The FR 7 and FR 8 are

bolt-action Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...

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 staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

and the

calibre In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore match ...

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, as 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 i ...

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 CETME Model 58 and CETME Model L are its most notable projects. ...

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 Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik ("Royal Württemberg Rifle Factory"), was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols has been produced since the 1870s for the German arme ...

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 developed from the Model 1943 short rifle, which was based on "large ring" Model 1898 Mauser action. Both rifles were modified to fire 7.62×51mm NATO. The FR 8 was used well into the 1970s by mounted

Guardia Civil The Civil Guard ( es, Guardia Civil, link=no; ) is the oldest law enforcement agency in Spain and is one of two national police forces. As a national gendarmerie force, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the a ...

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 primarily ...

Features

The

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

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 du ...

launcher, compatible with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

-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 publicat ...

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