Development was entrusted to the Saint-Étienne arms factory, which took input from sports shooters in both the military and the civilian French Shooting Federation.

The receiver of the FR F1 is fundamentally the same as the MAS 36 but designed to be stronger and thicker in order to increase accuracy, and are not interchangeable.

The basic rear-locking helical-lug bolt design was taken from the Japanese Arisaka Type 38 rifle[5] and extensively modified and strengthened to reduce accuracy-inhibiting flex.

The wooden pistol grip stock is adorned with a padded cheek rest and features a buttplate spacer system to adjust length of pull.

[7] The standard FR F1 was equipped with the 3.85 power APX L806 telescopic sight designed for the MAS-49 rifle, for economical reasons.

In order to reduce weight, a relatively light barrel profile was chosen, which made the rifle more prone to point-of-impact shift from the heat buildup of extended firing sessions.

Standard steel 10-round detachable box magazines had a rubber base pads which allowed the weapon to be placed hastily with less noise and risk of damage.