French
Guns
M1859/67
" 'a Tabatiere" Carabine de Chasseur
Tabatiere St. Etienne 1866.
GENERALLY: "The Carabine de Chasseur" is the most distinctive of th
e M1867 conversions of French long arms to the "Tabatiere" swinging breach block system, copied from the Snider patent. It is noticably shorter than the Snider converted M1853-4 infantry rifles or dragoons and shorter still than the converted 1822 rifles.
PHOTO: The rifle shown is a Mle 1859/67 Tabatiere "Carabine de Chasseur" (Hunter's Rrifle). It was converted from the muzzle loader utilizing the Mdl 1867 system.
DISTINGUISHING CHARECTERISTICS: This "carbine" is rifle length by any other comparison measuring some 1.262 meters (about 52 inches). It is distringuished from the infantry rifles and dragoon rifles by it's sabre bayonet lug and tenon mounted on the right side of the barrel, a nosecap that is noticibly simplier than that found on the rifles, a very long laddar sight with the barrel fixed with only one barrel band, and a distinctive very (very) large bell shaped ram/cleaning rod.
MISC NOTES: Calibre of the Mle 1859/67 Tabatiere "Carabine de Chasseur" is 18.2mm whilst the rifles and dragoons are 17.8mm. Go figure.
Distinct
from all of the other Tabatieres is the sabre bayonet lug mount, the large
bell shaped cleaning rod and the nosecap which differs from the others
as well.
This view of the Carabine is quite typical of all Tabatieres (remember, however, that the Mle 1822/67 is fitted with a bronze receiver while the Carabine, rifle and Dragoon, formerly Mle 1853's and 1857s are in iron).
FURTHER READINGS: (* means all who are seriously interested in this area should have!)
-
**La
grande aventure des fusils reglementaires francais, Henri Vuillemin,
Gazette des armes, 1996, pgs 23-30
*Rifles of the World , John Walter, DBI Books, 1993, pgs ______
*The History and Development of Small Arms Ammunition, George A. Hoyem, VOL II-Centerfire Primitive and Martial Long Arms, Armory Publications, Tacoma, 1982 pgs ____
*Military Rifle and Machine Gun Cartridges, Jean Huon, Ironside, Alexandria, VA, 1988, Pgs ___
Small Arms of the World, W.H.B.Smith, Stackpole, many revised editions since 1960.
The Book of Rifles, W.H.B.Smith, Stackpole, many editions since 1948.
Pictorial History of the Rifle, G.W.P. Swenson, Drake Publishers (also Pub by Crown/Bonanza), 1972, pgs ___
Cartridges of the World, Frank C. Barnes, DBI Books, 1965-1977 (now in it's 8th edition).