INFO ONLY-NOT FOR SALE. P7-16
Cartouch on Stock. Cleaning Rod. Overall F-G Condition
This rifle is a fairly straightforward conversion of the M1870 Italian Vetterli which has been adapted to the four round Vitali box magazine repeating system designed by Italian Artillery Captain G. Vitali and also utilized in the M1871/88 Dutch Beaumont-Vitali. Many thousands were converted, the single shot versions being scarce today. The floor of the receiver was cut out to accept the magazine and a metal floor plate was added to the bottom of the stock surrounding the magazine to strengthen the stock. In addition to the magazine, the next most conspicuous modification is the addition of a bolt support rail to keep the bolt in line and to prevent from rocking and possibly jamming when fully opened. Other minor changes included deleting the dust cover and replacing it with a metal ring immediately to the rear of the loading port which served both to further lock in the bolt retaining key and and as a magazine cut-off when the rifle was used in single shot mode. The M1870/87 mounts only a single bayonet lug and the safety lever has been re-designed. The large Vecci pattern quadrant sight was an earlier modification to the M1870 Italian Vetterli rifles. These rifles were finished blued, with the receiver, safety lever and trigger guard being case hardened
The Vitali box magazine follower is driven by a unique coil spring which, along with the very bottle-nose shape of the cartridges gives the magazine it's unique shape. The large Vecci pattern quadrant sight is also found only on this rifle and the earlier M1870 single shot
Large numbers of these were converted for use during WWI to the Italian 6.5 Carcano round by re-barreling and are designated M1870/87/15. The same stock was re-used by adding wood to the magazine channel and routing out a bit under and ahead of the receiver. some stocks show cartouches from the M1870, conversion to the M1870/87 and subsequent conversion to M1870/67/15
