Original Portuguese Guedes M1885 Falling Block Infantry Rifle by ŒWG Steyr Dated 1886 - As Used in the Boer War - Matching Serial 2164

Original Item: One one Available. The Guedes (pronounced Gwedesh), also called the Guedes M1885, is a breech-loading single-shot rifle with a lever action that was designed for use by the Portuguese Army. It was designed to replace the many percussion cap system rifles still in service, and rifles were ordered from ŒWG Steyr in Austria for trials. With many other countries already having moved to bolt-action magazine-fed designs, the writing was on the wall for single shot designs. Instead the Portuguese adopted the Kropatschek rifle, thus rendering the Guedes obsolete. The Guedes rifle was sold en-masse to several of the Boer Republics and was heavily used during the Second Boer War. This is the first time that we have been able to offer one of these for sale!

Our example is a very good condition rifle version, and has lovely stock wood, especially the butt stock, which shows "flame" figuring throughout. Chambered in 8x60mmR Guedes, the rifle has a 32 inch barrel, measuring 47 3/4 inches in overall length, with the usual military trim including a full length fore stock, bayonet lug, cleaning rod, and two sling swivels. Ours is correctly marked on the left receiver with a circular cartouche reading as follows:-

M % 1886
Œ.W.G.
STEYR 1886

As with the Kropatschek rifle chosen over this design, the Guedes rifles and carbines were made by Österreichische Waffenfabriksgesellschaft, (ŒWG, Austrian Arms-Manufacturing Company), also commonly referred to as Steyr Werke. Steyr is an Austrian City just outside Vienna and at the time was the home of the entire Austrian arms production. Serial number 2164 is marked on the barrel, receiver, butt stock, fore stock, breech block, and other components, making this a lovely "ALL MATCHING" example, with no parts swapped out over the years. The right side of the receiver bears a Portuguese Crown over L.I. on the left side, for King LUIS 1st who reigned 1838 until 1889. This rifle still has the Œ. W. G. Steyr dated rondel on the right side of the butt stock, though it is faint. There are some initials carved into the left side, which we were not able to identify.

Offered in very good used condition, the rifle still has both sling swivels as well as the cleaning rod, which often is very often missing. The rifle cycles correctly with a strong dry fire and the ejector presenting properly. The front sight is still present, the rear sight is fully functional and complete. The bore is in very good condition, showing a mostly bright finish with crisp lands and grooves. There is a bit of wear and some oxidation and fouling in the grooves, as well as a few spots of oxidation on the rifling, but otherwise it's in lovely shape. Cosmetically, the original blued finish is still very well retained in most areas, with the expected wear from age and use. The stock is lovely, showing some denting and wear, but still retaining a lovely color, especially on the flame figured butt stock, which shows a high degree of chatoyancy.

A lovely example of a hard to find Portuguese Contract rifle, as used in the Boer Wars! This is the first example we have had, and it's definitely a great one!

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: 1886
Caliber: 8x60mmR Guedes
Cartridge Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 32 inches
Overall Length: 47 3/4 Inches
Action type: Lever Action Falling Block
Feed System: Single Shot

More on the Guedes M1885 Rifles & Carbines:
During the mid-late 19th-Century many European powers were designing and changing the format of their outdated percussion cap rifles to the newly developed self-contained metallic breechloading cartridge system. The Guedes rifle was invented by Luiz Fausto de Castro Guedes Dias, a Second lieutenant in the 10th “Caçadores” Regiment (10º Regimento de Caçadores) around 1880. The Guedes rifle is very similar in both design and operation as the Martini–Henry Mk II, its English counterpart. The Guedes rifle is chambered in 8x60mmR Guedes, a smaller, faster, and flatter caliber than the .577/450 Martini–Henry. The Guedes rifle was the first of its kind to implement a small caliber smokeless bottle-necked cartridge, beating the French Lebel Model 1886 rifle by only a few months.

Feedback on Guedes' rifle design was positive and he continued development on the breechloading rifle from 1882-1883. In 1884 Guedes was sent by the Portuguese War Ministry to study in Steyr and possibly have the rifle produced in Austria-Hungary. In February, 1885 Guedes tested his current rifle design at the Vendas Novas rifle range in the presence of an evaluation committee which approved of its design. In October, 1885 the Portuguese War Ministry ordered 9,000 of Guedes's carbines and 6,000 rifles for the Portuguese military on a contract with Österreichische Waffenfabriks-Gesellschaft (ŒWG). The Guedes would ultimately be rejected by the Portuguese military as other countries were already adopting bolt-action rifles, rendering the single-shot Guedes rifle obsolete. The Portuguese military ultimately adopted the M1886 Kropatschek Rifle

The Guedes operates using a falling-block action, unlike the Martini-Henry the Guedes uses a shorter breech block which slides low enough for a cleaning rod to fit from the rear of the receiver. Inside the trigger guard the safety catch can be found and, when activated, locks the entire mechanism. Unlike the Martini-Henry, the Guedes has an ungraduated sight ramp which slopes forward, the rear sight itself having 5 notches of the sight ladder from 300 - 1,600 meters.

Use in the Boer Wars

Many Guedes rifles were exported from Portugal and sold to foreign countries, two of which were the South African Republic (ZAR) and the Orange Free State (OVS). In January, 1895 Boer General Ben Viljoen had decided to seek out modern armaments to replace the existing stocks of Martini–Henry rifles used by Boer commandos, the Vrystaatse Artillerie Regiment, and the Transvaalse Staatsartillerie. On August 16, 1893 Stein & Hunter, who were the South African agents for the Birmingham firm of Alfred Field & Company, purchased some 160 Guedes rifles along with 80,000 rounds of ammunition from Steyr Arms in order to present them to Boer General Piet Joubert and have them tested for use by the ZAR government.[10] At the time Joubert was the Commandant-general of the ZAR. The Guedes rifles were to be tried and tested under Joubert from March to May, 1894 before the ZAR government committed to a larger purchase of arms. Because Joubert was placed in charge of testing the rifle, some Boers nicknamed the Guedes the "Joubert Rifle" (Afrikaans: Joubert Geweer). By the end of 1894 an order of 3,000 Guedes rifles was placed along with an order of 500,000 rounds of ammunition.

On July 20, 1895 Joubert ordered a further 2,500,000 Guedes cartridges. Before this transaction was even completed Stein & Hunter, a South African importer, offered Joubert a further 100 Guedes rifles at £3.12 a piece, Joubert accepted this order. In total, some 7,000 - 7,500 Guedes M1885 rifles were imported by Stein & Hunter to the ZAR by late 1895 shortly before the Jameson Raid. The Jameson Raid caused a widespread panic and was a wakeup call to Boer leadership to rearm and modernize its militia forces.

The Boers affectionately nicknamed the Guedes rifle the "Giddy" rifle. The M1885 Guedes were used heavily during the Second Boer War, many of which were captured and later destroyed by British forces. Some Guedes rifles were taken home as war trophies by soldiers of the British Empire, many of which can be seen in multiple British museums, such as the Royal Armories.

NOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.