MAS-49 Rifle

The MAS-49 is a French semi-automatic rifle, formally the semi-automatic rifle of 7.5mm model 1949, designed and built by the government-owned Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Etienne and adopted by the French Fourth Republic in July 1949. Chambered in 7.5x54mm French, it replaced earlier bolt-action rifles as France's standard service rifle, was valued for being accurate, reliable and easy to maintain in harsh conditions, and carried a rail on the left side of the receiver for a dedicated sniper scope. It remained France's service rifle until being replaced by the FAMAS beginning in 1979.