There is another work-around semi-auto rifle for Wash. state

[gmerkt]

That would be the SAFN, also known as FN Model 1949. It's a 10 shot, fixed magazine rifle. Passes the evil test for the Wash. assault weapon ban.

The SAFN was long in development, didn't make service in WW2 but was sold to several countries 1947-1961. They came in several military loadings, 7mm Mauser for Venezuela, Then they were made in .30-06 for the Belgian Army, the Belgian Congo, Letzeburg (these are the ones to get, most are cherry), Colombia and Indonesia. There was a run in 7.65x53 for Argentina but these were later converted to 7.62x51 and take a detachable magazine (not legal to transfer in WA). Then there were near 40,000 made for Egypt in 8mm Mauser.

The SAFN is a very well made rifle. I've owned a couple. One was an Egyptian in 8mm Mauser, SN 26483. My notes show that I also owned a Belgian Army (ABL marked, stands for "Armee Belgie - Belgisch Leger," satisfying both sides of the bilingual country), in .30-06, SN 6973.

These rifles are heavy but very reliable. Re. the Egyptian rifles. They were procured in the early years of the conflict with the then-new State of Israel. The Egyptians were buying new and used arms for many different sources. I've read in biographies of King Farouk that his government was extremely corrupt and most of these arms deals involved kick-backs from the suppliers. One of the other rifles that the Egyptians bought around the same time as the SAFN from Belgium was the Swedish Ljungman AG42, I don't know the whole story about these, but I think initially the Egyptians bought the AG42's from Sweden, they bought a license to manufacture it in Egypt as the Hakim. In any case, it's my own opinion that the SAFN was the better rifle.

An Official Journal Of The NRA | FN-49: The Last Old-School Battle Rifle

The Fabrique Nationale FN-49 was one of the last military rifles made of forged, blued steel and walnut the old-school way. Today, they are favorites among shooters and collectors alike.

www.americanrifleman.org

Read More

 

[Stomper]

Sounds like it would just be easier to start aiming for some T-zones, instead.

 

[monkeybutler]

Always thought those looked cool. Never ealized the mag is a fixed box.

 

[titsonritz]

Sounds like it would just be easier to start aiming for some T-zones, instead.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

That would be the SAFN, also known as FN Model 1949. It's a 10 shot, fixed magazine rifle. Passes the evil test for the Wash. assault weapon ban.

The SAFN was long in development, didn't make service in WW2 but was sold to several countries 1947-1961. They came in several military loadings, 7mm Mauser for Venezuela, Then they were made in .30-06 for the Belgian Army, the Belgian Congo, Letzeburg (these are the ones to get, most are cherry), Colombia and Indonesia. There was a run in 7.65x53 for Argentina but these were later converted to 7.62x51 and take a detachable magazine (not legal to transfer in WA). Then there were near 40,000 made for Egypt in 8mm Mauser.

The SAFN is a very well made rifle. I've owned a couple. One was an Egyptian in 8mm Mauser, SN 26483. My notes show that I also owned a Belgian Army (ABL marked, stands for "Armee Belgie - Belgisch Leger," satisfying both sides of the bilingual country), in .30-06, SN 6973.

These rifles are heavy but very reliable. Re. the Egyptian rifles. They were procured in the early years of the conflict with the then-new State of Israel. The Egyptians were buying new and used arms for many different sources. I've read in biographies of King Farouk that his government was extremely corrupt and most of these arms deals involved kick-backs from the suppliers. One of the other rifles that the Egyptians bought around the same time as the SAFN from Belgium was the Swedish Ljungman AG42, I don't know the whole story about these, but I think initially the Egyptians bought the AG42's from Sweden, they bought a license to manufacture it in Egypt as the Hakim. In any case, it's my own opinion that the SAFN was the better rifle.

An Official Journal Of The NRA | FN-49: The Last Old-School Battle Rifle

The Fabrique Nationale FN-49 was one of the last military rifles made of forged, blued steel and walnut the old-school way. Today, they are favorites among shooters and collectors alike.

www.americanrifleman.org

What is the purpose of this though? Would it be for people who don't own a semi auto rifle already and are trying to buy one?

Would it be for the future if all the existing semi autos in one's inventory broke?

Kind of seems like buying a rifle to fit todays restrictions which may well be gone if this unconstitutional law is overturned. So unless there was a specific reason to buy it why would anyone do it? Cool to know it's out there (like the Garand), but other than that I don't see a compelling reason to buy one unless I'm missing something.

 

[Bushman]

Yes, looks similar to a Garand, looked it up. Why not just buy a semi auto 12ga with 10 rd mags then? Much better up close for defensive distances. Shotgun is lighter, shorter and more devastating.

 

[Camelfilter]

What is the purpose of this though? Would it be for people who don't own a semi auto rifle already and are trying to buy one?

Would it be for the future if all the existing semi autos in one's inventory broke?

Kind of seems like buying a rifle to fit todays restrictions which may well be gone if this unconstitutional law is overturned. So unless there was a specific reason to buy it why would anyone do it? Cool to know it's out there (like the Garand), but other than that I don't see a compelling reason to buy one unless I'm missing something.

Yah, probably most reasonable for newer members of the firearm community who don't already own AND don't wish to wait for court system...

 

[quneur]

It can take decades to overturn laws. First it has to climb the court system which can be appealed in every step. Look at the ninth circuit and CA lawsuits. Even with Bruen SCOTUS ruling, it gets remanded back to district court ruling then probably goes back to the ninth. What happens afterwards? CA passes another law which starts the process all over again.

 

[gmerkt]

What is the purpose of this though? Would it be for people who don't own a semi auto rifle already and are trying to buy one?

Would it be for the future if all the existing semi autos in one's inventory broke?

Kind of seems like buying a rifle to fit todays restrictions which may well be gone if this unconstitutional law is overturned. So unless there was a specific reason to buy it why would anyone do it? Cool to know it's out there (like the Garand), but other than that I don't see a compelling reason to buy one unless I'm missing something.

Just an option in the future for those who've missed the bus.

My personal opinion is that this law isn't going to go away via the courts. The number of states having "assault weapon" bans is piling up. Popular opinion against these firearms is building.

 

[raftman]

They're really cool rifles but they cost just as much as Garands (and often considerably more). Ammo cost/availability is not necessarily better, depending on the chambering. Both have .308/7.62x51 options available, which would be the most affordable/available ammo option for either.

 

[DunRanull]

Mine is an Egyptian in 7.92x57... Got a bunch of strippered ammo for my Mausers which works. I see it as a legal "last ditch" even tho it's really an antique designed in the 1930's. Unlike the Garand it doesnt need clips to function as it has it's own en bloc magazine. If I ever NEED it the S will already have gone down.

 

[The Heretic]

They're really cool rifles but they cost just as much as Garands (and often considerably more). Ammo cost/availability is not necessarily better, depending on the chambering. Both have .308/7.62x51 options available, which would be the most affordable/available ammo option for either.

IME - the .308/7.62x51 conversions can be problematic, depending on how they are done - jamming can result. I say this based on the one I got - should have bought one in .30-06. Also, I didn't care for how I had to clear the jams either (maybe there was a better way).

 

[lucusloc]

What is the purpose of this though? Would it be for people who don't own a semi auto rifle already and are trying to buy one?

Would it be for the future if all the existing semi autos in one's inventory broke?

Kind of seems like buying a rifle to fit todays restrictions which may well be gone if this unconstitutional law is overturned. So unless there was a specific reason to buy it why would anyone do it? Cool to know it's out there (like the Garand), but other than that I don't see a compelling reason to buy one unless I'm missing something.

Look, I don't need someone telling me I don't need a gun. If someone says " you need a gun for <reason>" I say "why yes I do" and then go tell the wife <reason> and see if she will let me buy it. Now I just need to hope the wife doesn't know that HB1240 does not apply to Oregon. . .

 

[69IzhmashAK]

Very similar to the Garand, speaking of which I have recently acquired several nice ones .....

 

[coop44]

The fn49 is just too cool, the primary reason I would love to have one.

 

[P7M13]

Many choices. Model 8/81 too

Now I just need to hope the wife doesn't know that HB1240 does not apply to Oregon. . .

Is she at least barefoot in the kitchen?

 

[lucusloc]

Is she at least barefoot in the kitchen?

She is when she wants to be. Problem is I taught her to shoot, so putting her there is, well, more complicated now.

 

[CLT65]

One of the other rifles that the Egyptians bought around the same time as the SAFN from Belgium was the Swedish Ljungman AG42, I don't know the whole story about these, but I think initially the Egyptians bought the AG42's from Sweden, they bought a license to manufacture it in Egypt as the Hakim. In any case, it's my own opinion that the SAFN was the better rifle.

I had a Hakim back in the day, when they could be had for $150. I still have my Egyptian FN49 that I bought over 30 years ago, and I have more than one Garand.

Personally I preferred the FN49 over the Hakim, one of the reasons being that the Hakim was really hard on brass. If you don't reload then that doesn't matter. The Hakim also seemed to be more finicky about ammo, but that might have been the ammo I was using. I do regret selling the Hakim though, as it's an interesting design. I regret not buying a Rashid carbine when they were available - the Hakim's little brother.

I know that some will say that the FN49 is better than the Garand, but personally I don't see it. I've had both for a very long time, and while I do like the FN49, if I had to have only one to rely on, it would be the Garand, hands down.

Fun fact - you can modify a BAR magazine to fit and function nicely in an FN49. I did this a long time ago, when I was a stupid kid; I'm older now. No, it's not practical, and to be honest I haven't used it in years, but it sure looks cool. "Mag dumping" 20 rounds of 8mm Mauser really is a bit much.

 

[gmerkt]

I had a Hakim back in the day,

Over the years, I have had the German G.43, SAFN 49, M1 Rifle, M1A. I remember the low priced Ljungmanns, not sure Hakims were a thing when I was looking at all the surplus imports at Martin B. Retting. That I retained a couple of M1 Rifles shows my preference as a shooting platform.

What I do remember is, picking up a Helwan pistol (copy of a Beretta) in a gun store and noticing that it had a cracked slide. So on that basis I probably wouldn't have been looking at a Hakim, in that (rightly or wrongly) I didn't like the potential for Egyptian quality being less than Swedish.

I never got to have an FAL / L1A1, nor did I hanker. My pal in NM lent some venture capital to a guy once, who put up several firearms as collateral, then had the bad manners to die. So one of the guns my pal got out of the deal was an FAL.

 

[clanhanson]

I have an FN49, gorgeous firearm. The 8mm is a bit finicky though, make sure the gas is properly set!