The M1 Garand gets credit for being the first successful semi-auto combat rifle. That’s only partially true. Sure, the M1 Garand was widely successful, but General Manuel Mondragón, a Mexican General and Arms designer, beat Garand by about 30 years. Mexico adopted the Mondragón Model 1908 in 1904, making it one of the earliest semi-auto rifles ever adopted by a military force.
The Mondragón and the Mexican Revolution
If you’re familiar with Mexican history, you might know that 1908 was a turbulent time in Mexico, and by 1910, the country was in full revolution. The combat that spread across the country meant that the Mondragón Model 1908 would get a baptism by fire. The Mondragón became the first semi-auto rifle fielded by the military and used in combat.
Mexico contracted with SIG, yep, that SIG, to produce the rifle. By the time the revolution started, the Swiss factories had only produced 400 rifles. The revolution saw these rifles disbursed for testing, but the Mexican military wasn’t impressed. The rifles had a high failure rate that has been blamed on the poor quality of ammo issued by the Mexican military.
