French Model 1886 Lebel Rifle

When the “Fusil Modele 1886” was introduced, it made the firearms of every other nation obsolete overnight and started an arms race that resulted in the development of most of the rifle types that would eventually be used in WWI. The rifle itself wasn’t all that innovative, but the ammo used a powder that revolutionized infantry tactics. It was smokeless, and compared to black powder, it had astounding velocity, extremely flat trajectory and markedly increased range. This is the rifle that would serve France through WWI.

The ‘86 Lebel has a bolt action fed from a tubular magazine under the barrel. There is a carrier under the bolt that is pressed down for the rounds to be inserted in the magazine one at a time. With eight rounds in the magazine, one in the carrier and one in the chamber, the rifle fires ten rounds without reloading – significant for the time. There is a knurled button on the right side forward of the trigger guard that when engaged holds the magazine in reserve while the rifle can be fired like a single shot breach loader.

My Lebel is actually the Mle 1886 M93. This indicates modifications of the design starting in 1893, mainly the bolt so that gas could be safely vented in case of a ruptured cartridge. The left side of the receiver is marked “MANUFACTURE D’ARMES St. Etenne”, referring to the National Arsenal at St. Etenne. The barrel is marked “MA S 1900” indicating manufacture at St. Etinne in 1900. The rear sights are graduated out to 2400 meters, a modification necessitated by the adoption of the Balle D round described below. The sling is correct for this rifle and the ammo shown dates to WWI. As always, the bayonet will be featured in its own post.

Ammo Stuff: The original 8mm (8x50R) Balle M round fired a nickel jacketed 232 grain, .323”round nose bullet at 2067 feet per second. When a pointy bullet shape (the Spitzer) was designed that improved range and accuracy, the French had a problem, since in tubular magazines the pointy tipped bullets could set off the cartridge in front of it.

The Balle D is the round pictured. In 1898 the French took advantage of the spritzer bullet design and added a little groove on the case head so that the point of the bullet behind it would slip into the groove instead of resting against the primer. It’s a 198 grain, solid brass, lathe turned, boat tailed spire point bullet! Dates of manufacture are actually stamped on the base of the projectile! I’ve taken mine apart and the base is stamped “4-17” (4th quarter 1917). Why the French would be taking the time to date stamp the actual bullet and not just the case in the middle of a world war is beyond me! The case contained 42.2 grains of extruded powder and my research says it had a velocity of 2300 fps.

1932 the French created the much more powerful Balle N round for their machineguns. I salvaged a bunch from Hotchkiss machinegun trays that were dated 1948. The one I took apart had a 239 grain cupro-nickel jacketed boat tail spritzer and contained 44.2 grains of a flaked powder. My Lebel has an “N” stamped at the top of the barrel and receiver to let me know that the weapon is capable of handling the pressures of firing this much hotter round.

My own loads are made with re-formed 348 Winchester cases, as well as a few old commercial Remington cases that are likely as old as I am. I use a 175 grain spitzer backed by 40 grains of IMR 4064 to get under 3” groups at 50 yards from a rest. I can’t find my data for 100 yards.

WARNING: Load data is provided for information only. Many vintage firearms are unsafe to shoot and I do not advise use of this load data for other firearms since I do not know the specific firearm that may be involved or its condition.