doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Lefaucheux Double in 8mm lebel - Leopold Bernard

GREAT
Was not aware of your pre-emenince in the double gun field.
I bow so humbly.

Mike

Don't I wish ... I've been learning as I go. And only scratching at that.

But, you're making headway!

I don't have any proof of this but it sure feels right.

The real date has to be between 1886 (8 Lebel) and 1900 when I believe proofing became mandatory again. Steel barrels, hammerless, ejectors, third bite: all these facts point to the very end of the 19th century.
Please look at the other topic I just started. It might be of interest to you.

Best regards,
WC-

Hello WildCattle,

Between testing some loads, I decided to take off the lock plates and give the inside a look-over.

I was hoping to find some numbers inside that might give me a clue as to the actual serial number of this rifle, but no such luck. Not a single number or assembly mark was found inside.

I did find a fair amount of dried-out lube and dirt inside, so a good thorough cleaning and lubrication was far overdue.





The safety lever was held in place with a small screw in the lower center front of the breach. You can see the empty hole there. Removing the safety rod was necessary to allow removal of the right-side lock plate.



I must admit that load testing has been less than favorable to date. I've decided to continue testing before posting any specific details for fear of reversing the rotation of the Earth. But I will say this, even Graeme Wright would be surprised and if anyone has an email address for Graeme, please let me know. I'm sure he would be interested in my testing results for his next book.

Got it! and good catch!
I never put the 2 and 2 together as for that little grub screw in the breech face.
I am often quite conservative in taking a gun apart, especially an unknown mechanism... But I'll certainly go for it now.
The system seems to be a fairly standard Anson with removable access plates. The sears appear to be on the back of the tumbler (overhanging) instead of the traditional bottom.
It reminds me of my Francotte FASD ("Francotte Anson Systeme demontable" which is an A&D mounted on sidelocks without bridles.

It seems that you are hitting difficulties with the regulation. I am worried that the center to center distances of your gun are identical to mine, while it has shorter barrels. That would not make sense (at least to me).

As for the rest, I am now totally convinced that the 1897 is the manufacturing date, and that the 35xxx number on the rib was imprinted by Bernard.

Best regards,
WC-

Hello WildCattle,

Here are a couple of close-ups. You can see the sear at the back-bottom in both pics.

My rifle is just the same as yours, except that the sideplates cover the cross-pin. It's interesting to see that the overhanging sear allowed the maker to have a much thinner tumbler, because the distance from the axis to the bent is much longer than for a regular A&D action. This much reduces the force inflicted by the main spring on the sear, and thereby the wear on it. The thinner tumbler means a thinner action slot, and therefore a stronger action. This type of side plate would not be possible on a typical A&D!
The ejector mechanism is also very interesting and is entirely located in the action. It is behind the cocking lever, on each side of the front lump.
Best regards,
WC-

I have been watching and am interested in your load development.

Are you using a heavy bullet as first used or are you trying to use the lighter bullet?

Cast or Jacketed?

Interesting reading

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8x50R_Lebel

Using 3031?

Mike

Hello skeettx,

Is your interest because you have 8mm Lebel rifle? If so, what kind?

I've experimented with bullet weights from jacketed .323 dia 125g at 2600 - up to lead .327 dia 245g at 1525 fps. So far the best groups have been with jacketed .323 dia 225g at 2000 fps. All tested loads were with IMR 4895.

However, all groups have "crossed" at 50 yds and final results have not been acceptable.

I'm off to the range today to test some jacketed .321 dia 245g loads using IMR 4007 SSC and IMR 3031. I'm hoping the results will be better.