Vetterli caliber

14 June 2003, 08:55

<landtrain>

Vetterli caliber

I have an old Vetterli long rifle. I did a chamber cast and it mikes out to my eyes at 6.5 by 48. Definately NOT a 10.4mm. It has the non removable magazine, good bore, decent wood, missing cleaning rod,sling and bayonet. Does anyone out there know any thing about these old guns and can you give me the correct designation for the ammo. TIA.

14 June 2003, 09:15

<BEJ>

It's a 10.4x38R and uses .429-.431 bullets. Suggest you go to www.swissrifles.com for all your Vetterli information needs.

14 June 2003, 09:32

lonniemike

I think The Italian's had a few Vetterli's in 6.5mm. BEJ's suggestion is a good one. Big Lee(swissrifles), Para, or somebody should be able to help out. I believe some of the people convert rim fire to center fire. Best-o-Luck

14 June 2003, 11:26

<Collani>

@landtrain

I own a Vetterli M1881 Stutzer. And I did the center fire conversion. Please see this link for more information about the ammo, the front sight adjustment and the center fire conversion...

If you have more questions, please feel free to ask...

Good shooting and good hunting

Collani

14 June 2003, 11:31

<Collani>

@all

... and now we are starting a Vetterli Bullet mould group buy. For more infos please click here... [Wink]

Good shooting and good hunting

Collani

15 June 2003, 06:28

lonniemike

Thanks Collani and SwissRifles, It seems as the Italians had Vetterli's since 1870 or so and in the early 1900's a number of them were converted to the 6.5 Italian round. Yours may or maynot be. You said the chamber was 48mm. IIRC, the Ital case is about 52mm. I don't have the case specs in front of me. Does your rifle shoot rimfire or centerfire? You might have an 'Ital wildcat' in 6.5X vett??or something else Best-o-Luck

15 June 2003, 08:05

carcano91

quote:
Originally posted by landtrain:
I have an old Vetterli long rifle. I did a chamber cast and it mikes out to my eyes at 6.5 by 48. Definately NOT a 10.4mm.

You have forgotten - while measuring - that the end of the cartridge case protudes from the chamber. Thus, you have Vetterli-Vitali M 1870/87/15 conversion chambered for the 6,5 x 52 Carcano.

Be careful. First, they were not really built for these loads (the conversion was a makeshift provision from WW I and the time after), and secondly, some may have excessive headspace such as to swallow a 6,5 x 54 MS.

Regards,
Carcano

16 June 2003, 03:56

<eldeguello>

SOME Vetterlis were made in 6.5mm as the Italian gov't was experimenting with cartridges in that cal. .....

[ 06-15-2003, 18:58: Message edited by: eldeguello ]

16 June 2003, 04:21

carcano91

quote:
Originally posted by eldeguello:
SOME Vetterlis were made in 6.5mm as the Italian gov't was experimenting with cartridges in that cal. .....

Hm. If I may say so without giving offence: this statement is at best half right. Yes, your wording with "made" is correct, strictly speaking, insofar as a very few altered VVs prototypes were built in the 1880s, when a successor to the bigbore rifle was sought, and the new 6,5mm nitro cartridge was tried (rather unsuccessfully at that time, because of the high pressure of the original hot double-based Ballistite powder - easily 4000 atmospheres and sometimes more).

However, there were tens if not hundreds of thousands converted to this caliber in World War I and after, and they are much more common than in the original chambering 10,35 x 47 R.

Carcano

[ 06-15-2003, 22:16: Message edited by: carcano91 ]

16 June 2003, 06:42

<Marc>

I have a Vetterli-Vitale in 6.5 Carcano. I have done a little reloading for it with mild loads using the 140 Hornady. Accuracy is indifferent and it shoots about two feet high and about a foot right. It probably needs a larger bullet and some day I will slug it and try some properly sized cast bullets.

19 June 2003, 08:14

<landtrain>

Thanks everyone. You have to be careful what you scratch at an estate auction.

TO: BEJ. It definately is NOT a 10,4. A ,243 bullet won't fit the muzzle.

TO: Ionniemike. The receiver is dated 1898 but only a few proof/inspector marks. No caliber. I know the casting is shorter than the round itself but I have no way to compensate for that so I measured what I had. I won't rule out a wild cat but this is an awfully ugly gun to convert to something else. The 6.5 X 52 is visually about right.

TO: Carcano91. I too suspect it is a 6.5 Carcano from what I remember of an old president shooter I once had as a boy. The big gap between the case mouth and the rifleing is a dead give away. 6.5 CC is hard to find here in Northern VA., in other than collector grade boxes.

TO: Marc. Thanks. I'm not anxious to shoot it until I know what I'm dealing with but it is in such good shape for an old war gun, I don't want to put it the corner just yet.

Question: What happens to the stripper (?) clip once all the rounds are fired? Is it ejected out the bottom by the fresh one?

19 June 2003, 09:13

<BEJ>

What a breadth of knowledge in these forums!!! Ok, Ok, I was being "narrow". When someone says "Vetterli" I always think Swiss. I learned a bunch from this thread.

19 June 2003, 09:59

Wildcat Crazy

carcano91 has it right on the caliber and model.

Thousands of these rifles were sold surplus in the U.S.A.in the early 60s for$4.95 ea.

A friend of mine liberated one in 1945 in
Japan of all places.

WC