Manuel Mondragon was an officer and later general in the Mexican army who designed several weapons that were some of the most advanced specimens of their time in the 1890s-early 1900s. Mondragon developed a series of bolt action rifles having "slamfire" capability starting in the 1890s, then invented the Model 1900 semi-automatic rifle, with a patent application filed in 1904 for its improved successor, referred to as the Model 1908 as manufactured in Switzerland at the SIG factory and officially adopted for use by the Mexican Army in the year 1908, and chambered in their standard rifle caliber of 7 mm Mauser as used in the Mexican Model 1902 Mauser bolt action rifles and smokeless Rolling Block rifles then in Mexican military service. SIG was one of the few arms makers, at this time, capable of producing weapons with such a high degree of fit and finish as required by General Mondragon. Although Mexico originally contracted with SIG for 4,000 rifles, it is estimated that only 400 Model 1908 Mondragon rifles were ever delivered to Mexico before 1910, when the Mexican Revolution broke out, with the remaining rifles all subsequently sold to Germany in 1914. The Imperial German Flying Corps adopted the rifle, redesignated as the Fl.-S.-K. 15 (Flieger-Selbstladekarabiner, Modell 1915 - Aviator's Selfloading Carbine, Model 1915), and issued two rifles accompanied with these 30-round drum magazines to each aircraft crew. The rifles themselves are extremely rare with very few even surviving today in any condition, and the drum magazines are virtually unheard of! Consequently, a rifle such as this one in exceptional condition combined with an original drum magazine, is nearly nonexistent in the most advanced collections today. The Mondragon employed several unique features such as; an early gas-operated system that has an operating rod that extends from the gas port under the front of the barrel to the front of the bolt to cycle the rifle, and the charging handle also features a switch that allows the bolt to disengage itself from the gas system, allowing the rifle to effectively operate as a straight-pull bolt action rifle. The bolt itself takes it's direct lineage from the Schmidt-Rubin rifles and employs four locking lugs at the front of the bolt and four at the rear that rotate to lock and unlock. It is fitted with the correct military style tangent rear sight graduated up to 2,000 meters and an inverted "V" front sight with a bayonet lug on the underside of the barrel. The sights very strongly resemble the sights seen on the Mexican Mausers then in service. The rifle action is unmarked. All matching visible serial numbers with "2578" marked on the left side of the action, top of the bolt, cocking handle, and magazine release lever. The stock and handguard are both correctly made from a light colored European straight grained walnut with a flat steel buttplate, and the stock is stamped with numbers "81.5" on the lower left side. The rare drum magazine itself is a very heavy and robust assembly that has a small serial number plate on top of the flat that is marked "6" over "2272". The back plate of the drum has a single winding lever in the middle and is numbered "10", "15", "20", "25" and "30" to indicate the number of loaded rounds. The markings and operation are both very similar to the subsequent German "snail" drum magazines as also used in Artillery Luger pistols, with both drum magazines designed by the same individual, Friedrich Blum, indicating this rifle drum magazine is the evolutionary predecessor.

Excellent with 97% original blue finish overall. The stock and handguard are also excellent, both with a nice matching light blond European walnut that shows some minor handling marks on the lower buttstock and along the sides of the butt. There is a small arsenal repair directly behind the barrel band on the left side, none of which really detracts from this super rare rifle. The drum magazine retains 75% of the original blue/black finish overall with the balance having flaked off and turned a nice pleasing brown patina that blends in very nicely with the original finish. This is a super condition rifle with a one-of-a-kind drum magazine. This is a rare opportunity to acquire this Mondragon Model 1908 rifle, the only example accompanied with a drum magazine that we have ever offered at auction!