VETTERLI MODELL 1878 RIFLE
Swiss bolt action Vetterli Modell 1878 rifle, 32 1/4" barrel, 52 1/2" overall, chambered for a 10.4x38mm black powder rimfire cartridge. The rifle is marked as being manufactured at the Waffenfabrik Bern on the left side of the receiver, with the model number "M.78" and the serial number "160928" below. The serial number appears again at the rear of the barrel, and The stock and butt are stamped with several cartouches. The rifle is fed from a 12-round tubular magazine beneath the barrel, and loaded through a loading gate on the right hand side of the receiver, with the ejection port at the top of the receiver, in a manner similar to a Winchester lever-action rifle. In this example, the feeder spring, the rear barrel band, and the rear of the bolt assembly are all missing. The bore is pitted and bears appreciable oxidation, and some shrinkage is visible where the wood stock meets the metal fittings, just good overall. Various models of the Vetterli were the standard rifle of the Swiss army from 1869 through 1890. It represented a major improvement over the contemporary Dreyse and Chassepot bolt-action designs, and was the first magazine-fed bolt-action rifle to feature a self-cocking action and a small-caliber bore.