Guns International #: 100885707
Seller's Inventory #: 10423

Category - Antique Rifles - Cartridge - Military Rifles - Antique

Category
Antique Rifles - Cartridge
Military Rifles - Antique

French 1866 CHASSEPOT Bolt Action NEEDLE Rifle

Description:

French 1866 CHASSEPOT Bolt Action NEEDLE Rifle

Unit Marked “F/22” & Dated “1871”, Maker St. Etienne

Here we present an antique Model 1866 Chassepot Bolt Action, Needle-Fire Rifle, made in 1871 at the arsenal at St. Etienne. These were interesting times for France in 1871, having just lost the Franco-Prussian War, the Second Empire came to a close with Napoleon III captured in battle and the second-ever elected French President Adolphe Thiers signing an armistice with Prussia. Paris was taken by radical leftists calling themselves the Paris Commune. It took over two months to put them down.

This rifle gets its name from the inventor, Antoine Alphonse Chassepot. His third iteration, featuring the needle fire system similar to that of the Prussian Dreyse, was adopted by the French military, and subsequently used in the Franco-Prussian War. This was the very beginning of the bolt action rifle era, and soon virtually every military the world over would be armed with long arms along these lines. The Mauser brothers were on the cusp of making their appearance internationally as this small arms race between France and Germany heated up. The Prussians, the victors of the nearly year-long conflict, would go on to replace their needle-fire, bolt action rifle, the Dreyse, with the Mauser Model 1871/84. The French would update the Model 1866 to accept metallic cartridges and also adopt the new Gras in 1874, the Lebel in 1886. This would continue through the Great War and beyond.

This specimen is marked “St. Etienne” in script and “Mle 1866” on the left side of the receiver. The right side of the barrel is marked “S 1871”, the year it was made. Various proof marks are also here and can be seen in the photos. The rear of the right side of the butt stock bears a circular mark with an insert, which bears the date “Octobre 1871” and the letters “B. S. J.”. The metal insert is marked “ME”, as is the right side of the barrel. The stock is also marked with several acceptance marks. The marking “F/22” is located just forward of the top of the butt plate. The name “M. Gerphagnon” is located just rearward of the trigger guard tang. The bayonet is marked “Usine de Steyr 1876” on the thick spine of the blade.

The overall condition is very good plus. The metal surfaces are quite dark with age. The numerous markings on both the stock and the metal are clear and legible. All serial numbers match on the rifle, including the bolt, stock and barrel. The ramrod and bayonet are numbered separately. The stock is very nice, featuring all of the clear markings, dates, etc. It certainly tells a story. The bore is clean, bright and shiny, with sharp rifling. The action is strong.

Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction. Compare to $2000 elsewhere!

These rifles are scarce on the market.

Barrel is 31-1/2 inches in length.

Caliber: 11mm

Overall condition as seen in photos.

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ancestryguns

$1500

#10423

SOLD

Antique: Yes