Inside FAMAE of Santiago, Chile

We feel very privileged to share with you a rare and exclusive glimpse into the Chilean government-owned arms manufacturer commonly referred to as FAMAE (Fábricas y Maestranzas del Ejército, or “Factories and Arsenals of the Army”). The firearms production at FAMAE consists mostly of licensed SIG540 series weapons including a few domestic sub-caliber conversions. The SIG540 series is no longer manufactured by SIG of Switzerland.

These are the most common firearm products FAMAE manufactures:
CT-30 | SIG SG540 platform converted to .30 Carbine *
CT-40 | SIG SG540 platform converted to .40S&W *
FD-200 | Sniper SIG SG542 semi-auto also sold to civilians
FT-2000 | Double-action revolver in .357 Magnum or .38 Special
SAF & SAF Mini | SIG SG540 platform converted to 9x19mm
SG540 | Licensed from SIG, 5.56x45mm **
SG542 | Licensed from SIG, 7.62x51mm
SG543 | Licensed from SIG, 5.56x45mm short carbine ***

* Also made in Brazil by Taurus
** Also made by Manurhin in France by license from SIG, out of production
*** Also made in Portugal by INDEP

www.famae.cl | English version of their official site

UPDATE 2012 July 31: Thanks to user Tinkerer on The Firearm Blog for model corrections.

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6 comments to “Inside FAMAE of Santiago, Chile”
  1. Pingback: « Оружейное предприятие FAMAE (Сантьяго, Чили) Стрелковое оружие - Оружие пехоты

  2. I have a few boxes of 7,62 m.m. NATO ammo that have the name ” FAMAE CHILE ” on the cover…are they the same as the .308 calibur? And how much is a box?

    • I can’t guess the value, but 7.62x51mm is the NATO equivalent of .308 Winchester and will work in your .208 caliber firearms. We’d like to see an image of the box and the headstamp.

  3. To say less then more – thing with .308 and 7.62×51 is opposite to a .223 and 5.56×45 case. It is “safer” to shoot 7.62×51 in firearm designed for .308 then shooting .308 in a 7.62 platform (hate that term :/).

  4. Pingback: Guns of FAMAE (Chile) on the Way?

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