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French Fusil Modele 1866 11mm Chassepot Rifle

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:650.00 - 1,500.00 USD
French Fusil Modele 1866 11mm Chassepot Rifle
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This is a very nice and complete example of the French Le Fusil Chassepot Modele 1866, or more simply the Chassepot rifle. The Chassepot was France’s first “modern” bolt action rifle, and was adopted in response the Prussian adoption of the Dreyse “Needle Gun”. Both rifles were in fact “Needle Guns”, with very long, thin firing pins that penetrated a self-contained, combustible paper cartridge to detonate the primer. Both rifles had a reputation for being somewhat fragile, as the needle firing pins were easily broken in service. The Chassepot did have three primary advantages over the Dreyse design. The first was the location of the primer at the rear of the cartridge (allowing for a shorter needle), instead of the in the middle of the cartridge. The second was the use of a smaller diameter bullet that contacted the rifling directly, instead of using a papier-mâché sabot as the Dreyse design did. The final improvement was the use of internal obturation. This was in the form of an expandable India rubber gasket that sealed the chamber completely during firing and reduced gas leaks. The obturator was somewhat fragile and needed to be replaced on a regular basis to insure that the breech was securely sealed. The Chassepot was an 11mm rifle (about .44 caliber), making it one of the first nationally adopted military rifles to adopt a modern “small bore” caliber. By contrast the Dreyse Needle Gun used a 13.6mm cartridge (about .535 caliber). The Chassepot was the standard French military long arm from its adoption in 1866, through 1875, when it was replaced by the metallic cartridge M-1874 Gras rifle. The Chassepot served as the premier French military rifle during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, but there were simply not enough of the rifles available for the French forces and many of them fought the war with obsolete percussion muzzleloaders or breech loading altered percussion muskets. The French eventually produced about 1.5 million of the rifles during its service life. This rifle is marked "Manufacture D'Armes St Etienne MLE 1866 F.V FH16616 S.1874 Valery M.S December J. 1874." This rifle is in good condition, showing wear from use and age. This rifle is believed to be in complete firing order. This is a antique firearm. NO FFL transfer or NICS background check required.