[Marko Kloos]

For those who have never seen one, here's a Spanish FR-8, also known as "Cetmeton". It's a Spanish large-ring Mauser, converted to 7.62x51mm NATO. When the Spaniards adopted the CETME battle rifle, they reworked their stock of existing M1943 Mausers and fitted them with CETME-C barrels. The Mauser got sawed in half, and the CETME barrel assembly mated to it upside down. The FR-8 was issued to rear-echelon troops and Guardia Civil units.

The tube underneath the barrel is the cocking tube on a regular CETME-C, so they had to invert the front sight assembly to make it right-side up on the FR-8.

There's a lot of folklore out there regarding the suitability of the FR-8 for full-power 7.62x51 NATO. Some folks claim that the FR-8 was chambered for the weaker 7.62x51 CETME, and will not stand up to the higher pressure. The truth is that the Spaniards used CETME-C barrels for their FR-8s, and the FR-8 conversions were done in the mid-1960s, when the Spanish Army had already converted to the CETME-C designed for full-power NATO ammo.

Spain also converted their small-ring 1916 Mausers into FR-7 rifles, and those are probably not suitable for full-power .308. The FR-8, on the other hand, can shoot NATO surplus ammo all day long.

The FR-8 makes a really cool-looking and handy little scout rifle. I keep it around as a companion to my CETME. It's kind of neat to have a bolt-action rifle with a NATO STANAG flash hider for launching rifle grenades. :)

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=500303

[AJ Dual]

I love mine! I get questions about it all the time at the range.

My only beef is that the sights are pretty crude, and the sight radius is painfully short. Great little utility carbine though.

[Sleeping Dog]

You launch grenades with that thing? Where do you get the grenades? I might have to take my FR8 on my next fishing trip :)

They are nice lightweight rifles, and short. Easy to carry. And the rear peep is way better than most other Mauser rear sights.

Regards.

[MagKnightX]

Let me see if I have this straight...

It's just a large-ring Spanish Mauser that takes 7.62 NATO? Oh, and a STANAG FH/GL? Nothing really special?

[Marko Kloos]

It's just a large-ring Spanish Mauser that takes 7.62 NATO? Oh, and a STANAG FH/GL? Nothing really special?

Yeah, that's basically it. The subversive features make it one of the more interesting milsurps out there, though. Personally, I've just always liked the looks of the FR-8.

You launch grenades with that thing?

No, but it's nice to know that I *could*. :D

[SADshooter]

I bought one a few months ago, for use as a beater GP carbine. Handles nicely, although I find the straight bolt awkward. cslinger kindly provided me with some 8mm stripper clips which work to charge it. I'm thinking about a slip-on recoil pad. Recoil's not brutal, but I'm a sissy.

[telewinz]

Just learned something. I always wanted to know why they had a tube underneath the barrel. I could not believe it was intentional.

[Beetle Bailey]

Telewinz, what did you learn about that fake gas tube on the FR8? I just shot my buddy's FR8 recently (nice little rifle, by the way) and he told me that soldiers use that tube to either hold cigarettes or condoms (according to him the condoms would be used to cover the muzzle and thereby keep it clean). But was that the designer's original intention, and if not, then what?

[cordex]

Telewinz, what did you learn about that fake gas tube on the FR8?
Did you read the thread?
From post #1
The tube underneath the barrel is the cocking tube on a regular CETME-C, so they had to invert the front sight assembly to make it right-side up on the FR-8.

[4v50 Gary]

The fake tube - isn't it too small for a full size tootsie roll or a roll of lifesavers?

[Navy joe]

Naw, you just got to convince some rube to store his spare ammo in that tube, ought to be pretty entertaining as long as you're not close by. What's a price range? As a left shoulder shooter the straight bolts appeal to me a lot more than they do to wrongpaws.

[TODD3465]

I'll say one thing the FR-8 I have is one heck of a shooter.:)

[Beetle Bailey]

Sorry about the brainless question, I guess my ADD kicked in when I saw the picture :rolleyes: .

Navy joe, IINM my buddy got his at a gun shop a year ago for $200 and it's a nice one.

[telewinz]

In the past when I asked about the underbarrel tube I was told it held a cleaning kit. That answer didn't make sense. Marko Kloos explained it well.

[Nightcrawler]

If you REALLY wanted to make it a bolt-action assault rifle, you can add one of those 20-round Trench magazines that Sarco and other places have for Mauser rifles. (don't know if they'll fit on a .308 cal FR-8, but it'd look cool if it could be done.) Failing that, convert them to take M14 mags. :)

[AK103K]

The FR-8 is a great little rifle. My buddy had to talk me into one and now just about everyone in our family has one. :) (I thought it was ugly and what was the point, boy did I change my mind once I started playing with it)
The straight bolt handle is actually easier to use than the bent ones, as my buddy later discovered. He had his turned down and now wishes he didnt. It is faster to manipulate and also makes carrying the rifle easier as it rides on the back of the hand as you carry it with your hand around the action.

The Mauser strippers work well and can be had pretty cheap in bulk at the gun shows. I got a hundred for $15. The "chromed" ones work the best and smoothest.
My Dad has one of the SARCO "trench mags" and it will work on them. His seems to work ok, but I've heard others say they had problems with them. They are not cheap though, around $85 I think. They do make the rifle less handy though.

A slightly modified Mauser 98 sling with a 1" HK sling snap works well if you cant find or dont like the FR-8 or CETME slings. Most of the original slings I've seen have been pretty ratty. The Mauser slings are quick adjustable, work well and look good. You can find them in good shape for about $15 and the HK hooks for around $1-2.

The sights are a little shaky, especially if your not used to the HK type sights and how they work. For the most part, the big open and shallow "V" notch is what you will use the most and is meant to be the "combat sight". You use the big notch and the whole "globe" as the quick sight. Line up the top of the globe with the top of the notch and put the post on the target.(your eye pretty much does this automatically) You can easily snap shoot IPSC targets at 100 yards with them. The small "V" is your precision sight. I rarely use the peeps.

I was always told the tube under the barrel was the cleaning kit too, although I've never seen one for it. I suppose you could get a pull through type kit in there with the brushes, etc. Its also the bayonet mount. The CETME and FR-8 bayonet will fit. Tapco has them on sale for $12 in good shape if your looking for one.

For the money, they are a great rifle, much better than the SMLE's, especially the Ishy's. I paid around $100 for ours when we got them, but the ones I've seen lately, which are not to many, have been close to $200+. They clean up real nice for the most part, and if you re-park them, look brand new.

[Atlas Shrug]

These do tart up nicely.

I've played around with these changes:

-Ram-Line M98 stock to replace original (camo paint, rounded butt pad, third sling stud added, etc.)
-Ching Sling (Andy Langlois' excellent incarnation)
-Timney trigger (set at a nice, crisp 2-1/2 lbs.)

I'm also part way through a project where I use the cleaning kit (albeit modified) as a flashlight mount and extra battery storage (Surefire 6P or equiv). This is a fun project. I may try something similar with a modified bayonette, but I've not purchased one of these yet.

This is my primary "around the farm doing rough work" type rifle. It's something that Thomas Jefferson would probably have liked as a walking companion.

[son of a gun]

That's a nice gun but what exactly qualifies it to be an Assault rifle or did some politician like http://www.justice-denied.net/schumer_takes_aim.gif
declare it one ?

[Destructo6]

Here's a HK/CETME cocking tube cleaning kit, like the type that would go in the FR8's lower tube:

http://www.moneypit.net/~bhinton/CETME/CETME_Cleaning_Kit.jpg

Looks like they'd only have to move the barrel up one hole in the front sight triple frame rather than flip it over. I don't know for sure, since I've never handled a FR8.

I'd love an FR8. It's freaky-cool. Any idea where one could be had for a reasonable price these days?

[AK103K]

Ours all have Century Arms stamp on them. You could give them a call and see if they have some still laying around. I did see an add awhile back in the Gun List for them, but that was a while ago and I dont remember who it was that had them. You may find one in there or Shotgun News, or maybe on one of the auction sites. I see them from time to time in our local shops. Like I said, they were up to around $200 for one in OK shape.

[AJ Dual]

I have a cleaning kit in my FR8's fake cocking tube as well. :D

I only have one oil packet though. :(

The FR-8 also had the CTME style cocking tube in place so they could standardize on the CTME bayonet for all their forces, training, and rear units. The CTME style bayonet mounts to the face of the cocking tube, so the FR-8 had to have it as well, albeit on the underside, whereas the CTME and HK g3 bayo mounts in the less usual barrel top position.

AK103, you wrote:

The sights are a little shaky, especially if your not used to the HK type sights and how they work. For the most part, the big open and shallow "V" notch is what you will use the most and is meant to be the "combat sight". You use the big notch and the whole "globe" as the quick sight. Line up the top of the globe with the top of the notch and put the post on the target.(your eye pretty much does this automatically) You can easily snap shoot IPSC targets at 100 yards with them. The small "V" is your precision sight. I rarely use the peeps.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by the "globe" are you refering to the "globe" as the front sight post, or the entire front sight ring?

The one thing I don't like is that to adjust windage, the front post is merely offset so that rotating it will make it "wiggle" through 180 degrees of it's windage travel, but in doing so you're also screwing up your elevation.

It's definitely not a match rifle. I came in third.... from last with it. :( Here's a link and pics of me at that match. If you scroll down to the second match, you'll see my score improved in the July match with my Ishapore 2a, I can only assume the longer sight radius helped a bit. This was with milsurp Hirtenberger 7.62 NATO ammo in both matches with sandbags, and I was shooting against guys with free-floated 03'-A3's in machine rests and handloaded ammo. I always want to improve, but I'm at least satisfied as a "minute of torso" shooter at any reasonable range, in a historical context or a practical one.

http://www.dbcl.org/vintage_military_rifle_match.htm

http://www.dbcl.org/images/vmrm_m1_1.jpg

[Ian Sean]

There were quite a few FR-8's around in the mid-90's, I held off on buying one till I did a little research on them. The idea of a bolt .308 on a Mauser action in a little knock-around carbine looked good and intrigued me. I decided to get one and have NOT SEEN ONE SINCE!

I envy you, and wish you and your FR-8 well. :)

[DrDremel]

If any of you are interested in mine, e-mail me at gizmo308@hotmail.com. I am trying to fund a bigger toy and will sell mine for $220.00 I have fired 200 rounds through mine and it is a great gun, but I really want a Tommy gun.

[omega5]

I've had one for about 12 years and love it. No one told me I could not shoot regular .308 ammo in it and for years, that's what I did. Never had a problem. It's a great little gun and accurate as well. About the year 1998, I got the internet and found out I wasn't suppose to shoot civilian ammo:confused: and started shooting NATO 7.62x51. Then about a year ago, the internet tells me that I'm not suppose to shoot NATO in it either.
Well folks, I think that's a crock. Mine has hundreds of rounds of civilian and NATO ammo shot thru it and the head space is as tight as a new Remington BDL.
Talking about the fake gas tube, mine had a picture of a woman, naked, rolled up in it. Can't tell me that this wasn't some soldiers gun at one time.:D It was old, yellowed and faded but you could tell that she was a looker at one time.;)
Mine came with a Spanish bayonet, scabbard and sling. All serial numbers match. Here is a handy sight chart I found someplace that you guys may not have seen.

[No4Mk1]

Are you getting e-mail or PM's? I sent you a couple of messages on the No4 that you had for sale along with the FR8 but never heard back.

Please contact me by PM or e-mail (see my profile).

Thanks!

[AK103K]

Andrew,
I was refering to the "ring". HK calls it the "globe". You use the globe as the "front post" and the big notch at the rear as you would a set of pistol sights. The top of the globe even with the top of the rear notch, just like a giant set of pistol sights. If you do this with both eyes open and put the actual post within the globe on where you want the bullet to go, thats where it will go. Your eye pretty much does this by itself without thinking about it. When you throw the rifle up and get that snap sight picture, if you slowlty roll your head and eye down, you will see the small notch and the front sight post are lined up as they should be right where you were aiming. Its a lot easier to show than it is to type. :) This works on the HK's too. Its actually a very fast combat type sight for close up snap shooting once when you get used to it. The threads on the front sight post are fine enough that one full revolution doesnt really change vertical impact all that much, so the windage adjustment can be made. I agree, its annoying, but it works, and once set you dont have to fool with them. I did have to make a sight tool out of an old flat bladed screwdriver as there were none to be found. I still havent seen an original. HK did clean the design up, but theirs isnt a treat to zero either, but again, once set, they are set. Congrats on your third from the last. Considering what you were shooting against, sounds like you did ok. :)

omega5,
Thanks for the pic of the sight diagram. I always assumed that was what it was, but never could find anything to prove it.

[jason10mm]

I got a few from Allan's Armory (www.allansarmory.com IIRC) a couple of years ago, mainly to complement my CETME. Very nice condition, as reflected by his prices ($225 -250 IIRC) but they came with a bayonet (really nice curved edge) and sling. I got the cleaning kit package as well, but I forget if it came with my CETME or FR-8 (or both, I REALLY need to visit the back corners of my safes more often! :) ). Anyway, as a lefty, I didn't find the straight bolt any easier to operate than a curved bolt. In fact, the FR-8 seemed to lock up pretty tight after firing, but I never shot it much so practice may help. Of note, the bayonet cap on the FR-8 will NOT fit on the CETME, so no AFT worry issues there :) I'm not a fan of the paddle rear sight so I never did much precision work with it. But it is an extremely handy little rifle and a worthy addition to any arsenal!

[Atlas Shrug]

A small side point.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that it's "FR8" versus "FR-8" based on what's stamped into the side of the receivers that I've seen.

Just love those things. Maybe I'll put a few rounds through my favorite this weekend. After all, I have a birthday coming up. :-)

[Freightman]

Turn your front sight up 4 to 5 turns then you can use the 200m peep as 100m then all you have to do is set the windage.
I can see a lot better through the peep

[Skunkabilly]

So that's what happens nine months after a Mauser and an HK91 get wasted after a Rammstein concert and spend the night in the back of a Vee-Dubya microbus? :D

Neat! Are they Cali-legal? Boy it would be neat to have HK make these things. Just because.

[Marko Kloos]

I don't see how they wouldn't be Cali-legal. They have a flash hider and a bayo lug, but they're just bolt-crankers.

[Dave R]

You guys using the "V" sights--stop it! Readjust your 200M aperture for 100 yards (or don't--just hold about 2" low or shoot tight groups at 200). You will be amazed at how much more accurate your rifle becomes. Those V's are too coarse for any precision. The aperture is not.

[simon]

Cali legal? YES!
Big5 was selling these a year or 2 ago and I had to have one :D IIRC, it was like $150 in great shape and shoots really well. Its my favorite bolt gun, and the only one I have in .308 :(

[Skunkabilly]

Are these uniquely Spanish or did the Germans make them too?

[Freightman]

I think that it is Spanish! I second that it is 0ne of my three favorite rifles.
1. M1 Garand
2. FR8
3. Hakim
These three keep me broke buying ammo!!

[Marko Kloos]

They're uniquely Spanish. The new German Army never issued Mauser-type rifles*, so they had no large Mauser stocks to be retrofitted when the G3 was introduced.

*The exception is the German Army's Wachbataillon, the honor guard bataillon that supplies parade-ground troops for foreign dignitary visits in the Capital. They are issued Mauser 98k rifles for parade and drill, since a wood-aand-steel rifle looks more festive than a G3. Those are the only Mausers still in active German service.

A friend of mine served in that bataillon, and they did nothing but drill all day. His field jacket wore out on his shoulder from slamming the Mauser bolt into it during "present arms", which he had to do about a million times. On the upside, service in that bataillon lets you see national and foreign dignitaries up close.

[BamBam-31]

How do you turn the front sight? Do you need a special tool? Looks like there are two cutouts where some kind of key can be inserted. Dunno. I'm using the "V" rear right now, and it works okay. The peep would probably work better for me, though.

Also, I'm having feed problems with mine. I'm starting to think it came with the wrong magazine follower. Mine slides back and forth lengthwise about half an inch. When I load five rounds, the rear ends of the rounds don't stick up high enough to be caught by the bolt, and on the first and third rounds, the bolt will often slide right over the rounds. Help! :(

Otherwise, my FR-8 is a spiffy little shooter. Using Aussie .308, I got a five shot group at 50 yds. you could cover with a quarter. That's not too bad for me with irons.

[GW]

I just bought an FR* that popped up at a local gun shop for $150.00
The shop-owner kept insisting that this wasn't designed for .308--even wrote it on the receipt Says it needs .308 CETME
The rifle has 7.62 stamped on one side and FR8 stamped into it on the other side of the receiver and 1 other place.
On top of the receiver is a worn "Fabrique something (I think) and at the bottom of this crest is the date 1956
Can this rifle handle NATO surplus and factory .308 Winchester?
I ask because an earlier post says they were made in the '60's and this has 1956 stamped on it
Thanks for your help

[Atlas Shrug]

Lots of opinions on FR7, FR8, 7.62 CETME, 7.62 NATO, .308 Win.....

My observed OPINION:

-FR7: ONLY downloaded ammo or 7.62 CETME (not NATO or .308)
-FR8: 7.62 NATO likely OK, stay away from .308 Win for safety

Yes, anecdotes abound, but IMHO the above will work and keep you safe.

All of the above only for sound rifles properly inspected, etc.

[DMK]

I was wondering about these rifles myself. I saw one at a gunshow earlier this month for $150. I knew what it was, but didn't know the details about it. Unfortunately, I saw it after I blew all my money. There were just too many things I wanted that day.

[ElToro]

your killing me with the "not strong enuff for full power" bit.. if a 98 large ring mauser can handle 7mm,8mm, 30-06, and all the other rounds these things have been customized for, i wouldnt sweat shooting factory .308 thru it. i personally havnt been able to get me hands on one but as soon as i do im buying it.

[yayarx7]

http://www.gunsamerica.com/upload/976345883-1.jpg

This one is $300 on gunsamerica.

Looks like someone removed the lower tube to put it in a mauser stock.

[ElToro]

too much, after tax and shipping.. need one local for <250

[Tamara]

your killing me with the "not strong enuff for full power" bit.. if a 98 large ring mauser can handle 7mm,8mm, 30-06, and all the other rounds these things have been customized for,

I certainly wouldn't go running any Hornady Light Magnums through a Spanish M43 action, but it should be okay with limited use of commercial hunting ammo. I reckon it'd make a hella little brush rifle, but I mostly just use mine for plinking with CAVIM or other milsurp ball too icky to shoot in my HK. :uhoh:

[simon]

ElToro,go into your local Big5 and ask them to check with the warehouse to see if they have any, and can transferr it to their store for you,they will then call you when it comes.

[GW]

Calling Big 5 in the San Jose area was a bust. Maybe some surplus house will pop up with some.

[simon]

I went to Big5 (work there P/T :) ) and ordered an M1 carbine, the only one they had, $479-

[GW]

I think its getting to be a matter of luck finding an FR8 these days. I think I'll cruise the next bay area gun show to see whats available.

[Preacherman]

I resurrected this thread to point out that I have an FR8 for sale - see this thread (http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?threadid=71056) in the "For Sale" forums. If those of you who were looking for one are still looking, now's your chance! :D


http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?postid=867973

[deputy tom]

I had one of these FR8's back in the mid '90's and foolishly got rid of it due to some mis-information from my buddy.He claimed it had a soft receiver due to the serial no, range.I took a beating on it as I told the new owner of the supposed problem.He's probably still laughing.Sure wished I wouldn't have listened to him.tom.:mad: