El Tigre Rifle
The El Tigre was a copy of the Winchester Model 1892 as shown here
Type	Rifle
Place of origin	Spain
Service history
In service	1923-1980's
Used by	Guardia Civil, Guardas Jurados, Guardia Foral, Patrimonio Nacional, Guardia Forestal, Dirección General de Instituciones Penitenciarias (prison service)
Wars	Spanish Civil War
Production history
Designer	John Moses Browning and other
Designed	1892
Manufacturer	Garate y Anitua Cia.
Produced	1915–1937
No. built	1,034,687
Specifications
Mass	2.9kg
Length	99.5cm
Barrel length	55.2cm
Caliber	.44-40 Winchester
Action	Lever-action
Feed system	12 round tube magazine
Sights	Tangent leaf sights up to 1000 metres, Fixed-blade front sight

The El Tigre rifle was a Spanish copy of the Winchester Model 1892 made by Garate, Anitua y Cia., an Eibar based arms manufacturer. The first models were produced in 1915 but production was interrupted by the war. Having spent most of World War I supplying the Allies with large-framed revolvers based on Smith and Wesson designs and the 7.65mm Browning calibre self-loading Ruby pistol, the company began to market the first El Tigre rifles in 1923.

Ironically, it may have been the intensive marketing efforts of the Winchester company in the 1870's and 1880's that led to the El Tigre's popularity in Spain. Two hundred and thirty Winchester Model 1873 carbines (with 22 inch barrels and full stock) were sold to the Spanish Military for use by the Cavalry and Royal Bodyguard in the 1870's. More than 2,500 were later made under license by the Spanish arsenal at Oviedo in the 1890's to keep staff working while awaiting the arrival of modern machinery required for the production of the Mauser Model 1893. These were in effect, small versions of the Winchester 1876 chambered in .44-40, and were made in both Carbine and Musket variants for the Cavalry, the 14th regiment of the Guardia Civil and some other formations.^[1]

The El Tigre rifles were 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 carbine) marked with the makers name, calibre, and the trademark image of a Tiger. The stock was of Spanish walnut with a 12 3/4" LOP and a crescent shaped metal butt plate with a trapdoor fitted for storage of a jointed cleaning rod in the butt. A blade front site was fitted, usually attached to the front barrel band in accordance with old Spanish practice, and a military tangent leaf rear sight was fitted.^[2]

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 hunters, forestry guards, 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 ideal 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. ^[3]

The El Tigre was replaced in service starting in the 1940's by bolt action carbines such as the Destroyer Carbine and sub-machineguns which were chambered for the 9mm largo service cartridge. Large numbers were exported as surplus to the US in the 1960's, corresponding with the growth of interest in Western history.

El Tigre rifles often appear in photographs of the Spanish Civil war, usually in the hands of Militia, Police or rear echelon forces.

The associated picture shown of a so called El Tigre is actually a small bore (25 WCF or 32 WCF) Winchester Model 1892 Saddle Ring Carbine with the rear sight installed backwards. The El Tigre differs in some of the details, such as the front sight, the barrel bands and the profile of the receiver.

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