More than 2,500 were later made under license by the Spanish arsenal at Oviedo in the 1890s to keep staff working while awaiting the arrival of modern machinery required for the production of the Mauser Model 1893.
[1] After 1893 a further unknown number of carbines were sourced from Eibar based firms, but these, according to Madis, were of lower quality than the Oviedo made models.
Having spent most of World War I supplying the Allies with large-framed revolvers based on Smith & Wesson designs and the 7.65mm Browning calibre self-loading Ruby pistols, the company began to market the first El Tigre rifles in 1923.
The El Tigre rifles were again chambered for the Winchester .44-40 cartridge (known in Spain as the .44 Largo) and had a 22-inch round profiled barrel (like the previous 1873/1876 carbines) marked with the makers name, calibre, and the trademark image of a Tiger.
El Tigre rifles often appear in photographs of the Spanish Civil War, usually in the hands of militia, police, or rear echelon forces.