The Spanish FR7 and FR8,By the 1950’s the Spanish, like most nations, were seeking a new semi

 The Spanish FR7 and FR8,By the 1950’s the Spanish, like most nations, were seeking a new semi-auto battle rifle or fully automatic assault rifle to replace their near obsolete bolt actions.  The Spanish chose the CETME, a select fire semi auto/fully automatic rifle fed from a detachable magazine and chambered in 7.62 CETME.  The CETME helped modernized the Spanish Army, however there was a problem.  A complex and expensive rifle, there were not enough CETME rifle’s to arm the entire Spanish military.  The new rifle was issued by priority, which often meant that less important units such as reserves, militia, police, and other rear echelon units did not have access to the rifle.In order to sure up the numbers, the Spanish military turned to the idea of modernizing their massive arsenals of bolt action rifles.  After the bloody Spanish Civil War and World War II (Spain was neutral), the Spanish military was in possession of tens of thousands of Mauser type bolt action rifles.  Many of the rifles were taken out of storage, re-arsenalled, and modified to serve as a reserve arm.  The rifles were shortened into a more compact carbine length, new sights were mounted, and caliber was modified.  The FR7 and FR8 were very similar to each other, with the FR7 being built from Spanish Model 1893 Mauser actions while the FR8 was produced from 98 Mauser actions. A flash suppressor was installed, which was compatible with the firing of NATO type rifle grenades.  A bayonet mount for modern bayonets was also included.  What looks to be a gas tube is actually a storage compartment for a cleaning kit.  The most important modification of the FR7 and FR8 was in caliber.  Modified from 7x57 and 8x57mm Mauser, the FR7 was chambered in 7.62 CETME, while the FR8 was chambered in 7.62 NATO.  This was so that the rifles would share common caliber with the Spanish military as well as NATO.First produced in the late 1950’s, the FR7 and FR8 was used by the Spanish military and the Guardia Civil (National Police) up through the 1970’s.  After being fully phased out, most were sold on the civilian market as military surplus, making popular hunting rifles and collectibles.  Back in the day they used to be cheap and plentiful on the milsurp market, today they are becoming fairly scarce. -- source link

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