6,5mm caliber 1871 Mauser- A well traveled oddity
I don't have a lot of background on this rifle, but thought it interesting enough to keep. So, time to share a little:
Born in Germany as an 11mm blackpowder cartridge rifle.
It then moved to France, where it got a make-over into a 6,5mm caliber smokeless powder rifle.
Round design courtesy of the French Navy and a M. Daudeteau. Finest French bayonet adaptor included! 'Verr-ah Nyiz-ah'
Then off to Uruguay, for a short working stint of but a few years.
Years and years of quiet, and then off to the "States" for retirement.
It's time for a little exercise, and a bit of the spotlight.
So, here's, ummm, well, I don't know rightly what it's proper name is...!!!:o
:)
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff004-2.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff005-2.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff017-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff006-3.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff011-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...tuff0141-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff012-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff015-1.jpg
Who can fill us in on historical details? Or shooting reports? Reloading?
:cheers:
Just is case you didn't know...
...the inscription on the ring is
SFAP
= Societé Francaise d'Armes Portatives
(approx. "French Portable Weapons Company")
... the French company that made the new design/conversion for the French navy.
:wave:
More on the M1871 Daudeteau conversion
The bolt appears to be a normal M1871 bolt. The M1871 bolt head does not have a raised rim to surround the cartridge base, so the change of cartridge would not have required any alteration to the bolt. I think SFAP just rebarreled an 1871 action and fitted a new backsight.
As to the wood: The M1871 was a 3-band rifle, and I see no trace of the step for the middle band, so the wood was not converted from stocks for a full-length M1871. It also seems to be a couple of per cent too long for the 2-band "Jaeger" version of the M1871. So maybe SFAP made new woodwork as well, or had a source of M1871 stock blanks to work on.
As to firing it, before diving into the fun of cartridge conversion, please remember that the M1871 only has ONE bolt lug! NO safety lug!
Quite apart from the obvious need to load as lightly as possible with a very slow powder, keeping the ballistics down to almost a black-powder trajectory, there is the "banana" effect of the load on the single side lug and the resulting sideways barrel whip on firing which can ruin any potential accuracy. Please refer to my other writings on the Mauser M1871 for more on this topic.
As to possible cartridges cases for conversion - the Russian 7.62x54R has already been mentioned as a plausible candidate. At one time, because of restrictions on using military cartridges, the Finns developed a number of "wildcats" to be able to utilize ex-military material, and one of these was a 6.5x54R - nothing more than the well-known Mosin-Nagant cartridge case necked down for 6.5 bullets. If you can get cases or dies for this unusual combination, then it might be a usable first approximation for the Daudeteau. But in using any nitro cartridge with a BP action, you bear all responsibility for the results!
:wave: