Comments by "" (@neutronalchemist3241) on "Semiauto FAMAS F1 Rifle" video.

  1. The MAS 49/56 semiauto and the MAT 49 SMG.
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  2. It isn't infact. Both works with the principle of accelerating the bolt carrier rearward at a much greater velocity than the bolt head, so, in practice, exchanging the mass of the bolt required to keep the action closed in a simple blowback design, with the accelerated speed of a part of it, according to the cinetic energy formula. The method to achieve this (levers, rollers or inclined surfaces) isn't so important.
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  3. On the other hand, in respect to it's disadvantages, the advantage of bullpups desing compactness in tansport is often void if compared to standard designs with collapsible stock (that bullpups can't have). Comparing the FAMAS and the Steyr AUG with another 5.56 NATO European design of the same years (the Beretta SC70/90), we see that the SC70/90, with the stock collapsed, is 756mm long with a 450mm barrel. The FAMAS is 757mm long with 488mm barrel, The AUG is 790mm long with 508mm barrel. So, the lenght advantages of the FAMAS and AUG designs, for the same barrel lenght, are of mere 36mm (1.4 inches) and 24mm (1 inch) respectively. Hardly noticeable when the rifle is carried by a soldier in a truck. The French are leaving these not cause the project is faulty, but cause they have no more a state-owned small weapons manufacturer. To hire a foreign contractor to redesign the weapon to the most recent standards (large use of polymer in the receiver to contain weight and adding the rails, redesign of the action to reduce the ROF and provide a smoother extraction, redesign of the bolt to reduce the time required to switch the ejection to left/right) and produce it, will be more expensive than selecting a modern assault rifle already on the market.
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  4. It has to be said that, in respect to it's disadvantages, the advantage of bullpups desing compactness in tansport is often void if compared to standard designs with collapsible stock (that bullpups can't have). Comparing the FAMAS and the Steyr AUG with another 5.56 NATO European design of the same years (the Beretta SC70/90), we see that the SC70/90, with the stock collapsed, is 756mm long with a 450mm barrel. The FAMAS is 757mm long with 488mm barrel, The AUG is 790mm long with 508mm barrel. So, the lenght advantages of the FAMAS and AUG designs, for the same barel lenght, are of mere 36mm (1.4 inches) and 24mm (1 inch) respectively. Hardly noticeable when the rifle is carried by a soldier in a truck. Obviously armies could have good reasons to prefer fixed stocks over collapsible ones (economy, ruggedness...), but, compared to the drawbacks of the bullpups...
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  5. Around 12.000 FAMAS had been upgraded to the FELIN standard (new 1/7" Beretta-made barrel, new piticanny-rail carry handle, new sights, new bayonet, front pistol grip option...) but, with the newest base rifles to convert that are around 40 years old, it seems kinda like beating a dead horse. To be competitive with the newest designs, the rifle needs to be completely redesigned (a new bolt less picky about ammos, much more plastic in the body to keep the weight down, faster ambidextrous features) and, since the Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Etienne closed in 2002, there is none to do the job.
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