MAS-36 Bolt Won't Close

'88Scrat · April 7, 2019, 02:00 PM

Picked up a beautiful looking MAS-36 yesterday in 7.5 French, bore looks pristine!

However when I went to run a few of my dummy rounds through it this morning I noticed that the bolt will not close all the way with a round in the chamber. It's about 1/4 inch from being all the way home.

I read on some other forums that this can be due to an issue with the firing pin so I removed it and got the same result. Next I got my dummy 7.62x51 rounds and tried those thinking maybe it had been converted and someone failed to mark the receiver. Bolt would close but extractor would not engage and the round just kinda falls out so I don't think thats it.

I also should mention that when I bought it the bolt seemed kinda hard to close even without a round in it, kinda binds up midway through the throw but is smooth on the ends (if you follow me there). I chalked this up to cosmoline buildup at first, it was covered pretty liberally, but now I wonder if the two issues are related.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

tangolima · April 7, 2019, 07:00 PM

It is a bolt gun. Were you able to turn down the bolt handle at all?

-TL

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'88Scrat · April 7, 2019, 07:40 PM

Yes, it goes down until there is about 1/4" to go but then won't go down any further.

tangolima · April 7, 2019, 10:01 PM

The rifle may just have a short chamber, or the dummy round hasn't been properly sized. Did you use a real dummy round or a snap cap? You will handload for your rifle, will you not? You can size down the brass just for this one. I have a Swiss k31 just like that. I have crank down the sizing die or it won't chamber.

-TL

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'88Scrat · April 8, 2019, 01:15 AM

Real dummy round, even took it outside to the range and tried some live rounds. Same problem

tangolima · April 8, 2019, 02:10 AM

If you plan to use loaded ammunition, you will need to let a smith to check its headspace. He may need to ream the chamber to pass go-gauge if need be. If you plan to handload, you choose to size down the brass to fit. That's what I would do as I only shoot my own handloads.

You can also ask a gunsmith to do a chamber cast if you suspect the rifle has been rebarreled to something else.

-TL

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RC20 · April 8, 2019, 10:12 AM

This raises huge alarms.

1/4 inch is massive. I would get to a gun smith and or get a chamber cast.

Unless it had a new barrel and got throwing into disposal without the reaming. the head space should be within reason and military guns tend to generous (not a MAS-36 owner so don't know much about them)

Maybe a dumb question but you have the 7.5 x 54 cartridge not the x 57? (more like 6 or 7 for a quarter inch but....)

Does the barrel look like OEM or is the a way to tell on the MAS-36?

Approach very cautiously. The mid stroke hang up is another concern.

'88Scrat · April 8, 2019, 11:41 AM

Ammo is 7.5x54 French. Gonna take it to my gunsmith, this one is beyond me.

T. O'Heir · April 8, 2019, 12:51 PM

"...bolt seemed kinda hard to close even without a round..." Different thing than failing to close loaded. The 1/4" suggests the chamber is obstructed vs being too short or bad head space.
"...extractor would not engage..." May be the difference in rim thicknesses/diameter or the extractor being damaged or dirty.
"...binds up midway..." Suggests a burr some where. A slight bend some place will do that.
The 7.62x51 case is a couple thou smaller in all dimensions.

SIGSHR · April 8, 2019, 01:45 PM

Could it have been rechambered to 308 Win. ?

Erno86 · April 8, 2019, 05:03 PM

If it's not rechambered for 308. You might have a dirty chamber that has a carbon ring . Try using a chamber brush attached to a section of a cleaning rod that is locked in a hand drill, along with some carbon remover.

You can sometimes tell if it has a dirty chamber, if you spread a thin layer of good oil on the shell casing and see if it chambers.

Steel cased ammo has a lesser chance of causing that kind of a problem.

'88Scrat · April 19, 2019, 06:03 PM

Had my gunsmith look at it and he said the extractor was not engaging correctly. Fixed it and fired a few times with no issue.

Honestly I can't tell a difference but clearly it fires just fine.

RC20 · April 20, 2019, 05:12 PM

Sweet!

'88Scrat · June 3, 2019, 06:42 PM

Sorry to resuscitate a necro thread but does anyone know how to remove the extractor from a MAS 36?

After cycling the gun a few trips now I think I can confidently say it is an extractor issue. There are clear wear marks along about a 2" section of the extractor. Bolt is hard to close as it grinds along.

DaleA · June 4, 2019, 04:23 PM

Necro thread? Hardly. We've got 7 year old threads coming back and not getting closed. Two MONTHS is nothing. Plus there are lurkers (like me) wondering how things turn out and it's nice to have them all in the same thread.
Good luck.

April 7, 2019, 02:00 PM	#1
'88Scrat Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2011 Location: Kansas Posts: 549	MAS-36 Bolt Won't Close Picked up a beautiful looking MAS-36 yesterday in 7.5 French, bore looks pristine! However when I went to run a few of my dummy rounds through it this morning I noticed that the bolt will not close all the way with a round in the chamber. It's about 1/4 inch from being all the way home. I read on some other forums that this can be due to an issue with the firing pin so I removed it and got the same result. Next I got my dummy 7.62x51 rounds and tried those thinking maybe it had been converted and someone failed to mark the receiver. Bolt would close but extractor would not engage and the round just kinda falls out so I don't think thats it. I also should mention that when I bought it the bolt seemed kinda hard to close even without a round in it, kinda binds up midway through the throw but is smooth on the ends (if you follow me there). I chalked this up to cosmoline buildup at first, it was covered pretty liberally, but now I wonder if the two issues are related. Thoughts? Thanks! __________________ BOOM

April 7, 2019, 07:40 PM	#3
'88Scrat Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2011 Location: Kansas Posts: 549	Yes, it goes down until there is about 1/4" to go but then won't go down any further. __________________ BOOM

April 8, 2019, 01:15 AM	#5
'88Scrat Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2011 Location: Kansas Posts: 549	Real dummy round, even took it outside to the range and tried some live rounds. Same problem __________________ BOOM

April 8, 2019, 10:12 AM	#7
RC20 Senior Member Join Date: April 10, 2008 Location: Alaska Posts: 7,014	This raises huge alarms. 1/4 inch is massive. I would get to a gun smith and or get a chamber cast. Unless it had a new barrel and got throwing into disposal without the reaming. the head space should be within reason and military guns tend to generous (not a MAS-36 owner so don't know much about them) Maybe a dumb question but you have the 7.5 x 54 cartridge not the x 57? (more like 6 or 7 for a quarter inch but....) Does the barrel look like OEM or is the a way to tell on the MAS-36? Approach very cautiously. The mid stroke hang up is another concern. __________________ Science and Facts are True whether you believe it or not

April 8, 2019, 11:41 AM	#8
'88Scrat Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2011 Location: Kansas Posts: 549	Ammo is 7.5x54 French. Gonna take it to my gunsmith, this one is beyond me. __________________ BOOM

April 7, 2019, 07:00 PM	#2
tangolima Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2013 Posts: 3,826	It is a bolt gun. Were you able to turn down the bolt handle at all? -TL Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

April 7, 2019, 10:01 PM	#4
tangolima Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2013 Posts: 3,826	The rifle may just have a short chamber, or the dummy round hasn't been properly sized. Did you use a real dummy round or a snap cap? You will handload for your rifle, will you not? You can size down the brass just for this one. I have a Swiss k31 just like that. I have crank down the sizing die or it won't chamber. -TL Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

April 8, 2019, 02:10 AM	#6
tangolima Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2013 Posts: 3,826	If you plan to use loaded ammunition, you will need to let a smith to check its headspace. He may need to ream the chamber to pass go-gauge if need be. If you plan to handload, you choose to size down the brass to fit. That's what I would do as I only shoot my own handloads. You can also ask a gunsmith to do a chamber cast if you suspect the rifle has been rebarreled to something else. -TL Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

April 8, 2019, 12:51 PM	#9
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	"...bolt seemed kinda hard to close even without a round..." Different thing than failing to close loaded. The 1/4" suggests the chamber is obstructed vs being too short or bad head space. "...extractor would not engage..." May be the difference in rim thicknesses/diameter or the extractor being damaged or dirty. "...binds up midway..." Suggests a burr some where. A slight bend some place will do that. The 7.62x51 case is a couple thou smaller in all dimensions. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

April 8, 2019, 01:45 PM	#10
SIGSHR Senior Member Join Date: September 13, 2005 Posts: 4,700	Could it have been rechambered to 308 Win. ?

April 8, 2019, 05:03 PM	#11
Erno86 Senior Member Join Date: September 22, 2012 Location: Marriottsville, Maryland Posts: 1,739	If it's not rechambered for 308. You might have a dirty chamber that has a carbon ring . Try using a chamber brush attached to a section of a cleaning rod that is locked in a hand drill, along with some carbon remover. You can sometimes tell if it has a dirty chamber, if you spread a thin layer of good oil on the shell casing and see if it chambers. Steel cased ammo has a lesser chance of causing that kind of a problem. __________________ That rifle hanging on the wall of the working class flat or labourer's cottage is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there." --- George Orwell

April 19, 2019, 06:03 PM	#12
'88Scrat Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2011 Location: Kansas Posts: 549	Had my gunsmith look at it and he said the extractor was not engaging correctly. Fixed it and fired a few times with no issue. Honestly I can't tell a difference but clearly it fires just fine. __________________ BOOM

April 20, 2019, 05:12 PM	#13
RC20 Senior Member Join Date: April 10, 2008 Location: Alaska Posts: 7,014	Sweet! __________________ Science and Facts are True whether you believe it or not

June 3, 2019, 06:42 PM	#14
'88Scrat Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2011 Location: Kansas Posts: 549	Sorry to resuscitate a necro thread but does anyone know how to remove the extractor from a MAS 36? After cycling the gun a few trips now I think I can confidently say it is an extractor issue. There are clear wear marks along about a 2" section of the extractor. Bolt is hard to close as it grinds along. __________________ BOOM

June 4, 2019, 04:23 PM	#15
DaleA Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2002 Location: Twin Cities, MN Posts: 5,313	Necro thread? Hardly. We've got 7 year old threads coming back and not getting closed. Two MONTHS is nothing. Plus there are lurkers (like me) wondering how things turn out and it's nice to have them all in the same thread. Good luck.