I picked this up today for my MAS 36 and need to make sure it is the proper stuff.
I can't read a thing it says...not even sure what language it is written in. I'm told it is Syrian, 7.5x54 for the French MAS but not totally sure. I appears to be exactly the same size as the Privi Partisan stuff I recently bought so in all likelihood it is.
Now I would like to A) confirm what it si and B) translate what it says as it appears really cool
Any help is appreciated!
Last edited by carguy on October 27th, 2007, 11:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I have a friend who is Persian, I asked her to take a look at your pics. She said the only thing she could read were some numbers from the first picture as she said that the writing is Arabic.
Thanks, someone from gunboards also told me this was Syrian from 1957, manufactured in Demascus.
Don't know if it's any good or not so I'll just treat it like corrosive surplus and see how it goes.
I picked up 150 rounds for $50 compared to the Privi Partisan stuff I paid 50 cents a round for...this is a bargin...I'll just have to bring along my bottle of water to flush out the barrel and bolt before regular cleaning.
Ottoman Turkish script, perhaps...would have been my first guess. The guy from gunboards sounds pretty positive, though.
Macro settings help with close-ups of details.
The Prvi Partizan is, in my opinion, top-notch; made in Serbia. Excellent, full-power ammunition. Take a look at their ballistics charts, and the particulars on the different types of bullets they make:
If you place the cartridge through a hole in an index card with lines on it, your camera will be able to focus better. Also, if you use the optical zoom (if your camera has one) and get a little farther away from the object, it will also have an easier time getting things in focus. Sorry I can't help with the translation ... I speak a few languages, but not THAT one!
I have a scanner but have had problems with it and am waiting on a replacement (work related).
I agree with Bzinggg that the Privi Partisan is gret ammo and have purchased several hundred rounds of it but tough to find in stock for the MAS.
I was going to try some of the Syrian 7.5 today but forgot the annual pumpkin shoot at my club.
$5 to participate and shoot pumpkins until someone shoots more than anyone else (obviously taking turns and shooting the same number of rounds). 4 at 50 yards then 4 at 100 and keep shooting at 100 until there is a winner. I sucked.
The best part was the end..."fire at will", anyone, everyone shooting anything they had that was legal to have!!
Every hunting rifle you could find plus Uzi's, SKS', AK's, M16's, AR's, something that looked like a browning tripod machine gun from WWII in 308 cal (it was actually semi-auto with a hand crank). Several full auto ARs and a wierd looking FN that shot 5.5, stick your hand in the middle of this block of plastic with an 8 inch barrel sticking out of the end, wierd looking thing, but cool at 50 yards!
Fun day then had to pack to go to Vermont for a couple of days on business. See ya in the funny papers!
and it has a companion pistol called (bet you can't guess why) the "Five-Seven" (it holds 20 rounds and can drive tacks) http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg18-e.htm
Last edited by trent on November 5th, 2007, 12:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
I finally got to shoot some of that Syrian surplus ammo I picked up in an attempt to save a couple of bucks...WRONG!
This was my morning...Ready, Aim, Fire...click...wait...count to 60...eject...dud box, Ready, Aim, Fire...click...wait...BANG!, Ready, Aim, click...wait...count to 60...eject...dud box!!!
80% duds and every other one that did fire was a hang fire for at least a fraction of a second...enough to notice the delay.
I'm just going to have to dump this stuff somehow as it just isn't worth all the waiting and the danger (I'm scared to death handling a dud that has brothers in the box that all seem to be hang fires) and then it is corrosive and the extra cleaning (and it is dirty stuff to top it all off). So $50 down the drain but I am saving the casings from the Privi Partisan I picked up in case I either try my hand at reloading or find someone locally that will work with me to reload.
Oh well...nothing ventured nothing gained. Is it possible to pull the bullets, save the powder and pull the primers to reload these casings? What a waste of 150 rounds!
DO NOT SAVE THE POWDER! Because the powder is so old and of (what is basically) unknown origin -- and because there is a chronic hangfire/misfire problem with the ammo -- saving and reusing the powder can only lead to similar problems or much, much worse!
I don't know if there is a safe and easy way to pull live primers without damaging or discharging them. Once you pull the bullets and dump the powder you could chamber each case and fire the primer, then the cases could be reloaded normally. But only if the cases are Boxer primed, if they are Berdan primed then the only reusable part is the bullet.
If they are Berdan primed you will see 2 small flash holes in the bottom of the inside of the case; Boxer primed cases have 1 larger flash hole.
