Original French MLE 1866-74 Gras Rifle by St. Étienne Shortened and Converted to Shotgun – Dated 1875 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. The Fusil Gras Modèle 1874 was a French service rifle of the 19th century. The Gras used by the French Army was an adaptation to metallic cartridge of the Chassepot breech-loading rifle by Colonel Basile Gras. This example was originally a needle fire Chassepot, the French ignition system introduced in 1866. It was a single shot bolt-action rifle and was among the best of its kind at the type, being superior to the German Dreyse Needle fire system. It was quickly surpassed however, principally by the British Martini-Henry system. In 1874 the self contained cartridge Gras bolt-action system was introduced, and the Chassepots in service were converted to this system, and had additional markings added indicating this.

This particular example is quite interesting, in that at some point after being converted to a Gras, it was then further converted. The over all length was shortened by about 12 inches, and the barrel bored out to just under 15mm smoothbore. We assume this was used as a shotgun, which is not unheard of with Gras Rifles after they became obsolete in 1886 with the introduction of the Lebel rifle. These were often used for prison service in France itself or the Colonies. It still however retains all of its correct issue markings, so it was definitely treated with care.

The receiver on this nice example is marked MANUFACTURE IMPÉRIALE / St. Étienne and to the right of this is MLE 1866-74. The rifle has an original issue date stamped into the barrel of S.1875, indicating that it was originally manufactured at St. Étienne Arsenal as a Chassepot in 1875. It was then later converted to the Gras rifle system in 1878 at Tulle arsenal, indicated by the marking T.78. The gun is marked with serial number F H 79496 on the receiver, with F H 72343 on the bolt components. There is a marking that looks to read “BONNET LILLE” stamped on the right front receiver, which is not one that we recognize. This may be related to where it was used in service, possibly as a prison shotgun.

The shotgun has a very nice bore, mostly shiny with just a bit of fouling near the chamber end. Overall condition is also very nice, with stock rondels fully legible on both sides. The stock is non matching, however it also appears to be from a converted Chassepot, and is dated 1874 and 1879. Metal finish is very nice, with a nice aged patina overall.

A very interesting M-1866-74 Chassepot/Gras shotgun, fully cleaned and ready to display!

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: 1875 – converted 1878 and again later.
Caliber:  about 15mm – 22 or 24 gauge
Cartridge Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 20 Inches
Overall Length: 39 Inches
Action type: Bolt-Action
Feed System: Single Shot

The French Fusil “Gras” Modèle 1874 Rifle had a caliber of 11mm and used black powder centerfire cartridges that weighed 25 grams. It was a robust and hard-hitting weapon, but it had no magazine and so could only fire one shot after loading. It also had a triangular-shaped sword bayonet, known as the Model 1874 “Gras” sword bayonet. It was replaced by the Lebel rifle in 1886, the first rifle to use smokeless gunpowder. In the meantime, about 400,000 Gras rifles had been manufactured.

The metallic-cartridge Gras was manufactured in response to the development of the metallic cartridge designed by Colonel Boxer in 1866 (Boxer cartridge), and the British 1870 Martini-Henry rifle. Those were soon emulated by the Germans with the 1871 Mauser.

The Hellenic Army adopted the Gras in 1877, and it was used in all conflicts up until the Second World War. It became the favorite weapon of Greek guerrilla fighters, from the various revolts against the Ottoman Empire to the resistance against the Axis, acquiring legendary status. The name entered the Greek language, and grades (γκράδες) was a term colloquially applied to all rifles during the first half of the 20th century. It was manufactured by various arms factories in France, though most of the rifles sent to Greece were made by the ŒWG Austrian Arms Factory at Steyr.

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