There's some confusion showing up on rec.guns concerning the 7.62NATO/.308 Spanish FR-8 bolt action carbine....this *ISN'T* the Guardia Civil carbine based on the M1916/M95 small ring Mauser action. There is a Spanish FR-7 out there that is based on these actions....it isn't as nice or as capable of safely shooting the 7 .62NATO/.308 cartridge as it's brother, the FR-8.
IMHO I'd go with the FR-8 over the FR-7 or Guardia Civil .308 rifles, it's a much safer choice in that caliber. I'm quite pleased with my FR-8 and have shot commerical .308Win hunting loads, Lake City 1968 7.62NATO Match, Frankford 1963 7.62NATO Match and various lots of USGI 7.62NATO Ball (TW-69, LC-62, RA-64) ammo thru it without a single burp or hiccup.
Maybe this information on the FR-8 will help....I gleaned some of it from a GUN TEST article by Gary Paul Johnston in 1994 edition of _GUNS & SUR- VIVAL_ (Volume 9 Number 1) and some is my own experience with my FR-8.
In 1943 Spain adopted the the Mauser 98 rifle as standard for its military. Designated the M43, this rifle was essentially the famous German K98k cham- bored for the 7.92x57mm (8mm Mauser) cartridge. Like all such rifles the M43 has the large ring 98-type action and is considered extremely durable.
In September of 1957 the Spanish military adopted their version of the H&K G3-type rifle, the CETME Model 58 in 7.62x51mm, as their standard assault rifle....replacing the older, bolt action M43.
The Model 58, a modern selective-fire rifle, was a major departure from the bolt action M43 Spanish troops had used for so many years, and much training would be required for the successful transition....but there weren't very many CETME's available yet for training during the transition period.
To facilitate rudimentary training for the new Model 58 assault rifle, the Spanish military selected a number of its best early M43 rifles and had them converted to a carbine configuration with some visual features of new M58... this converted carbine is known as the FR-8.
In creating the FR-8, the standard M43 stock was cut to carbine length and equipped with new handguard. A brand new cold-hammer-forged 7.62NATO CETME 58-type barrel was threaded to fit the large ring receiver. Front and rear sights from CETME were added, along with a dummy gas tube under the barrel. This tube was found to be a good place to put the cleaning kit...nice touch. The tube also functions as part of bayonet mount for "look 'n feel" of the real Model 58 CETME during training.
Rear sight consists of a simple vertical housing with a rotating sight disk. The disk contains four sight setting. One is an open "V" notch battle sight for close range to 100 meters, and the remaining three are peep apertures, set for 200, 300 and 500 meters. Adjustments for windage and fine-tuning elevation are made by turning front sight with special spanner wrench....it may or may not come with cleaning kit....depends on the importer.
The FR-8 is quite collectable in its own right but is equally valuable as a using carbine. This .308 makes an excellent hunting rifle for deer-sized animals at nominal iron-sight ranges...note that it is almost impossible to mount a scope on a FR-8. As a collector's item, the FR-8 is best left as it is. For tactical uses there are a few improvements that some recommend.... first, the bolt handle should be bent to make action operation easier. A trigger job wouldn't be a bad idea either....after all it is a Mauser so it's no big deal for any gunsmith to do this little chore. The steel butt plate could be replaced by a rubber one....many have already been so modified.
I just recently acquired a very nice FR-8....the previous owner did a quite excellent job on it: refinished the stock, installed a 1-1/2" rubber recoil pad, hooked up an HK91 tactical sling....plus a few other little tweaks.
One thing you must become accustomed to....that short 17-1/2" barrel length does yield a quite strong muzzle blast even with the M16/HK91-style flash suppressor that comes standard on the carbine (18-1/2" counting suppressor).
The FR-8 is a very good .308Win/7.62NATO short carbine configuration in a strong bolt action rifle. Some feel it's not very pretty but there's no doubt that it is a highly functional weapon...handy 'n very quick to point.
Once you become accustomed to the sights they work well enough and give you a usable sight picture....not match quality of course, but quite acceptable for field uses such as plinking or hunting. For someone use to match style micro adjustable sights the FR-8's setup isn't very impressive....windage adjustments are made with a turning, offset front sight post for example. Not my favorite iron-sight design but I can live with it, push comes to shove.
Except for the clunky sights I'm quite pleased with the "look 'n feel" of my Spanish FR-8 carbine. I like it MUCH better than the Spanish Guardia Civil .308 conversions of the Spanish M1916 7mm rifle....it doesn't look like just any other "Mauser-style" rifle and the Mauser 98 pedigree means it's accepted that the FR-8's action is somewhat safer than the M1916 or FR-7 rifles (both based on the M95 design).
Just my 2-cents worth on the subject....YMMV.