Questions seem to center around two areas when it comes to Spanish Mausers. A lot of the investigative work has been done awhile back, some as much as 50 plus years ago! Pulling it all together has been a very rewarding project. I tried to get more then one reference to verify data. Now, I happen to actually enjoy research! Preparing for this article found me surrounded by books, a couple borrowed, and most out of my considerable firearms library. This article is not meant to be an inclusive history of Spanish arms. The purpose of this article is to answer some of the questions that crop up quite frequently, and to debunk a few myths. The article Ted and I wrote about the Spanish FR8 generated a lot of feedback, in a very short time! There are a lot of questions about Spanish Mausers, both those made for Spain by German contractors, and those produced in Spanish arsenals. Here we present information gathered from recognized sources and combine them with our OWN rifles, ammo and shooting experiences for your information only. When in doubt, have a qualified gunsmith check it out. There is not even any wear from cycling the bolt.As we have no control over your rifle, ammo and shooting habits, there is no implied or otherwise stated fact that YOUR rifle is safe to use. This rifle was not issued and is in new condition. The FR 8 rifle was used into the 1970s by mounted Guardia Civil units in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Operation is identical to the standard Mauser design, however, due to it's light weight, short barrel and calibre, recoil and muzzle blast are relatively heavy. The front sight is elevation-adjustable via a special tool. The rear sight is an elevation-adjustable rotary type sight with apertures for 200 m (220 yards), 300 m (330 yards) and 400 m (440 yards), as well as an open 'V' notch for 100 m (110 yards). It is actually a part from the CETME rifle. The under-barrel tube, which resembles the gas cylinder used on automatic weapons, served as the bayonet mount and was used as storage for cleaning gear.

There are notches in the flash hider which could be used to cut wire by firing a round. The flash hider also functioned as a rifle grenade launcher and was compatible with NATO-standard 22 mm rifle grenades. It was modified to fire the 7.62×51mm NATO round.

The FR-8 was developed from the Model 1943 short rifle, which was based on the 'large ring' Model 1898 Mauser action. There were not enough CETME rifles in inventory to equip and train all troops, though, so the FR8 rifles were made from existing stockpiles of Mauser bolt-action rifles to equip some troops. The FR8 was introduced in the 1950s during the period when the Spanish military was implementing the CETME automatic rifle.

Spanish mauser fr8 parts