Ammunition source for the 8mm Lebel Revolver

[aarondhgraham]

Gads Custom Cartridges will make custom reloads from 32-20 cartridges,,,
I've ordered a few hundred for my Lebel over the years.

They are low power but do go bang,,,
So anyone who has one of these French Gals can get some range time.

Recently I stumbled on the once-every-few-years-run that Fiocchi makes,,,
I was able to score 550 rounds of the new ammunition before it was sold out.

I spoke to the gentleman at Gads,,,
He said he would reload my empty brass for $50.00 per hundred rounds.

That includes shipping the ammo back to me.

If you reload (which I don't),,,
Here is a pic of some reloading data you might find useful.



Anyways, I hope someone can get some use from this,,,
I love being able to send a few rounds downrange from my French lady.

Aarond

.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[jmoore]

I'm about out of my one box of Fiocchi ammo. Good ammo, and the bullets used would be hard to source elsewise.

[maxim]

Yes I have fired the Fiocchi and it performs fine in the Lebel. What a hoot to fire the old thing again. I can't imagine going into harms way with it as the primary weapon to defend one self.

[aarondhgraham]

I can't imagine going into harms way with it as the primary weapon to defend one self.

Well, it's not the biggest bullet in the world,,,
Most of the older handguns were of much larger caliber.

The pistol it replaced was an 11mm if I recall correctly.

But the 8mm Lebel did have one distinction,,,
I read in one article about them that it was the first military handgun designed for smokeless powder.

I'm 64 years old so it's probably my nostalgic nature talking,,,
But Margaux was my first handgun at 11 years old,,,
I just love shooting a few rounds from her.

It's always been my preference to buy guns I can shoot,,,
Even if it's just a few rounds of a weak reload,,,
To me, guns are not for just looking at.

Aarond

.

[jmoore]

As an officer's weapon, maybe it was more for enforcing discipline than combat? Just a passing thought.

[aarondhgraham]

maybe it was more for enforcing discipline than combat?

Which just begs for the standard French anecdote,,,

French army surplus firearm,,,
Never fired, Dropped once.

Aarond

.

[Eaglelord17]

Revolvers of a similar caliber were in use from the early 1890s up to in some cases post-WWII (Rast-Gasser, Nagant Revolvers etc.). Personally I would be comfortable with one as my side arm, because it is just that. From a realistic standpoint pistols are next to useless for combat, SMGs and Carbines of any-sort being a better option. They are much more power symbols than practical tools of war.

In regards to that terrible French anecdote, it really needs to be stopped. The French fought hard in both WWI and WWII, and in every war before and after. It does a great disservice to those that served and died.

In terms of the quality of French firearms, they were always well built, even if sometimes they were technologically obsolete. They also happened to take great care of their firearms and did a fantastic job refurbishing them, which is also why we have so many nice examples to collect.

[maxim]

I believe it is all in perspective. Many US pistols were of calibers we would categorize as severely under powered. When the Lebel was introduced, I would have been over joyed to have been issued one. The French certainly contributed their fair share of cutting edge weapons development, and like many countries had a few examples of of less than successful oddities. The Lebel revolver not being one of them.

[jmoore]

Rugged comes to mind.

The Fiocchi shot a little low for me, not that that's unusual. Need to round up a reloading die set and try some loads. Doesn't seem that any more factory ammo is going to found at random any time soon!

[jdmcomp]

I have used Gads in the past and cannot recommend him. Slow, hard to get along with, and the product is oft not well done. There are others, give them a try first. Or take up reloading using a Lee nutcracker. Fun and not too slow for small amounts of ammo.