The M1893 was developed into several variants, including a shortened carbine adopted by the Spanish as the M1895, and as the M1913 and M1916 short rifles.

For his work, Mauser received the Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit from Spain.

The marked superiority of the M1893 over its American opponent in the Spanish–American War, the Krag–Jørgensens, led the US Army to develop the M1903 Springfield, which itself heavily copied Mauser's designs.

In 1887, the Spanish Army began trials of the Turkish Model 1887 Mauser rifles, which utilized black powder cartridges.

[1] The impetus for the change was a series of defeats of Spanish forces around the enclave at Melilla in North Africa.

Among the issues that had been identified were an unreliable extractor, a detachable box magazine that was frequently lost and extended below the bottom of the stock, which caused problems with carrying the rifle slung.

Other internal changes were made to simplify the action and increase its reliability and safety,[4][5][6] including alterations to the sear to prevent it from releasing the firing pin if the bolt was not fully in battery.

[6] For his work in developing such an effective rifle, Mauser received the Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit from the Spanish government.

[10] Both of these variants were chambered in the 7 mm caliber developed by Mauser, and the barrel had 4-groove rifling with a right-hand twist.

Another variant, built for the Ottoman Army, had the same 29.06-inch barrel as the Spanish rifle, but it was chambered in the slightly larger 7.65×53mm Mauser round.

The receivers had guides for stripper clips milled into the bridge for increased reliability, though the rifles could also be loaded individually.

[17] Further alterations of the basic M1893 design produced the Model 1895, which was chambered in 7 mm and sold in large quantities to Central and South American countries, including Chile, El Salvador, Honduras, Uruguay, and Mexico.

It gained a deadly reputation particularly from the Battle of San Juan Hill, where only 750 Spanish regulars significantly delayed the advance of 8,500 US troops armed with a mix of outclassed .30–40 Krag–Jørgensen bolt-action rifles and older single-shot, breech-loading Trapdoor Springfield rifles, inflicting 1,400 American casualties.

In addition, the higher velocity gave the 7 mm Mauser significantly greater penetrating capability than the .30-40.

The M93's stripper clip system allowed the Spaniards to reload far more quickly than could be done with the Krag, whose magazine had to be loaded one round at a time.

[31] Some of the M1916 guns were modernized in the 1950s and served even longer, though the widespread development of semi-automatic rifles after World War II quickly rendered the Mausers suitable only for second-line duties.

During the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, only about a tenth of Ottoman soldiers were equipped with the rifle, with the remainder carrying obsolescent Snider–Enfields and Martini–Henrys.

Many of the M1893s (and other models of modern rifles) acquired by the Ottoman Army were kept in government arsenals rather than issued to soldiers.

[36] Moreover, some M1893 long rifles and cavalry carbines in 7.65 mm were made at Fabrique Nationale for the Belgian Gendarmerie, the Garde Civique and the Congo Free State after 1894.

[12] The Spanish Army adopted the Model 1895 carbine on 7 May 1895; the rifle was essentially a shortened M1893, with a full-length stock that ran to the muzzle.

The M1895 carbine also differed in some minor details, including the rear sight, which was graduated only to 1,400 meters (4,600 ft), and the bolt handle, which was turned down.

[10] The Model 1916 rifle was adopted on 14 November 1916 to replace the M1895 carbine, the short barrels of which were not optimized to take advantage of the higher velocity of the M1913 cartridge.

These rifles retained their original furniture and fittings, though some were converted further to the FR7 standard, which received cut down stocks, a shorter 18.5-inch (470 mm) barrel, and more modern aperture sights.

Both versions of the re-barreled rifles were employed for military training and Guardia Civil use, along with the similarly converted FR8, which was based on the M43 action.