The FR 7 and FR 8 are

bolt-action Bolt action is a type of manual Action (firearms), firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt (firearms), turn-bolt via a cocking handle, bolt handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the firearm (a ...

rifles adopted by Spain in the 1950s. The "FR" stands for ''Fusil Reformado'' in Spanish ("Converted Rifle" in English). The FR 7 is a variant of the "Spanish M93 Mauser" bolt action while the FR 8 is based on the "Mauser System 98" bolt action. Due to their light weight, short

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

and the

calibre In guns, particularly firearms, but not artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or wher ...

used, their

recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, for according to Newton's third law the force requ ...

and

muzzle blast A muzzle blast is an explosive shockwave created at the muzzle of a firearm during shooting. Before a projectile leaves the gun barrel, it obturates the bore and "plugs up" the pressurized gaseous products of the propellant combustion behind ...

are relatively heavy.

History

The FR7 and FR8 were introduced in the 1950s when the Spanish military was already implementing the

CETME CETME () is a Spanish government design and development establishment. While being involved in many projects CETME was mostly known for its small arms research and development. The Spanish government hired former semiautomatic weapon designers f ...

automatic rifle, but did not yet have sufficient inventory to equip and train all troops. The rifles were made from existing stockpiles of

Mauser Mauser, originally the Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik, was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols was produced beginning in the 1870s for the German armed forces. In the late 19th and ...

bolt-action rifles. The FR-7 was a modification of the Model 1916 short rifle, which in turn was based on the Mauser Model 1893. These three rifles are often referred to as being "small ring" Mausers, as the receiver ring is smaller in diameter than the latter Model 1898 by .110-inch (1.410 inches vs. 1.300 inches). The FR-8 was rebuilt from the Model 1943 short rifle, which was based on the "large ring" Model 1898 Carbine Mauser action(98K). Both rifles were modified to fire

7.62×51mm NATO The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, straight walled, bottlenecked, centerfire rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries. First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first be ...

but the FR-7 uses a low powered variation due to the small rings weaker design. The FR 8 was used well into the 1970s by mounted

Guardia Civil The Civil Guard (; ) is one of the two national law enforcement agencies of Spain. As a national gendarmerie, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the authority of both the Ministry of the Interior and the Minis ...

units in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

Features

The

flash hider A flash suppressor, also known as a flash guard, flash eliminator, flash hider, or flash cone, is a device attached to the muzzle of a rifle that reduces its visible signature while firing by cooling or dispersing the burning gases that exit t ...

was designed to also function as a

rifle grenade A rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade were thrown by hand. The practice of projecting grenades with rifle-mounted launchers was first widely used dur ...

launcher, compatible with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

-standard 22 mm rifle grenades. It also has notches in it so that wire could be cut with it by firing a round. The under-barrel tube, which resembles the gas cylinder found on automatic weapons, actually serves as the bayonet mount and as storage for cleaning gear. The rear sight is an elevation-adjustable rotary type with apertures for , and , as well as an open "V" notch for . The front sight is elevation-adjustable via a special tool. Operation is identical to the standard Mauser design.

Images

Image:FR8-02.jpg, FR 8 - La Coruña Image:FR8-03.jpg, FR 8 - La Coruña Image:FR8-04.jpg, FR 8 - La Coruña Image:FR8-05.jpg, FR 8 - La Coruña Image:FR8-06.jpg, FR 8 - La Coruña Image:FR8-07.jpg, FR 8 - La Coruña Image:FR8-09.jpg, FR 8 - La Coruña Image:Bajonet-FR8.jpg, Bayonet FR 8 - La Coruña

References

Sources

Guns Magazine ''Guns'' is a magazine dedicated to firearms, hunting, competition shooting, reloading, and other shooting-related activities in the United States. First published in 1955, it is one of the oldest periodicals about firearms in continuous public ...

", May 2006, Holt Bodinson; text transcript unde
www.findarticles.com
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External links