Mauser-Vergueiro
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| Mauser-Vergueiro Rifle | |
|---|---|
| Type | Bolt-action rifle |
| Place of origin |  Portugal |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1904–1937 |
| Used by | Portugal, Brazil, South Africa, German East Africa |
| Wars | World War I |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1904 |
| Produced | 1904–1945 |
| Variants | Rifle m/1907, Carbine m/1907 and Rifle m/1907/39 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 3.9 kg (Rifles m/1904 and m/1904/39) 3.6 kg (Carbine m/1907) |
| Length | 1110 mm (Rifles m/1904 and m/1904/39) 1100 mm (Carbine m/1907) |
| Barrel length | 600 mm |
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| Cartridge | 6.5x58mm Vergueiro (Rifle and Carbine m/1907) 7.92x57mm Mauser (Rifle m/1907/39) |
| Action | Bolt-action |
| Muzzle velocity | 715 m/s |
| Effective range | 2000 m |
| Feed system | 5-round stripper clip, internal magazine |
Mauser-Vergueiro was a bolt action rifle, designed in 1904 by José A. Vergueiro, Infantry officer of the Portuguese Army. It was developed from the rifle Mauser 98 with the introduction of a new bolt system. Out of Portugal, the weapon was also known as Portuguese Mauser. It used the 6.5x58mm Vergueiro, a portuguese cartridge developed specially for it.
The weapon substituted the Kropatschek m/1886 as the standard infantry rifle of the Portuguese Army in 1904, remaining itself in service until the its substitution, for the Mauser 98k in 1939. In the Portuguese service the weapon was officially designated Espingarda 6,5 mm m/1904 (Rifle 6.5mm m/1904). A lighter and shorter version of the weapon was classified as a carabine and designated Carabina 6,5 mm m/1904. Mauser-Vergueiro was also in the service of Brazil and South Africa.
In Portuguese and South African service it was used in combat in the First World War and in several colonial campaigns. The German colonial troops in East Africa also used Mauser-Vergueiro rifles, captured from the allied forces in combat, preferring them to its proper Mauser rifles of German origin.
In 1939, already after the Portuguese Army have adopted the 7.92x57mm Mauser 98k, a version of Mauser-Vergueiro modified for that type of the ammunition was introduced . This version was called Espingarda 8 mm m/1904/39.
