Kropatschek m/1886/89
Österreichische Waffenfabriks-Gesellschaft (OEWG, Steyr) · Rifle · Out Of Production · 1889
Also known as: Espingarda m/1886/89, Kropatschek M1886/89, Portuguese Kropatschek m/1886/89, Steyr-Kropatschek 1886/89
Overview
The Kropatschek m/1886/89 is the modernized pattern of Portugal's Austrian-built bolt-action service rifle, chambered for the 8x60mmR Portuguese (8mm Guedes) cartridge and issued as the Espingarda de Infantaria 8 mm m/1886/89. Like the original m/1886, it pairs a turning-bolt action with a Kropatschek tubular magazine running through the forestock, holding eight rounds fed by a rear pivoting cartridge lifter, with a magazine cutoff that let the soldier keep the tube in reserve and load single cartridges. The 1889 update added a clip-on wooden handguard extending from the front of the rear sight to the middle barrel band — requiring four slots cut into the forestock — and revised rear-sight graduations extended to 2,200 metres to suit the heavier ballistics of later smokeless loadings. Built by Österreichische Waffenfabriks-Gesellschaft (OEWG) at Steyr in Austria, this pattern served Portuguese infantry and colonial forces and remained in second-line and colonial hands for decades.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4570 g (161.2 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1322 mm (52.05") |
| Barrel Length | 820 mm (32.28") |
| Action Type | Bolt Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Striker Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 8 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Tube |
| Muzzle Velocity | 535 m/s (1755 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 2203 J (1625 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 500 m (547 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 2200 m (2406 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 8x60mmR Portuguese · primary — also known as 8mm Guedes, 8x60mmR Guedes, 8mm Portuguese Kropatschek, 8x56mmR Kropatschek
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Tubular Magazine, Single Round Loading
- Safety mechanisms: Magazine Cutoff, Half Cock Notch
- Features: Clip On Wooden Handguard, Tubular Magazine In Forestock, Nickel Plated Steel Magazine Tube, Magazine Cutoff, Extended Ramp And Leaf Rear Sight 2200m, Blade Front Sight, Full Length Wooden Stock, Side Mounted Cleaning Rod, Sling Swivels, Bayonet Lug, Straight Bolt Handle
Base model
Service history
Operators
- Portuguese Army · adopted 1889 · as Espingarda de Infantaria 8 mm m/1886/89
- Portuguese Colonial Forces · adopted 1889
Conflicts
- World War I (1914-1918)
- Portuguese Colonial Campaigns (1889-1961)
Production
Estimated total produced: 57,800 · Production years: 1885-1894
Shared OEWG Steyr production run with the base m/1886: approximately 49,000 infantry rifles, 4,800 short rifles and 4,000 carbines; the m/1886/89 designation reflects the 1889 handguard-and-sight modernization rather than a separate manufacturing batch.
Origin
Country of origin: Austria
Designer: Alfred von Kropatschek
Discontinued: 1894
Notes
The m/1886/89 is often described as the colonial-service pattern of the Portuguese Kropatschek. Its defining features versus the base m/1886 are the added clip-on handguard (with four forestock slots) and the extended rear-sight leaf graduated to roughly 2,200 metres for smokeless ammunition adopted around 1896. Overall dimensions and the OEWG Steyr production run (about 49,000 infantry rifles, 4,800 short rifles and 4,000 carbines, 1885-1894) are shared with the base rifle.
Background
The 1889 update to Portugal's Kropatschek was a small but telling detail of the transition age: a bolted-on wooden handguard so the firing hand would not be scorched by a barrel heated in sustained volley fire, and a rear sight re-graduated all the way to 2,200 metres in anticipation of the flatter-shooting smokeless cartridges that were about to make the whole tube-magazine concept obsolete.