Item:
ON9118

Original Swiss Vetterli M1871 Infantry Magazine Rifle Serial No 67044 - 10.35 x 47mm

Item Description

Original Item: Only One Available. Introduced in 1871 this utilized the "Winchester" tube magazine system for cartridge storage under the barrel. Later models changed over to the box Magazine found on most rifles of the WWI era.

Nicely maker marked on the left side of the receiver:

SOC. IND. SUISSE

SYST. VETTERLI

Serial number 67044.

Offered in good condition with a solid bore this was a rifle serving at the time of Britain's legendary Martini-Henry Single Shot Rifle also introduced in 1871 and not replaced with a magazine rifle until 1888.

The Vetterli was an Italian design ahead of its time but was soon outclassed by the German Mauser 1871/84 magazine Rifle.

The Swiss Vetterli rifle is one of the very first bolt-action "repeating" rifles and getting scarce to find today.

History of the Vetterli rifle: The Vetterli rifles were a series of Swiss army service rifles in use from 1869 to circa 1890, when they were replaced with Schmidt-Rubin rifles. Modified Vetterli rifles were also used by the Italian Army.

The Swiss Vetterli rifles combined the American Winchester Model 1866's tubular magazine with a regular bolt featuring for the first time two opposed rear locking lugs. This novel type of bolt was a major improvement over the simpler Dreyse and Chassepot bolt actions. The Vetterli was also the first repeating bolt action rifle to feature a self-cocking action and a small caliber bore. Due to the Swiss Federal Council's early 1866 decision to equip the army with a breechloading repeating rifle, the Vetterli rifles were, at the time of their introduction, the most advanced military rifles in Europe. The Vetterli was the replacement for Amsler-Milbank rifles, which were a metallic cartridge conversion from previous Swiss muzzle-loading rifles.

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  • This product is not available for shipping in US state(s): New Jersey

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