Tabatière rifle
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/French_Tabatiere_carbine_1867.jpg/400px-French_Tabatiere_carbine_1867.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/French_Garde_Nationale_soldier_with_Tabatiere_rifle_1870.jpg/170px-French_Garde_Nationale_soldier_with_Tabatiere_rifle_1870.jpg)
The Tabatière rifle was a breech-loading rifle of the French Army.
The Tabatière system was developed from 1864 as a way to convert numerous muzzle-loading weapons (usually Minié rifles) into breech-loading ones, in a process similar to that of the Snider-Enfield in Great Britain or the Springfield Model 1866 in the United States. The name "Tabatière" comes from the fact that the breech-loading mechanism looked like a snuff box.[1]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/French_Tabatiere_mechanism_1867_detail.jpg/220px-French_Tabatiere_mechanism_1867_detail.jpg)
Most of the conversion work had been accomplished by the time of the Franco-Prussian War.[1] By July 1870, roughly 358,000 rifles had been converted, while 1.4 million muzzleloaders stayed in their original configuration.[2]
The ammunition was a center fire cartridge closely resembling a shortened 12 gauge shotgun shell. This weapon system was recognized as ballistically inferior to the Chassepot rifle, therefore it was used by second line troops and in defensive roles.[1]
These are commonly encountered today as "Zulu Guns", after rifles were converted into shotguns and sold cheaply in the early 1900s.
Models[]
- Tabatière rifle model 1867.[3]
Notes[]
- Rifles of France
- Early rifles
- Single-shot rifles
- Hinged breechblock rifles