Antique French Revolvers Like/Hate
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I have both and love them both. (I'll take another in 8mm Lebel if it has an F serial number)
They are very very well made, accurate. The 1873 in DA shoots like a semi (fast) comes back on target perfect. slow to load but I don't plan on clearing trenches so who cares.
The 8mm is a nice round very accurate and easy to make. I read that both the 1873 and 1892 served all the way into the Angolian wars.
If the yanks were not so anti french these guns would be worth 4x as much.
(before anyone makes a derogatory french soldier comment: remember 1 out of every 5 living males in france had died in combat in WWI before the yanks even had a man in europe)
Anyway great guns, great history,
They are very very well made, accurate. The 1873 in DA shoots like a semi (fast) comes back on target perfect. slow to load but I don't plan on clearing trenches so who cares.
The 8mm is a nice round very accurate and easy to make. I read that both the 1873 and 1892 served all the way into the Angolian wars.
If the yanks were not so anti french these guns would be worth 4x as much.
(before anyone makes a derogatory french soldier comment: remember 1 out of every 5 living males in france had died in combat in WWI before the yanks even had a man in europe)
Anyway great guns, great history,
At the end of "La Grande Guerre", 1 in 28 of all French citizens (including women and children) then living in the French Empire (colonies included) had lost their lives.
By a wide margin, the largest casualty rate sustained by ANY country in the war.
To this day, the French have never recovered to the level of prosperity and military prestige they had before August 1914.
Think about it.
By a wide margin, the largest casualty rate sustained by ANY country in the war.
To this day, the French have never recovered to the level of prosperity and military prestige they had before August 1914.
Think about it.
Claven2 said:
is that to say that france recovered the prestige that it had prior to 1870/71?
i am not a historian, but john keegan is, and basically he states that france's "backwardness, was hidden by being on the victorious side in WWI".
back to the original post though, i would really like a pre 1898 model 92.
i find some french arms very interesting, like the MAS 36 and the 49. others like the 1886 do nothing for me (unless i am looking at old catelogues where they are listed for $89.95, then i want one or two).
Actually, at the end of the war of 1870 culminating with the humiliating surrender at Sedan, the Germans imposed a enourmous financial levy on the French intending to cripple their nation forever. The French paid it off in 3 years with one MASSIVE effort.
After that they resolved to never again be as defenseless and just prior to WW1 had amassed the largest and best trained army the French Republic had ever fielded (and would ever field again). It numbered about 1.5 Million men, not including reserve divisions. It was really only equalled by the German Army once they incorporated reserve units into the front line under the Schlieffen plan.
Their military spending after 1870 brought us the innovations of smokeless powder repeating rifles, modern close support field artillery, and the military use of the biplane. All things the other powers were fast to duplicate jsut to keep pace.
After that they resolved to never again be as defenseless and just prior to WW1 had amassed the largest and best trained army the French Republic had ever fielded (and would ever field again). It numbered about 1.5 Million men, not including reserve divisions. It was really only equalled by the German Army once they incorporated reserve units into the front line under the Schlieffen plan.
Their military spending after 1870 brought us the innovations of smokeless powder repeating rifles, modern close support field artillery, and the military use of the biplane. All things the other powers were fast to duplicate jsut to keep pace.
PS: current prices for 1886 Lebels are just INSANE. Lord knows why??? So ugly... Plus they aren't all that rare, over 3 million having been made.
The Berthiers are much more reasonably priced though. Especially the mousketons.
The Berthiers are much more reasonably priced though. Especially the mousketons.
Well i thought French guns must be Crap but i bought a 1892 lebel and was very impressed cept for the caliber was a bit wimpy for me.
Then i bought a 1873 there supose to be 11mil but were easyly reamed out to shoot the 45 ACP in the wars they used them right thru WWII
I found they adapt to 455 very easy!
very little metal needs to be taken outs the cylinder chambers at the forward end.
A 455 rim fits the recess in the back of the cylinder perfect.
So they can shoot Fiocchi 455 and are pretty darn accurate to.
I sold both 1873 Ordance revolvers both converted to 455 and the guys seem to really like them. They are a very well made gun and will only go up in value. The orignal Rd was a weird French taperd Rd thats hard and expensive to reload.
There guns were great there Ammo sucked. 455 in a 1873 is like butter and bread
Then i bought a 1873 there supose to be 11mil but were easyly reamed out to shoot the 45 ACP in the wars they used them right thru WWII
I found they adapt to 455 very easy!
very little metal needs to be taken outs the cylinder chambers at the forward end.A 455 rim fits the recess in the back of the cylinder perfect.
So they can shoot Fiocchi 455 and are pretty darn accurate to.
I sold both 1873 Ordance revolvers both converted to 455 and the guys seem to really like them. They are a very well made gun and will only go up in value. The orignal Rd was a weird French taperd Rd thats hard and expensive to reload.
There guns were great there Ammo sucked. 455 in a 1873 is like butter and bread
dingus said:There guns were great there Ammo sucked. 455 in a 1873 is like butter and bread
I couldn;t agree more! The build quality on the MAS series rifles, the Mannlicher Berthiers, the Lebel Revolvers, was all top notch. The calibers, on the other hand, were nto the very best choices available.
In fairness to the 8x50R service cartridge though... it was the very first ever smokeless round devlopped. Hence, all the rounds developped after it had better have been improvements - otherwise, what would have been the point?
Oddly enough, we just had a thread on BritishMilitaria forums, in which the pair of revolvers toted by "Rick" in "The Mummy" were rapidly identified (by others) as Model 1873's ....
Pistols in "The Mummy"
Pistols in "The Mummy"
