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Post by Hardrada55 on Sept 7, 2011 17:00:14 GMT -5
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Post by Hardrada55 on Sept 8, 2011 8:38:55 GMT -5
I made a mistake posting it here on the semi-auto part of the forum. After reading comments about this rifle on Mauser Central forum (not Surplusrifle Forum), it appears this is a "Pull-Apart" repeater....kind of a reverse pump action rifle. And there appears to be an NFA arsenal in Mexico City also. So this really could be some type of prototype Mexican "pull-apart" rifle. Cool.
Update: Posted on Mexico Armado forum. I got a reference that this rifle is to be found in the book, NRA Book of Small Arms, Volume 2 Rifles, page 272, authored by Walter H.B. Smith. This book attributes the design of the rifle in question to one Rafael Mandona. Anyone have this book?
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Post by Hardrada55 on Sept 8, 2011 20:24:54 GMT -5
Anyone have a scan of page 272 from NRA Book of Small Arms, Rifles....strictly for academic purposes, of course.
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Post by Hardrada55 on Sept 9, 2011 8:57:58 GMT -5
Meanwhile, Rafael Mendoza fought on with Pancho Villa after 1911 in the cause of the SLP. Knowing Mendoza’s background, Villa asked Mendoza to design and manufacture a small, portable cannon to fire 35 mm and 37 mm ammunition captured from Federal forces. Mendoza responded with a bolt-action, single-shot design with a short barrel and simple metal sled that could be moved easily by two men or carried on horseback. By August 6, 1915, the first cannons were ready and proved very successful. Eventually, some 75 were made and used by the revolutionaries. Rafael Mendoza did not know it at the time, but his reputation in firearm design had been launched. All of Mendoza’s design efforts in small arms up to that point had been intended for the Mexican Army. He continued that line of development between 1911 and 1918 with a 7x57 mm Mauser-cal., bolt-action, center-fire military rifle of unusual design called the “Fusil Mexico.” In appearance, the rifle seemed to be a bolt-action without a bolt handle, leaving no obvious method of operating it. But in fact, the bolt itself was connected to the fore-end and the action and barrel to the buttstock. The parts of the two-piece, wood stock met just under the receiver. To operate the action, the user rotated the pistol grip outward and backward to unlock the bolt, extract and eject the case. When the pistol grip was pushed forward and rotated downward, the bolt stripped another cartridge from the magazine, chambered it and locked the action to the bolt. The design and operation was ingenious, ergonomic and very straightforward. Mendoza’s rifle was not adopted for military service, but it remains a milestone in bolt-action rifle development. Following the revolution, the 40-year-old Rafael went to Mexico City in 1922 where he obtained a job at the National Arsenal as a machinist. Times were tough, wages low and facilities limited. In 1926, Mendoza perfected a cup-launched rifle grenade that was adopted for military use. In 1928, Mendoza was ordered to develop an improved machine gun for the Mexican Army. Mendoza completed his first prototype in 1929. After more prototypes and military trials in 1931 at Rancho del Charro, D.F., Mendoza’s design was officially adopted in 1934 after being demonstrated to President Cardenas personally. The National Arsenal was then given an order for 10,000 Model 1934 machine guns in caliber 7x57 mm Mauser. A U.S. patent for several features of the new gun was obtained in Mendoza’s name by the Mexican Government. The Model 1934 served the Mexican Army well until it was replaced in the late 1950s.
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Post by Hardrada55 on Sept 9, 2011 9:47:23 GMT -5
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Post by 81police on Sept 14, 2011 10:04:57 GMT -5
that is one wild looking rifle. I love all these oddball firearms you post on here!
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Post by Hardrada55 on Oct 14, 2011 11:18:39 GMT -5
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