Product Description
This Swiss 1896/11 Infantry Rifle, produced in 1898, is in good condition with 50% remaining bluing. 4/5 Bore. 4/5 Stock. Stock and handguard matching serial numbers. Bolt matching serial number. Magazine matching serial number. Bore is bright with lightly worn rifling. Top charging handle knob is chipped. This rifle is nearly in the white, with most of the visible bluing either thinning or completely polished away. The portion of the barrel hidden by the handguard still has a blued finish. There is some bluing remaining on the rear half of the receiver, albeit worn, the bluing thins from the midpoint forward, up to and including the barrel shank and the rear sight, and is in nearly to completely in the white. Rear barrel band is polished and in the white. Front barrel band is nearly completely in the white. The portion of the barrel exposed beyond the furniture is nearly in the white. The trigger plate and trigger guard are polished and in the white. The sides of the magazine are blued with various levels of finish, but the base is polished and in the white. Furniture has some heavy handling marks, including some dents and small gouges scattered throughout. A crack at the grip has been armory repaired. Receiver is P stamped. Includes muzzle cover. Antique; no import engraving.
The 1896/11 rifle is a modernized version of the 1889 that was designed to handle the more powerful 7.5x55mm Swiss Gewehrpatrone 1911 (GP11) cartridge. GP11 has similar ballistic qualities to that of the 7.62x51mm NATO / .308 Winchester round. Other improvements were made in order to make the 1896/11 lighter and easier to handle, such as a new barrel and a 6 round capacity box magazine.