Argentine Mauser Model 1909

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The Argentine Mauser Model 1909 was a Gewehr 98–style bolt‑action rifle made for the Argentine Army. Designed in 1909, it was produced in both Germany and Argentina (Rosario and Santa Fe) with about 285,000 rifles built: roughly 200,000 by Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) in Germany and about 85,000 by Argentine government plants.

It was mostly a copy of the Gewehr 98 but with some changes, including replacing the Lange Visier sight with a tangent leaf sight and allowing use of the Mauser 1891 bayonet. It fired 7.65×53mm Mauser, used a bolt action, and had a 5‑round internal magazine loaded from a stripper clip. The rifle weighed around 4 kg and was about 1.24 meters long, with a 740 mm barrel. Muzzle velocity was about 840 m/s.

In service, the 1909 served from the early 1900s into the 1960s, eventually being replaced by the FN FAL. Some rifles without crests were sold to Paraguay, and Peru received thousands in 7.65 mm between 1910 and 1914; Peruvian versions had a few design differences. The guns saw use in various regional conflicts, including the Chaco War and other tensions, and were largely phased out after World War II, with many ending up in civilian hands in the 1960s or kept as ceremonial rifles.