This Remington patent rolling block rifle was manufactured under license from the Remington Arms Company by the Spanish government primarily at its armory at Oviedo (Fábrika de Armas de Oviedo) but also in more limited quantities at the Euscalduna facility in Planencia, Spain.  The M1871 rolling block and later, as the modified M1871/89, this rifle was the standard Spanish infantry arm from its adoption in 1871 until nearly the end of the 19th century.  The rifle is a very close copy of Remington's standard No. 1 military Rolling Block, quantities of which Spain initially bought in 1868, but at 1,314 mm (51.75 in) overall, with a barrel length of 940 mm (37 in), the Spanish-produced rifles measure a bit longer than most 11 mm Rolling Blocks.

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   Spain manufactured its local rolling block rifles from 1871 through 1893, producing some 350,000 rifles and specialty rifles and carbines.  During that manufacturing run they underwent several changes.  The most significant modifications were the addition of volley sights (addressed below) and re-chambering to a new, Spanish-designed cartridge, which was a modification of the much earlier Remington-designed .43 Spanish cartridge, although Calvo estimates that only half or fewer Spanish-built rifles were ever converted to the Reformado chambering.  This re-chambering has given rise to some degree of confusion. 

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   Late in the 1880s it became apparent that the Remington was going to have to be replaced.  However, it was also recognized that it was going to take considerable time to re-equip the entire army as well as the colonial armies, and that the Remington was going to have to soldier on for some time yet, so the decision was made to try to squeeze out a bit more life and performance out of the M1871s.  Beginning in the mid-1880s, two Spanish Army officers, Lt. Col. Luis Freyre y Góngora and Capt. José Brull y Seoane, began trials aimed at improving the ballistics of the current Spanish Remington rifles.  Their eventual solution consisted of expanding the neck of the .43 Spanish cartridge case to a taper rather than a bottle neck such that it would accept a slightly larger bullet, and topping the case with a brass jacketed bullet of .454 in. (11.4mm) diameter.  These modifications increased the powder charge and both the bullet weight and its diameter (the new diameter of .454 was .015 in larger compared to the earlier cartridge’s .439 (11.15mm) diameter, with a 375 grain weight vs. the new cartridge’s 395 grain weight).  The bullet was jacketed in brass, rounding out the new cartridge.  The rifle’s bore was left unchanged, making for a tighter gas seal but still well within the rifle’s ability to safely digest.  Spain re-reamed the chambers of its stores of surviving rifles to accept the new cartridge but leaving the bores unaltered. The new design was approved in April 1889, and thereafter converted Spanish rifles were designated Fusil Remington M1871/89 Reformado.

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   In 1892, just as the last of a small limited run of new-made Spanish Remington rifles were being produced (M1891 Spanish Remington), the Spanish Mauser was first being introduced.  The Spanish Remington rifles were finally declared obsolete in March 1909.