Posted on Mar 23, 2023
Weapons of War: France's Lebel Rifle, Model 1886
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WWI
France
Weapons
Military History
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 2
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MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D.
You and me both. We had demilled '03 Springfields for our VFMA&C cadets for drill. We later got in enough demilled M1 Garands for our B Co. cadets for drill. That was the way it was when I left there in the spring of '98 and moved to the SW Washington coast.
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Wow that thing looks about as big as the troops. Could you imagine firing the 11mm that this rifle replaced ?
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CPT Lawrence Cable
Probably about like firing a black powder 50-70 or 45-70. The 8mm Lebel cartridge was the first military cartridge that used smokeless powder, so it generated a lot more pressure than the older black powder rounds. That bad boy had a 31 1/2" barrel, so the rifle was a bit over 4' long.
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