This Mauser-Vergueiro is a Portuguese contract rifle built by DWM in Berlin, serial 25xx. The left side rail is marked ESPINGARDA PORTUGUEZA 6,5 MOD. 1904 and DEUTSCHE WAFFEN-UND MUNITIONSFABRIKEN BERLIN, and the receiver ring carries the crown and royal cipher of King Carlos I. The barrel is marked GERMAN 8MM, and the rifle has the shorter barrel and protected front sight of the 8mm reworked rifles. The receiver, bolt and trigger guard are numbered 25xx, and the floorplate carries the matching last two digits. The metal has an even gray matte finish with some pitting near the barrel markings, and the hardwood stock shows dings, dents and handling wear. It has a tangent rear sight, cleaning rod and side sling swivels, and comes with a brown woven sling with brass buckles. The bore shows light frosting in the lands but retains strong rifling. The rifle is offered as it is shown.
The Mauser-Vergueiro was designed by José Alberto Vergueiro, an infantry officer of the Portuguese Army, and replaced the Kropatschek m/1886 as Portugal’s standard infantry rifle in 1904. It takes the Mauser 98 as its starting point but uses a bolt system derived from the Gewehr 1888 and the Mannlicher-Schönauer, with a split receiver bridge, and it was originally chambered for the 6.5x58mm Vergueiro cartridge developed for it. More than 100,000 were produced for Portugal, and in 1915 some 20,000 were sold to South Africa. After Portugal adopted the Mauser 98k as the m/937, many of the remaining rifles were reworked in 1939 to fire the 8x57mm cartridge as the m/1904-39, with a shorter barrel and a protected front sight, and the type stayed in limited Portuguese service into the 1960s.
Specifications
Manufacturer: Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken (DWM), Berlin
Country of origin: Germany, for Portugal
Model: Mauser-Vergueiro M1904
Action: Bolt action, split bridge receiver
Caliber: 8mm Mauser (barrel marked GERMAN 8MM), originally 6.5x58mm Vergueiro
Serial: 25xx
Matching: Receiver, bolt and trigger guard; floorplate numbered with matching last two digits
Finish: even grey matte finish
Stock: Hardwood with dings, dents and handling wear consistent with age
Sights: Tangent rear sight, protected front sight
Markings: Crown and royal cipher of Carlos I, ESPINGARDA PORTUGUEZA 6,5 MOD. 1904, DWM Berlin side rail
Included: Brown woven sling with brass buckles, cleaning rod
