[Uncle Jaque]

Re.: "Nothing terribly wrong with carrying a bolt-action rifle like the GIAT FR-F2 into a possible fight..."

That rifle appears to be based on the MAS M-36 Bolt Action, which is reputed to be one of the strongest and more stable platforms ever designed. They seem to have rigged a MAS 49/56 detatchable box magazine up to it, which would be a tactical improvement.

This system allows for a fairly long barrel in a short package. The M-36 is distinguished not only by it's 2-piece stock, but by the oddly-shaped, forward bent bolt handle. They were originally issued "sans" (a little Francswah Lingo, there) any sort of a "Safety".

Do you know if these are still chambered for the 7.5 X 54MM or are they in 7.62 NATO now?

It is, despite it's updated gadgets, a rather big and klunky looking thing... but I'd fully expect it to hold it's own at 1000 Meters against anything we've got in the .30 cal. Sniping arena.

It is rather doubtful that many Civilians get to play with one of these - but an enterprising 'Smith could probably build something very similar on an M-36 action.

[archy]

The French F1 version of the fusil de precision [a lil' more franzoischen for ya'- note that French as spoken in the Legion does not necessarily resemble that taught in US schools] is in the original 7,5x54mm chambering of the MAS36, which was indeed the last bolt-action rifle design to be adopted for use by a major military force as their primary armament. The follow-on semi-auto MAS 49 and later improved MAS 49-56 semiauto, which utilized a gas system similar to that of the later Stoner/Armalite AR-15 design were in the same caliber, as was the AAT-52 medium machinegun, at one time considered as a possible replacement for the dreadful M73/M219 7,62 NATO light machineguns fitted as co-axial MGs in most US tanks and armored vehicles- an adaptation of the M60 was considered by the Marines but was found not suitable, but US tank crews got the M240 US version of the Belgian MAG instead- an outstanding weapon, though the AAT isn't too bad and certainly beats the M73 flat out.

But the F2 version of the French sniper's rifle came out after the transition to the FAMAS Clarion in 5,56mm, and the development of match-grade 7,62mm ammunition had far exceeded the capabilities of the remarkably similar 7,5 French cartridge, which shares a .308 bullet diameter with the 7,62x51 NATO.

The 2-piece stock design of the parent MAS36 has evolved into a steel foreend for the F2 that offers a really stable attach point for the bipod and for camoflage wrapping that doesn't affect the free-floated barrel in the slightest; and on the F2 a black plastic thermal sleeve has been added to the barrel, lighter than the usual US varmint-weight bull barrels commonly seen but just as stable for repeat shots; takn main gun barrels have had aluminum thermal sleeves for most of the last decade or so for the same reason. And the use of the plastic sleeve cuts down on the thermal signature in a thermal image viewer after firing, a consideration as such equiopment becomes more widespread.

There's also a folding stock version of the F2, simple to fit due to the 2-piece stock design [I'm uncertain if this is just the fitting of the old para's stock for the CR36 version of the MAS36 to allow the bolt rifle to be reduced to the length of a US M1A1 folding stock carbine for parachutists, or is a new development] and there's a silenced barrel version, on which the sound suppressor can be fitted in 15 seconds or so, without any reduction in the rifle's effective range.

The real gem of the F2 system is its CILAS autoranging scope, much appreciated by the French snipers using it in comparison to the 10X mil-dot scopes fitted on French .338 Lapua L96A1 rifles. That would likely be the hardest part for an American gunsmith or accuracy tuner to duplicate on a MAS36 rebuild, but it might be possible.

I've considered going the other route, and rechambering a MAS36 to the Swedish 6,5x55 cartridge, since the Swedish Mausers are built on the weaker M95 Mauser action rather than the later M98. The MAS 36 has shown up in the $35-$50 range in recent import batches, offering an interesting low-cost starting place for bashing something more interesting together, but the original 7,5x54 cartridge is quite servicable in its own right, and the aperture sight of the MAS 36 is quite useful to my tired old eyes...and if a scoped 7,5mm rifle is a necessity, the semiauto MAS49/56 is factory fitted with a rail mount for an auxiliary telescopic sight that'll do fine. And there are other things that can be done to a MAS 49/56 as well....