Hello. Well I saw a great looking one at the local gun shop for $229. I know nothing about these rifles,except it is a cool "historical" looking .308.  Can anyone help? History, price, shootability, reliability, accuracy, etc. Thanks



I am the epitome of the compulsive consumer.  I wrote this original post around 12:30 after a morning trip to browse the gun shop.  I was'nt looking for anything particular, maybe a few boxes of ammo, but definetly not a rifle.

I saw the Mauser sitting there and something about it just called me.  It was about 95% condition, a carbine, with a flash hider, bayo lug, and was a .308. Cool. Well, I put it down and left to further investigate this rifle with the help of my good buddies here at AR15.com
It only took a quick skim through some of the links to verify that i had found a winner.  By 3:30 this afternoon, in was handing over the Mastercard.  I talked the lady down to $210 which I thought was fair enough.  I also picked up 4 boxed of SA .308.  Then, it was straight to the range with the old man.
 Well, my first impression was, WOW, .308 is a huge round. I' ve never really shot it except a few years ago in the M60.  The rifle shot exellent.  It took a few rounds to get used to the sights, but very quickly I was nailing soda cans at 50 yards every time.  A few times they flew 20 feet up in the air! It was cool.  The rifle never malfunctioned at all.  It is fairly loud and kicks a bit, but i'm a big boy. It was one of the most enjoyable shoots ever.  

For you guys in CA, Big5 has FR8s for $189 or so.  The one that I looked at did look kinda beat though...

That price sounds a little high, although if the condition were excellent and some extra stuff thrown in it might be OK.

I have the "inferior FR-7" and I like it.

It's a Mauser with all that entails, although I believe the FR-8 is "large ring" and the FR-7 is "small ring," and there is the aforementioned difference in cocking.

Just put military ammo in it and no hot factory or reloads and it would be good to go.  Recoil is heavy but not unmanageable.

Historywise I know the Spanish created the FRs from old Mausers to have the flash suppressor and similar sights to the CETME, which was their current rifle at that time (1950s).

I actually paid more than that for mine, but mine looks unissued. Its in brand new condition. Wood and metal are unblemished.
I like mine alot, its a very handy little .308 caliber bolt action.
Fun to shoot has a good deal of recoil but not as bad as a .303 Enfield.

btt

Ok, so where can I find some technical info. on this rifle. How do you open the storage tube thingy?  Do you grease these or CLP or what?
Thanks

Have you seen any lately?  I've been looking for a while.  Let me know if you have seen any around.

Thanks