Guedes Model 1885 Rifle

Guedes Model 1885 lever action, single shot, falling block rifle. Blued steel flat sided action and barrel that has a bayonet boss on the right side near the muzzle. It is marked on the right side of the receiver with a crown over L1 with a monogram and on the left M.1885, STEYR 1886 and OE/WG within a circle. It has a wooden fore end and butt which is carved 'P Jacob' on the left side above a serial number. The weapon is complete with a cleaning rod and adjustable leather sling.

This is one of the rifle types used against British and Australian troops by Boer forces during the South African War of 1899-1902. The Guedes 8 x 60R mm calibre rifle was the last military single shot rifle based on the falling block design which was made obsolete soon after its adoption by the introduction of bolt action repeating rifles. The rifles were produced by Steyr, Austria, on contract for the Portuguese military but were soon replaced by bolt action designs. Quite a number of Guedes rifles were purchased from Portugal by the (Boer) Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) prior to the outbreak of the South African (Boer) War.