Original Swiss Vetterli Repetiergewehr M1871 Infantry Magazine Rifle Serial No 72493 - 10.35 x 47mm VHS Possibly a gift to the

Possibly a gift to the regiment from one of the Officer's wives and dating from at the earliest 1918 when the corps became eligible to include "Royal" in it's title and certainly prior to 1953 when Queen Elizabeth came to the throne

at Arlington National Cemetery

This nice example comes complete with all German WWII issue parts

especially after the bombers had hit their targets

Lower right area of the plate in front of the hammer was cut to accommodate the unique Needham swing-out door for the side-loading breech

Original Swiss Vetterli Repetiergewehr M1871 Infantry Magazine Rifle Serial No 72493 - 10.35 x 47mm VHS Possibly a gift to theOriginal Item: Only One Available. Introduced in 1867, the Vetterli rifle system utilized the "Winchester" tube magazine system for cartridge storage under the barrel. The original 1867 model had an external hammer, like a Winchester, but in 1868 this was changed to an internal cocking bolt spring. The cleaning rod was moved to the side of the rifle, but this proved problematic, so the model of 1869 moved it back to the under barrel position. In 1871,