El Tigre Rifle
Encyclopedia
The El Tigre rifle was a Spanish copy of the Winchester Model 1892
made by Garate, Anitua y Cia., an Eibar
based arms manufacturer between 1915 and 1938.
in the 1890s to keep staff working while awaiting the arrival of modern machinery required for the production of the Mauser
Model 1893. These utilised some improvements made in the Winchester 1876, but were chambered in .44-40 thus allowing a slimmer action. Carbine variants were made for the Cavalry, and the 14th regiment of the Guardia Civil. Musket variants were made for some other users, such as Military academies and sentries. After 1893 a further unknown number of carbines were sourced from Eibar
based firms, but these, according to Madis, were of lower quality than the Oviedo made models.
supplying the Allies with large-framed revolvers based on Smith and Wesson designs and the 7.65mm Browning calibre self-loading Ruby pistol
s, the company began to market the first El Tigre rifles in 1923.
The El Tigre rifles were again chambered for the Winchester .44-40 cartridge (known in Spain as the .44 largo) and had a 22 inch round profiled barrel (like the previous 1873/1876 carbines) marked with the makers name, calibre, and the trademark image of a Tiger. The stock was of Spanish walnut with a 12 3/4" Length of Pull and a crescent shaped metal butt plate with a trapdoor fitted for storage of a jointed cleaning rod in the butt. A drift-adjusted blade front site was fitted, usually attached to the front barrel band in accordance with old Spanish practice. A military tangent leaf rear sight was fitted which was similar to those on the Mauser
1893 rifle and sighted to 1000 metres.
The El Tigre was made for both Civilian and Police use, but apart from its emergency use during the Spanish Civil War it was never issued as a military weapon. Over one million were eventually produced for private sale (mainly hunters), forest rangers, and for police, prison or private security guards who needed a compact but long-ranged weapon for use in confined spaces (e.g. the Railway division of the Guardia Civil). Certainly the .44-40 cartridge was adequate for hunting most Spanish game animals. Many were also exported to Latin American police agencies or prisons, leading to the widespread misconception that the El Tigre was made in Mexico or some other Latin American country.
The El Tigre was replaced in service starting in the 1940s by bolt action carbines such as the Destroyer carbine
and Submachine gun
s which were chambered for the 9mm Largo service cartridge. Large numbers were exported as surplus to the US in the 1950s and 1960s, corresponding with the growth of interest in Western history
and arms collecting.
El Tigre rifles often appear in photographs of the Spanish Civil war, usually in the hands of Militia, Police or rear echelon forces.
Winchester Model 1892
The Winchester Model 1892 was a lever-action repeating rifle designed by John Browning as a smaller, lighter version of his large-frame Model 1886, and which replaced the Model 1873 as the company's lever-action for smaller dual-use rounds such as the .44-40 .-History:When asked by Winchester to...
made by Garate, Anitua y Cia., an Eibar
Éibar
Eibar is a city and municipality within the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country of Spain. The city was chartered by Alfonso XI of Castile in 1346...
based arms manufacturer between 1915 and 1938.
Background
Ironically, it may have been the intensive marketing efforts of the Winchester company's agent in Spain during the 1870s and 1880s that led to the El Tigre's popularity in Spain. These efforts included a visit by Oliver Winchester to Spain and other countries. After exhaustive testing and many design changes, 230 Winchester Model 1873 carbines (with 22 inch barrels, metre sights, full length cleaning rod and full stock) were sold to the Spanish Military for use by the Cavalry and Royal Bodyguard in the 1870s. These are considered to be evolutionary predecessors of the Winchester 1876 carbines, most famously supplied to the North-West Mounted Police. More than 2,500 were later made under license by the Spanish arsenal at OviedoOviedo
Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city....
in the 1890s to keep staff working while awaiting the arrival of modern machinery required for the production of the Mauser
Mauser
Mauser was a German arms manufacturer of a line of bolt-action rifles and pistols from the 1870s to 1995. Mauser designs were built for the German armed forces...
Model 1893. These utilised some improvements made in the Winchester 1876, but were chambered in .44-40 thus allowing a slimmer action. Carbine variants were made for the Cavalry, and the 14th regiment of the Guardia Civil. Musket variants were made for some other users, such as Military academies and sentries. After 1893 a further unknown number of carbines were sourced from Eibar
Éibar
Eibar is a city and municipality within the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country of Spain. The city was chartered by Alfonso XI of Castile in 1346...
based firms, but these, according to Madis, were of lower quality than the Oviedo made models.
Genesis and Production History
The first models were produced by Garate y Anitua in 1915, but production was pressumably interrupted by the war. Having spent most of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
supplying the Allies with large-framed revolvers based on Smith and Wesson designs and the 7.65mm Browning calibre self-loading Ruby pistol
Ruby pistol
The self-loading Ruby pistol is best known as a French World War I sidearm, the Pistolet Automatique de 7 millim.65 genre "Ruby". A very international piece of weaponry, it was closely modeled after the American John Browning's M1903 made by the Belgian Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, and was...
s, the company began to market the first El Tigre rifles in 1923.
The El Tigre rifles were again chambered for the Winchester .44-40 cartridge (known in Spain as the .44 largo) and had a 22 inch round profiled barrel (like the previous 1873/1876 carbines) marked with the makers name, calibre, and the trademark image of a Tiger. The stock was of Spanish walnut with a 12 3/4" Length of Pull and a crescent shaped metal butt plate with a trapdoor fitted for storage of a jointed cleaning rod in the butt. A drift-adjusted blade front site was fitted, usually attached to the front barrel band in accordance with old Spanish practice. A military tangent leaf rear sight was fitted which was similar to those on the Mauser
Mauser
Mauser was a German arms manufacturer of a line of bolt-action rifles and pistols from the 1870s to 1995. Mauser designs were built for the German armed forces...
1893 rifle and sighted to 1000 metres.
The El Tigre was made for both Civilian and Police use, but apart from its emergency use during the Spanish Civil War it was never issued as a military weapon. Over one million were eventually produced for private sale (mainly hunters), forest rangers, and for police, prison or private security guards who needed a compact but long-ranged weapon for use in confined spaces (e.g. the Railway division of the Guardia Civil). Certainly the .44-40 cartridge was adequate for hunting most Spanish game animals. Many were also exported to Latin American police agencies or prisons, leading to the widespread misconception that the El Tigre was made in Mexico or some other Latin American country.
The El Tigre was replaced in service starting in the 1940s by bolt action carbines such as the Destroyer carbine
Destroyer carbine
The Destroyer Carbine is a small bolt action carbine chambered for the 9 x 23 mm Largo cartridge. It was used by Spanish police and prison services, including the Guardia Civil from the mid 1930s until the late 1960s, replacing the El Tigre Rifle....
and Submachine gun
Submachine gun
A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
s which were chambered for the 9mm Largo service cartridge. Large numbers were exported as surplus to the US in the 1950s and 1960s, corresponding with the growth of interest in Western history
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
and arms collecting.
El Tigre rifles often appear in photographs of the Spanish Civil war, usually in the hands of Militia, Police or rear echelon forces.