Rare Egyptian contract FN Model 49 chambered in 8x57mm Mauser also known as 8mm Mauser or 7.92x57mm.

The Fabrique Nationale Model 1949 (FN‑49 or SAFN; selective‑fire Belgian AFN for military use) is an autoloading battle rifle designed by Dieudonné Saive in 1947 and finalized in 1949. It earned praise for build quality and reliability and features an adjustable gas port so it can be tuned to different cartridges. Marketability was limited because it arrived after WWII when many militaries were already switching to selective‑fire battle rifles; about half were made as selective‑fire/automatic rifles but the small 10‑round box magazine reduced practical automatic use. The FN‑49 faced stiff competition from newer designs such as the H&K G3 and FN’s own FAL, which capped its sales. Contracting began in 1948 with Venezuela placing the first order on March 31, 1948 (delivered four months later), and production of complete rifles continued until the last contract for Indonesia on December 19, 1960 (delivered February 19, 1961). FN targeted non‑aligned and export markets because Western nations had large WWII stocks and Soviet bloc customers were restricted to Soviet designs. Venezuela’s early contract included thousands of 7×57mm rifles (some later sold as U.S. surplus and prized by collectors), illustrating FN’s export focus and varied caliber offerings. Pre‑production/demo models and a few trials for other navies are reported by some sources, though not all led to sales. Egypt’s initial SAFN contract was small—100 rifles in 7.92×57mm ordered May 30, 1948 and delivered by June 10, 1949—but Egypt went on to become FN’s largest single customer, ultimately purchasing 37,602 SAFN‑1949 rifles in total. These purchases made Egypt a central operator of the design and a major factor in the FN‑49’s export footprint. The Egyptian contract illustrates how FN found sustained demand in non‑aligned and developing military markets. Belgium ordered test batches in 1949 and then a production contract (designated ABL SAFN‑49) on August 24, 1950; Belgian contracts totaled 87,777 rifles—nearly half of all FN‑49s produced—and included the selective‑fire AFN for Belgian forces. Luxembourg bought 6,306 rifles (mostly .30‑06), many of which later entered the U.S. surplus market and are sought after because .30‑06 is popular with American shooters. Subsequent contracts covered Indonesia, the Belgian Congo, Colombia, Argentina (5,536 rifles in 7.65×53mm for the navy), plus a few prototypes in various calibers and very rare commercial .30‑06 imports in the 1960s.

Good condition:

This FN Model 49 is in nice shape for its age and considering it was an Egyptian Army issue rifle obviously the climate of Egypt is not too friendly for wood stocks and firearms but this one has survived and made its way to the US. The stock has some bumps and scuffs but there are no cracks or chips. We think there may be some trench are up in the front end. The butt plate was removed and changed for a rubberized one. That is not an original part but it does feel nice and probably feels nice shooting. Original metal butt plates are not hard to source and install similar to traditional Mauser rifles. The bore has pitting in it but we still see good strong lands and grooves. Likely the best course of action here would be heavy scrubbing with a brass brush and Ballistic oil to neutralize any fouling. We would rate the barrel a 3/5. The bluing condition is fair. Some parts retain a lot of the original finish and other parts have more metal finish.

The only serialized part we could find was the receiver. No other parts appeared to have numbers when we looked. This might due to the fact that this was a late serial number in the contract batch.

Fabrique Nationale D’armes De Guerre – Herstal Belgique (FN Herstal production)
Serial number 26XXX range – Serial number in Arabic. Only 37,602 units would ever be produced for Egypt.
Egyptian Crest – For Egyptian contract – Crown of King Farouk – Arabic says “Egyptian Army”
“Gas” – in Arabic on gas cylinder plug.
Liege Monument – Traditional Belgian proof house mark “Le Perron”
*L – Front receiver near barrel – Inspector Mark
*X – Rear top cover – Inspector Mark