Lebel Model 1886 Rifle - Operation, Features, and Accessories

Operation, Features, and Accessories

In operation, the bolt is turned up to the vertical position until the two front locking lugs are released from the receiver. At the end of the bolt's opening phase, a ramp on the receiver bridge forces the bolt to the rear thus providing leveraged extraction of the fired case. The rifle is fitted with a two-piece wood stock, and features a spring-loaded tubular magazine in the forend. Taking aim at intermediate distances is done with a ramp sight graduated between 400 and 800 meters. The ladder rear sight is adjustable from 850 to 2,400 meters. Flipping forward that ladder sight reveals the commonly used fixed combat sight up to 400 meters. No rifle safety existed on the Lebel. The Mle 1886 rifle had a 10-round capacity (eight in the forend tube magazine, one in the transporter, and one in the chamber). The Lebel rifle features a magazine cutoff on the right side of the receiver. When activated it prevents feeding cartridges from the magazine.

The Mle 1886 rifle was first developed at MAC (Manufacture d'armes de Châtellerault) and also mass manufactured at the State MAS and MAT facilities until 1920. A private concern, the "Manufacture d'Armes de Paris" contributed some of the smaller parts during WW-1. The number of Lebel rifles manufactured until 1920 adds up to two million eight hundred and eighty thousand (2,880,000). The Mle 1886 Lebel was a sturdy and accurate weapon that served as the basic French infantry rifle during WW-1 (1914–1918). The Lebel rifle remained in partial service until 1940 although its outsized length, its tube magazine and its rimmed ammunition had long become obsolete features.

The Mle 1886 Lebel rifle was issued with a long needle-like quadrangular épée bayonet, the Épée-Baïonnette Modèle 1886, with a length of 52 cm. (20 in.). With its X-shaped cross section, the épée bayonet was optimized for thrusting, designed to readily penetrate thick clothing and leather. The bayonet was dubbed Rosalie by French soldiers who were issued it during World War I. An effective stabbing/thrusting weapon, the Mle 1886 bayonet was frequently cut down by individual soldiers and ordnance sections into a stiletto-type thrusting knife (Poignard de tranchée) for use in trench warfare.