Mondragon M1908

The Mondragon M1908 is a Mexican battle rifle invented by General Manuel Mondragón, an artillery officer famous both for his weapon designs and his role against revolutionary forces during the Mexican Revolution. It is chambered in 7x57mm Mauser and feeds from a 10-round fixed magazine. A unique aspect of the M1908 is that it includes a notch in the charging handle which disengages the gas system, turning the gun into a straight-pull bolt-action rifle. Because this firearm could not be manufactured in Mexico with the tolerances and industrial quality required, the Swiss SIG company was contracted to manufacture them. After the first batch, the Mexican government cancelled its order, and soon collapsed thanks to the Revolution. SIG sold its remaining rifles to the German Empire, where it was employed by airmen. Beginning in the 1930s, a wave of nationalist fervour swept over Mexico alongside vast reforms in every aspect of Mexican governance. The Mexican Army sought to adopt a native-designed rifle, so the M1908 design began mass production with American tooling, incorporating SIG's upgrades. As of the mid-1960s it remains Mexico's standard service rifle, though the contemporary M1908A2 variant is chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO.