermal sleeve, the swinging bipod and the stock, with every dimension the sources give and where they disagree
    6. Vol 6 Field Strip, Maintenance and Repair No French manual for the FR-F1 or FR-F2 could be found online, though one ships with every imported kit: what the open record does give, what a correct procedure has to account for, how the rifle should be inspected and kept, and how its likely faults would be diagnosed
    7. Vol 7 Accuracy, Ammunition, Optics and Accessories What the FR-F2 was expected to hit and at what range, by source, with no invented group sizes; the 7.5 mm and 7.62 mm cartridges it fired; the APX L806, the SCROME J8 and the night sights; and the issue kit, item by item
    8. Vol 8 Getting One: Imports, Prices and the Law Every FR-F2 known in the United States came through one importer; no FR-F1 import was found; what they have sold for, with dates and sources; the curio-or-relic arithmetic and an import question no source answers; the French classification; and a buyer's checklist
    9. Vol 9 Building an FR-F2-Pattern Rifle on a MAS 36 A machinist's path from a surplus infantry rifle to a lookalike or a working precision rifle: the donor, the calibre decision and why the bolt face settles it, the receiver-strength question no one has answered, barrel, stock, sleeve, swinging bipod, safety, optic mount, and the law