Price check on WW1 Lebel and Gew98
- Thread starter Shrapnel
- Start date
Remember the 3 C's: Condition, condition, and condition.
Good condition, original military Lebel 1886/93s are a tough find, many seem to be beaten up to heck and then some more. P&S has one in fair condition so you may wish to have a peak there. On the flip side, shooters may stay away as the 8x50R Lebel cartridge is awkward to load for. Collectors may flock your way as t he 1886 represents the first true smokeless powder, small calibre rifle accepted into military service.
For the Gewehr 98, there can be many things that come into play. Matching numbers, overall condition, date and maker, unit markings, battle damage, original military configuration to name a few.
If you have pictures, they would be worth a thousand words otherwise pricing will be, more or less, a craps shoot.
Good condition, original military Lebel 1886/93s are a tough find, many seem to be beaten up to heck and then some more. P&S has one in fair condition so you may wish to have a peak there. On the flip side, shooters may stay away as the 8x50R Lebel cartridge is awkward to load for. Collectors may flock your way as t he 1886 represents the first true smokeless powder, small calibre rifle accepted into military service.
For the Gewehr 98, there can be many things that come into play. Matching numbers, overall condition, date and maker, unit markings, battle damage, original military configuration to name a few.
If you have pictures, they would be worth a thousand words otherwise pricing will be, more or less, a craps shoot.
I'm being offered a complete, very good Lebel 86/93 in a trade... Some rust spots from storage neglect but otherwise the blueing is very good and the wood quite decent. All matching at first glance and so is the rear stock... Front stock has a different SN. I don't have pics so I can't post them!
What sort of trade value are you being offered with the Lebel? Check the receiver - many were refurbed un-gently in Syria and Algeria in the 1940's and later, and the markings are sometimes scrubbed almost completely off. Those are, obviously, worth a lot less.
I saw the one from P.S Give me insommnia since a week now..... fair cond but still interesting
Jocelyn
True about bullets touching primers, i guess unless the rifle is dropped hard on the butt,no problems should happen with normal use.
Jocelyn
Tradex has some new Prvi brass in 8mm Lebel but (from the pictures on their site) it does not have the groove in the base like the original did to prevent the pointed bullet from impacting the primer of the cartridge in front... The point of the bullet would catch in the groove... I guess it would be possible to turn the cases and machine a groove.
Or maybe use bullets with a flat point...
Or maybe use bullets with a flat point...
I would still be cautious as the french used hard primers along with the primer grooves and a flat nosed bullet. Commercial ammo only has the flat nosed bullet. You could make your own grooves but how would you remove the spent primer without damaging the case head ?
I would also be worried about the recoil from the Lebel and it's reaction with a fully loaded tubular magazine.
I am curious, has or is anyone actively firing a Lebel 1886 ? I want to hunt one down, load for it, and shoot it but be on the side of safety with regards to the magazine.
I would also be worried about the recoil from the Lebel and it's reaction with a fully loaded tubular magazine.
I am curious, has or is anyone actively firing a Lebel 1886 ? I want to hunt one down, load for it, and shoot it but be on the side of safety with regards to the magazine.
@Nabs:
Balle N had a pointed bullet, as had the solid-bronze-bulleted Balle D which was the standard round in the Great War.
Groove in the base "nabbed" the point and held it away from the primers.
(That was the worst single pun I have made in months!)
A Merry Christmas to all, even if you don't celebrate it. And there's always Jul, Winterset, the Midwinter Festival of Mithras..... or Saturnalia, come to think of it..... if your heart and your liver are up to it!
.
Balle N had a pointed bullet, as had the solid-bronze-bulleted Balle D which was the standard round in the Great War.
Groove in the base "nabbed" the point and held it away from the primers.
(That was the worst single pun I have made in months!)
A Merry Christmas to all, even if you don't celebrate it. And there's always Jul, Winterset, the Midwinter Festival of Mithras..... or Saturnalia, come to think of it..... if your heart and your liver are up to it!
.
angrysoldier
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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here at my friends place we put up the metal pole, then we got some ladies to dance around it...ahh tis the season!
Interesting, do you have the dies to load for 8x50 Lebel ? If so, which ones do you use ? I have a Turk forestry carbine that I am interested in shooting and I would love to have a good load for her.
Sorry, Nabs, but I don't have a Lebel.
There ARE a couple of '07/'15s around here, still in military trim, and it seems that a Forestry Carbine has taken up residence.
I have attempted to shoot the 07/15 with Balle N which was 1939 stuff many years ago. Ninety percent misfires, many hangfires even on subsequent attempts with the same round. Ammo was pure junk: it was only 25 years old when I tried it. A German fellow I knew had "visited" France in 1940, said that he spent 5 weeks riding around in the back of a truck, fired his rifle only twice and one of those was at a rabbit. That was his verson of the Battle of France. As to the French ammo, he said that it was like that when it was new. This I could not comprehend.
It was only many years later that I learned about the Communist-led unions taking the French workers out on strike and sabotaging the French ammunition because their lovely Mister Stalin had a pact with Hitler..... and fighting against Hitler would be to fight against the ally of their leader!
So the rifles have lain ammo-less for many years. Now, however, I have dies (Lee), Lebel brass is available (Trade-Ex) and so all three will be heading for the range in the Springtime. Looking forward to ordering some Berthier clips from friend JP in the near future, so we shall see. Bores sure look nice: no reason they shouldn't shoot.
.
There ARE a couple of '07/'15s around here, still in military trim, and it seems that a Forestry Carbine has taken up residence.
I have attempted to shoot the 07/15 with Balle N which was 1939 stuff many years ago. Ninety percent misfires, many hangfires even on subsequent attempts with the same round. Ammo was pure junk: it was only 25 years old when I tried it. A German fellow I knew had "visited" France in 1940, said that he spent 5 weeks riding around in the back of a truck, fired his rifle only twice and one of those was at a rabbit. That was his verson of the Battle of France. As to the French ammo, he said that it was like that when it was new. This I could not comprehend.
It was only many years later that I learned about the Communist-led unions taking the French workers out on strike and sabotaging the French ammunition because their lovely Mister Stalin had a pact with Hitler..... and fighting against Hitler would be to fight against the ally of their leader!
So the rifles have lain ammo-less for many years. Now, however, I have dies (Lee), Lebel brass is available (Trade-Ex) and so all three will be heading for the range in the Springtime. Looking forward to ordering some Berthier clips from friend JP in the near future, so we shall see. Bores sure look nice: no reason they shouldn't shoot.
.
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