Mle 1866 Chassepot: Best of the Needle Rifles

This review of the Mle 1866 Chassepot highlights its unique needle-fire bolt action and caseless paper cartridges. Despite significant black powder fouling that stiffens the action, the rifle remains functional for its intended engagement lengths. The manageable recoil and historical significance make it a fascinating piece for firearms enthusiasts.

The Austro-Hungarian Werndl 1867/77 is a 10-pound, 50.4-inch bolt-action rifle firing an 11mm black powder round. Its unique rotating 'tabernacle' breech block requires manual extraction as it lacks an ejector. Despite a heavy single-stage trigger and substantial recoil from the 1877 cartridge, the rifle offers a satisfying mechanical experience.

The Gevelot 11mm sliding-chamber pinfire rifle, patented in 1866, was a unique design intended to rival the French Chassepot. It featured a novel sliding chamber mechanism and a cartridge bridging paper and metallic rounds. Despite its innovative design, it never saw military adoption and remains exceptionally rare, with only a few known examples surviving.

This review delves into the rare System Kuhn single-shot breech-loading rifle from the 1870s/1880s. It highlights the rifle's unique two-trigger system for operation and safety, automatic case ejection, and robust internal mechanism. The analysis covers its 11mm black powder caliber, adjustable target sights, and origin from Besançon, France, suggesting a sporting or target shooting purpose.

The German Mauser 71/84 is Germany's first repeating rifle, featuring a Kropatschek tubular magazine that holds eight 11mm cartridges. Despite its historical significance, its nearly 51-inch length and over 10-pound weight make it cumbersome. It produces significant smoke and recoil due to its black powder operation and large bullet, and was quickly surpassed by smokeless powder designs.

This review details a rare Gewehr 71 rifle equipped with an experimental horseshoe-shaped magazine from the early 1880s. The Gewehr 71 was the first Mauser adopted by the German military, and this variant showcases early attempts at magazine feeding following the Russo-Turkish War. The unique external magazine design, developed by Ludwig Loewe, allowed for approximately 8 rounds and featured a cutoff for single-shot use.

This video details the unique 'French Finger Trap' issue with the MAS-36 rifle's bayonet, where two rifles can become unintentionally locked together. A 1951 French arsenal memorandum identified this problem, proposing a simple modification to the bayonet handle. Drilling a small hole allows a tool, like a firing pin, to depress the internal spring, enabling the separation of locked rifles.

The M134 Minigun is a scaled-down 7.62 NATO rotary cannon, requiring 24V DC power and consuming 1.5 kW. Its high rate of fire (3,000+ RPM) is essential for aircraft engagement windows. The complex delinker mechanism is critical for feeding ammunition, and practical hand-held use is impossible due to weight and recoil. Live fire demonstrates rapid ammunition consumption and the need for indirect aiming.

The H&K G11 is a revolutionary prototype assault rifle designed in the late 20th century, notable for its caseless ammunition and unique rotating drum bolt mechanism. Despite advanced features like a 2000 RPM burst fire rate and integrated optics, its development was ultimately halted by geopolitical shifts and cost concerns.

This video demonstrates the assembly and live-fire of the German 1936 pattern light mortar (L.Gr.W.36). It highlights the mortar's leveling mechanism for accuracy and the difficulty in visually tracking its 50mm projectiles after firing. The content showcases historical military hardware and its operational use.