Vetterli 41 Swiss?

- Are you talking about official Swiss Military rifle conversions, commercial or Gunsmith conversions. Could your Vetterlis be Italian conversions from 10.4 mm Centerfire to 6.5 Carcano.

- If they are indeed Swiss Military conversion, I would be thrilled to see photos.
 
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gadcustom cartridges.com makes a convertion to centerfire and also makes brass for the 41 swiss I believe it changes the bolt head requires a gun smith there PH.715-748-0919 brass is 20.00 for 20rnds
 
Noel said:
I would be very pleased to see these too!:)
I got pics of the one at Elwoods. The stock is cut in front of the first barrel band not unlike many Enfields you see. She is in tough shape too. I'd be holding off for one in better shape and happily pay more for that too in hopes it has some useable life in it.
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This is self-serving I know, but the Vetterli at Epps you refer to is a $100 parts gun at best.

I have a few Vetterlis I could part with, both full-wood and sporter, and I might even be able to scare up a spare bolt body.
 
Andy said:
This is self-serving I know, but the Vetterli at Epps you refer to is a $100 parts gun at best.

I have a few Vetterlis I could part with, both full-wood and sporter, and I might even be able to scare up a spare bolt body.
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I totally agree with your value for that gun. The pitting looks really bad and others for sale on the net for even $150 USD more look like new compared to that one.

Both of those you mention selling sound interesting as well as a spare bolt.;)
Let's make medicine!
 
Andy said:
A Google on "Parashooter Vetterli" will come up with most of his works. Here's a good place to start:
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:cheers:

Parashooter's article titled Shooting the Vetterli (Centerfire Conversions) (click here)http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=11, complete with full pictures and instructions, may be found in the Milsurp Knowledge Library under Technical Articles for Milsurp Collectors and Re-loaders (click here)http://www.milsurps.com/forumdisplay.php?f=25

BTW, I have two Vetterli's and I shoot one centerfire with re-loads. It's a lot of fun out to 300 meters. :D

Regards,
Badger
 
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Well, I found the ad in my old catolog. They are entertaining to read!

You will notice it is canted a bit.:redface: Sorry, it's from a bad neck injury in a dirt bike crash........:p
Vetterli.jpg


These look like nice lightweights compared to the full length version!
 
gallen270 said:
me too, and i think i might turn mine into a sporter like in the pick!
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That's what I just did too.:D The forearm was trimmed back to roughly the same length as the pic above but I left the mag tube sticking out a bit a for that extra effect. I am going to leave my barrel 30" for the time being as I don't have a way to mill a new dovetail for the front sight. The gun was already a bubba anyway.

I also took the rear sight wings down so they match the contour of the blade. They are very obstructive when trying to pick up a deer in thick timber. Don't ask me how I know.:(
 
JP said:
- Original Swiss Vetterlis are all rimfire rifles, the centerfire rifle that replaced it was the Scmidt-Rubin Model 1889 a totally different rifle.

- Italian Vetterlis were centerfire rifle, basically the same rifle mechanically.
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I could not give you the date but many or most of the Vetterlis in Switzerland were converted to centerfire prior to them issuing the Schmidt Rubin. I get that information from a Swiss collector friend, still living in Switzerland.

cheers mooncoon
 
mooncoon said:
I could not give you the date but many or most of the Vetterlis in Switzerland were converted to centerfire prior to them issuing the Schmidt Rubin. I get that information from a Swiss collector friend, still living in Switzerland.

cheers mooncoon
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I believe that your friend is mistaken. This is the first I've ever heard of such a thing. Can you provide more evidence from your friend or elsewhere?
 
Andy said:
I believe that your friend is mistaken. This is the first I've ever heard of such a thing. Can you provide more evidence from your friend or elsewhere?
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No further evidence other than I have a lot of faith in his opinion. He was born in Switzerland and still lives in Switzerland, has been an official in dating Swiss muzzle loaders in their competitions. He is now retired and I would consider him very knowledgeable. He certainly had no difficulty in identifying my sniping rifle @ 1838 - 1842

cheers mooncoon
 
Well all I can say, I have never seen any mention of military conversion to Centerfire in any documention I have ever seen on Swiss Military Rifles. Also A friend of mine participated in a few Schutzenfests in Switzerland, ammo was available for the Vetterlis to use in the competition and it was Rimfire and not Centerfire.
 
Well, this is a rather dangerous thread. Another neat old cartridge gun...

From what I'm reading at all the links, similar molds are available for bullets, and 44 mag dies and a 45 acp seating die can be used to reform the brass? Not bad.
 
Andy said:
The conversion to centrefire modifies only the bolt body, so the tactic is to find a spare bolt body. Once that's done, you need to make up brass from 348 Win - it's a 4/10 on the difficulty scale for converting brass. Lee sells dies. There is lots of info available on the web. A guy who goes by "Parashooter" is the recognized authority - follow what he says and you won't go wrong.
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A friend of mine uses 8mm Lebel cases for .41 Swiss (the 10.4x38mm version). I picked him up some Rocky Mountain Cartridge cases for it when I was there, but he didn't want them because e had figured out the Lebel thing. So I sold them on the EE here for what I paid. $65 for a box of 20. Which I thought not bad since they are lather turned from solid bar stock and would last a long time with proper care.
 
"...unless the gun were a single shot only..." The number of shots means nothing. It's whether or not you can use currently available ammo. The important part is that the .41 Swiss used BP and is a rim fire. Pressures of BP are not the same as smokeless. Mind you, you might find a smokeless load that'll be safe to shoot.
The Vetterli page here might be of some use. http://www.swissrifles.com/ammo/
 
Lee mold part number please

Andy said:
The "Parashooter" you want is the same guy who goes by Parashooter on CGN, but he is better contacted through the swissrifles forum pub18.ezboard.com/btheswissriflesdotcommessageboard That having been said, his postings are so explicit and well-illustrated that there should be no need to contact him.

A Google on "Parashooter Vetterli" will come up with most of his works. Here's a good place to start:

telecom.hartford.edu/swiss/vetterli.htm

I used the "simple" method and it works great. I use the Lee 310gr cast bullet which works well over 10 grs of Unique powder (among others). Win 348 brass needs to be trimmed to 1.600", annealed and then sized in the Lee die, and you're ready to go.

I shot mine in a past Milshoot and placed 4th out of 14 (with its rudimentary sights, and loading singly, as I had some feeding problems that day). They can be made to shoot well!
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Could you please give the part number so I can contact Lee?
 
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