Vetterli carbine

[Patrick Chadwick]

Not quite sure, but I think the fore-end of the Vetterli may have been "unofficially" shortened. The wood should reach almost to the bayonet lug - for support - and the clearing rod almost to the muzzle - otherwise it's too short to reach right down the barrel. I have read that the carbines were made by shortening full-length rifles and have found pics of similar looking guns on the internet but the proportions here do not seem right. And regrettably, there are unscrupulous people who shorten rifles to make rarer - and hence more expensive - carbines. I hope I'm wrong.