Original Dutch Beaumont M1871 Bolt Action Single Shot French Trials Rifle Serial 4793 – Dated 1872 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This Dutch Infantry Rifle was made by Stevens in Maastricht in the Netherlands, and is actually dated 1872. The model M-71 was a single shot 11mm rifle, much along the lines of other European single shot bolt action rifles of the time. With the advent of workable magazine systems, almost all were  converted to a bolt-action magazine rifle with a capacity of four rounds.

However, this example is extremely rare in that it has NOT been converted! This is the first and ONLY time that we have had an unconverted rifle in more than 40 years of business! An unusual system, the bolts spring is in fact housed inside the bolt handle, from an era of great firearms development worldwide, the dawn of the breech-loading period this is unusual and not easy to find.

This single Shot Rifle was in direct competition with the Model 1871 Mauser Single Shot Cartridge Rifle and the later M-1874 French Gras Rifle. The French considered this Single Shot Beaumont Rifle, but ended up making their own version today known as the M-1874 GRAS Rifle. However there were several examples made for the French trials, and this is one such example! It is fitted with a different rear sight than usually seen, and more importantly, it is fitted with a Chassepot / Gras style bayonet lug on the front right side of the barrel. This is definitive for a French Trials example.

It has serial number 4793 on almost every component of the rifle that we can see: The barrel, receiver, most bolt components, the butt plate, and even on the cleaning rod! The bolt face is the only part not  matching. The barrel is dated 1872, and the receiver is marked P. STEVENS / MAASTRICHT. It is in nice condition overall with a faint roundel stamp in the stock showing a partial Crown over W surrounded by MAASTRICHT and a faint 1873 date.

The rifle is in very good overall condition, and still has the original cleaning rod present. The metal finish is somewhat bright, having been cleaned for years. removing the blued finish. All components are solid and the bolt moves crisply, though it is stiff. The bore is in excellent condition, with a bright finish and crisp lands and grooves. The wood stock is in goo condition, dark in color but with a lovely patina.

Still in use by the time WW1 came in 1914 but was much outclassed by the Mauser and Enfield rifle systems introduced in the late 1890s. This is an excellent and rare Beaumont rifle, set up for French Trials and ready to display!

History of the Beaumont:
Created in 1871 by a Dutch engineer named Messerecht, the Dutch Beaumont rifle was one of the first metallic cartridge bolt-action rifle to be adopted by any military. Firing an 11.3x50mm cartridge it was single shot only, meaning the user had to insert a new cartridge after every shot. Unlike other rifles, the mainspring of the Beaumont was located within the bolt handle, an exact copy of the Mauser Norris rifle, which would also be copied by the Japanese with the Murate rifle. This same feature, however, made it impossible to turn down the bolt on cavalry and carbine models.

While the Beaumont was state of the art for its day, by the late 1880’s it was obsolete as repeating rifles became all the rage in Europe. To make up for the Beaumont’s deficiency, the Dutch added a magazine to the rifle, the same type of magazine used by the Italians when they converted their single shot Vetterli rifles into repeaters. Since the Beaumont was outfitted with the Italian Vitali magazine in 1888, it was redubbed the Beaumont-Vitali Model 1871/88. The Vitali magazine held four rounds and was reloaded with an en bloc clip made of cardboard. When the clip was empty, an attached string was pulled to remove it from the magazine, no kidding.

Despite the upgrade the Beaumont-Vitali, much like the Italian Vetterli Vitali, was obsolete by the time it was introduced. By 1890 nations began to adopt smokeless powder designs which used smaller caliber high velocity cartridges firing conical shaped spitzer bullets. Eventually the Dutch phased out the Beaumont-Vitali and replaced it with the M95 Steyr-Hembrug.

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: 1872
Caliber: 11.3mm x 51R Dutch Beaumont
Cartridge Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel  Length: 32 Inches
Overall Length: 52 Inches
Action type: Bolt-Action
Feed System: Single Shot

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