The Beaumont rifle (M1871) was the standard service rifle of the Dutch armed forces from 1871 to 1895, and remained in use by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army into the early 20th century. It was one of the first European military rifles to use a metallic cartridge and featured a split bolt design with an internal mainspring, later influencing Japanese rifle designs.

After testing several rifle models, the Dutch selected the Beaumont in 1870. However, it was not used by cavalry (they used the Remington Rolling Block) and was only tested—not adopted—by countries like France, Germany, and Denmark.

In 1888, the Beaumont was upgraded to the M1871/88 Beaumont-Vitali, featuring a 4-round Vitali magazine and other improvements to keep up with modern firearm developments. This version had a firing rate of 14.5 rounds/minute and fired a 385-grain bullet at 1,444 ft/s.

Despite the upgrade, the rifle was outdated by 1895 with the adoption of the Steyr Geweer M.95 using smokeless powder. Beaumont rifles were then relegated to militia units, sent to the Dutch East Indies, or converted for civilian use. Some remained in limited service until World War II.

Very good condition

The stock is in good shape for an antique rifle of this age. We note some wear from use. It looks like there was a repair made by the magazine cut off from a crack but the wood is intact. The finish is strong and even throughout the rifle. Not much of any blue finish on this gun and there is some old pits but no active rust on the outside metal, little bit of patina. Bore looked very good we noted nice rifling but some powder fouling and light pits.

P. Stevens

1877

Crown over N Proof

Bolt, knob and receiver are matching numbers – we could not see S/Ns anywhere else