Original Item: Only One Available. These are exceedingly hard to find in any condition, especially the long rifles! The German states were apparently very good with "recycling" their obsolete weapons, and did not have any "Colonial Empire" to speak of until after 1884, which is where obsolete weapons were sent by other Colonial powers. We have only had handful of intact Dreyse needle fire guns before, and this is the first example of this type that we have had.

This is a nice example of what we believe is the original long Zündnadel Füsiliergewehr Modell 1860 (M/60) Needle Fire Rifle, which is marked on the left side of the receiver with:

(Prussian Eagle)
DANZIG
F.G. Mod: 60

There were at least 9 different variants of the Zündnadel (Ignition Needle) guns, and this Füsiliergewehr (Fusilier Rifle) was made at the Royal Arsenal in Danzig, East Prussia, today Gdańsk, Poland. At 51 ¼ inches in length with a 30 ¾ inch barrel, the F.G. M/60 is essentially an M/41 shortened from the muzzle end by about 5 inches. The right side of the receiver bears a manufacture date of 1862, with another date of 1869 next to it, probably for some type of update. These were in service up until 1871, when the Mauser 1871 was introduced as the first centerfire cartridge service rifle for the now united German Empire.

The rifle is marked with serial number 7317 on the left side of the barrel, butt plate, and on many of the screws. The bolt however is marked with 3337 on the bottom and on the needle holder, so it was swapped out at some point. We were not able to find a serial number marking on the receiver. There are numerous single letter proofs on the right side of the receiver and barrel. The butt plate tang is marked S. B. 5. 84., which is not a unit marking we recognize. Possibly a Schützen Battalion or something similar.

The metalwork on the rifle shows a lovely polished steel patina, showing some past oxidation and light pitting, now cleaned away. It has a nice original steel cleaning rod, with an intact cleaning jag on the other end. The bolt can still be removed from the rifle, though the trigger must be pulled back VERY far. We checked the needle, and it still protrudes about ½" from the front of the bolt face when moved forward. We do not know if this is the full length.

The rifle cycles relatively well, with a crisp dry fire, and the firing pin holder can be retracted properly as well. The bolt does hang up in some areas, so it does require some strength to move it forward to firing position and back to loading position, as well as when removing it. We checked the bore, and it still shows strong 4 groove rifling, with a partly bright finish. There is some dirt and fouling in the grooves, and it definitely does show some level of wear.

The stock is really in nice condition, showing a lovely honey color, and does not look to have been messed with or abused during its long life. It has been worn down a bit, as the cartouches on the right side of the stock are now faint. There is also some cracking on the left fore stock area.

These are incredibly rare, and this is the first example that we have seen in quite some time. From looking around these are very seldom encountered, especially with an original needle. Ready to research and display!

Specifications:-

Year of Manufacture: 1862 - updated 1869
Caliber: 15.4mm Dreyse
Cartridge Type: Needlefire Cartridge - Lead bullet in Paper Cartridge
Barrel Length: 30 ¾ Inches
Overall Length: 51 ¼ Inches
Action type: Bolt-Action Needle Fire
Feed System: Single Shot

In 1836 JOHANN NIKOLAUS VON DREYSE designed this breech loading cartridge system while the rest of the world were still using muzzleloaders. Indeed, the original prototypes were muzzle loaders themselves, but continued development led to the adoption of a bolt-action system. These were called Zündnadelgewehr, which translates roughly as "ignition needle rifle". After successful testing in 1840, the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm IV ordered 60,000 of the new rifles. Dreyse set up the Dreyse-Zündnadel factory in Sömmerda with the help of state loans to ramp up production. These were adopted by the Prussian Military in 1841, and called the Leichtes Perkussionsgewehr Modell 1841 ("light percussion rifle Model 1841"), with the name chosen to hide the revolutionary nature of the new weapon.

Its first notable service was in the May uprisings in Dresden in 1849. Taking a 15.4mm paper cartridge ignited by a needle projecting from the front of the bolt, the barrel on these is heavily rifled to engage the cartridge. The system was so revolutionary that it was observed that in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, a Prussian Infantryman could fire five rounds from a prone position in the time it took an Austrian Infantryman to discharge one round from a standing position.

The Zündnadel saw service up through the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, when the Prussians were quickly victorious despite the French Chassepot Needle fire Rifle introduced in 1866, which was considered a far superior weapon. It was this action that brought the German Empire together in 1871, and by this time the Needle Rife rifles were in use by many other German states. The Dreyse Needle Fire was obsoleted in 1871 with the introduction of Paul Mauser's M1871 bolt action rifle which took what we would think of as conventional brass cased ammunition (10.4mm).

Franz von Dreyse had developed a self-cocking modification to the firing system, almost as a last ditch attempt to prolong the service life of the needle fire design. This allowed for a few more smaller contracts to be won by the factory, which would later go on to produce other standard arms for the German military and others. The father and son had started a gun factory in Sömmerda together, which Franz continued after his father passed in 1867, until his own passing in 1894.

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