1940 French Mas 36 with LK5 stamp on buttstock

MongooseLaw · May 24, 2020

Hello, I picked this rifle up last year while rounding out my "main WW2 battle rifles" collection. Purchased from mchome25 who was gracious enough to hold it a few days for me while I secured funds. Have not seen one like this for sale since so I'm glad I jumped on it. Dated May 1940, all matching except the floorplate which is also H prefixed. No import marks and an excellent bore. There is a faint but visible "LK5" right along the edge of the buttstock near the buttplate, which I've heard is a common place for this mark. I have a sling for it but I'm searching for a darker colored more period correct sling which has proven difficult to source. I did fire this rifle and it proved quite accurate and surprisingly comfortable/lower recoil than I expected. Of course it is not a range toy and I only fired 10 rds, unfortunately I enjoyed the experience so much that now I "need" a nice postwar Mas 36 to use as a shooter.

Enjoy the pictures, comments good or bad always welcome. Decided to share here as I like this forum a little more than gunboards :happy0180:

Thanks!
-John

Hambone · May 24, 2020

Very cool

I like MAS.36 too! The 7.5 is a good cartridge. How'd it shoot?

Pat · May 24, 2020

I haven't seen an LK5 stamp that looked quite like that, almost like someone tried to 'enhance' it. What's underneath is likely legit, especially with the '10' stamped into the grip flat on the underside of the stock.

They're excellent shooters, and the sight picture seems better with the pre-war rifles than the post-liberation/war rifles.

Pat

MongooseLaw · May 24, 2020

It shot really nice and was rather accurate although I don't usually do well with peep sights.

Pat it's actually pretty hard to see the LK5, previous seller said he never knew it was there. It may look enhanced due to the lighting, I was trying to make it more visible in the pictures.

Thanks guys
-John

Hambone · May 24, 2020

Pat said:
I haven't seen an LK5 stamp that looked quite like that, almost like someone tried to 'enhance' it. What's underneath is likely legit, especially with the '10' stamped into the grip flat on the underside of the stock.

They're excellent shooters, and the sight picture seems better with the pre-war rifles than the post-liberation/war rifles.

Pat

I’m with you Pat, I like a rear aperture and open wings on the front, not a ring.

Pat · May 24, 2020

MongooseLaw said:
it's actually pretty hard to see the LK5, previous seller said he never knew it was there. It may look enhanced due to the lighting, I was trying to make it more visible in the pictures.

I don't doubt that it's there, it just appears that someone at some point attempted to enhance it by scratching in the L and K a bit to make them more apparent than they'd been. The bottom rung on the L goes off at an angle instead of straight like the other LK5 stamps.

Hambone said:
I’m with you Pat, I like a rear aperture and open wings on the front, not a ring.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you like shooting No.4 Mk.I Enfields too, huh?!

Pat

MongooseLaw · May 24, 2020

Ah, got ya...definitely a possibility.

The no4 mk1 is another rifle i love to shoot but the 300/600 yard flip up peep sight on my Savage mk1* makes precision accuracy almost impossible haha.

1940 French Mas 36 with LK5 stamp on buttstock

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