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The Tabatière rifle was a breech-loading rifle of the
''French Army 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War (2)'', p. 38
/ref>
Most of the conversion work had been accomplished by the time of the Franco-Prussian War. By July 1870, roughly 358,000 rifles had been converted, while 1.4 million muzzleloaders stayed in their original configuration.
The ammunition was a
''French Army 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War (2)'', p. 45
/ref>
The Tabatière rifle was a breech-loading rifle of the French Army
History
Early history
The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...
.
The Tabatière system was developed from 1864 as a way to convert numerous muzzle-loading weapons (usually Minié rifle
The Minié rifle was an important infantry rifle of the mid-19th century. A version was adopted in 1849 following the invention of the Minié ball in 1847 by the French Army captain Claude-Étienne Minié of the Chasseurs d' Orléans and Hen ...
s) into breech-loading ones, in a process similar to that of the Snider-Enfield in Great Britain or the Springfield Model 1866
The Springfield Model 1866 was the second iteration of the Allin-designed trapdoor breech-loading mechanism. Originally developed as a means of converting rifle muskets to breechloaders, the Allin modification ultimately became the basis for t ...
in the United States. The name "Tabatière" comes from the fact that the breech-loading mechanism looked like a snuff box.Stephen Shan''French Army 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War (2)'', p. 38
/ref>
Most of the conversion work had been accomplished by the time of the Franco-Prussian War. By July 1870, roughly 358,000 rifles had been converted, while 1.4 million muzzleloaders stayed in their original configuration.
The ammunition was a center fire
Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center
A centerfire cartridge is a firearm metallic cartridge whose primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i.e. "case head"). Unlike rimf ...
cartridge closely resembling a shortened 12 gauge shotgun shell. This weapon system was recognized as ballistically inferior to the Chassepot
The Chassepot (pronounced ''SHAS-poh''), officially known as ''Fusil modèle 1866'', was a bolt-action military breechloading rifle. It is famous for having been the arm of the French forces in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. It repla ...
rifle, therefore it was used by second line troops and in defensive roles.
These are commonly encountered today as "Zulu Guns", after rifles were converted into shotguns and sold cheaply in the early 1900s.
Models
* Tabatière rifle model 1867.Stephen Shan''French Army 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War (2)'', p. 45
/ref>
Users
* :Acquired small amounts during the Paraguayan war.Esposito, Gabriele, The Paraguayan War 1864–70: Osprey Publishing (2019) A number were imported from Germany and France by Buenos Aires in 1/6/1800 alongside with 500.000 cartridges. Those rifles were shipped without bayonets, and were adapted to use old muzzleloader bayonets. *Conflicts
Paraguayan War
The Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It was the deadlies ...
(Limited)
Argentine Civil Wars
The Argentine Civil Wars were a series of civil conflicts of varying intensity that took place through the territories of Argentina from 1814 to 1853. Initiation concurrently with the Argentine War of Independence (1810–1820), the conflict p ...
Franco-Prussian War
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabatiere rifle Rifles of France Early rifles Single-shot rifles Hinged breechblock rifles