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MANUALLY LOADED
AND IMPERIALISM 1815–1914
REPEATER RIFLES

By the 1890s, refinements to the repeater rifle had made it Integral five-round
box magazine
reliable enough for use in many of the world’s armies. In Britain,
the .303 Lee-Metford was developed into the Lee-Enfield Mark I ▲ MOSIN-NAGANT M91 The “3-line,” as it was called,
of 1895, the first in an enduring line of bolt-action rifles, while Date 1891 was Imperial Russia’s first
repeater rifle and its first in
in Germany, the Mauser Gewehr 98 of 1898 was a near-faultless Wooden butt Origin Imperial Russia a modern caliber. The “line”
3
design. Thereafter, changes in design were made mostly to reduce Weight 9 ⁄4lb (4.43kg) was a measure approximating
1
the weapon’s weight, or to cut manufacturing costs. After the turn Barrel 31 ⁄2in (80.2cm) one-tenth of an inch and
refers to its caliber.
of the century, the barrel length was often reduced to improve Caliber 7.62mm × 54R
handling, although French Berthier and Japanese Arisaka
weapons did not follow the general trend.

Y Integral five-round ▲ MANNLICHER M1895 The straight-pull, bolt-action
M1895, designed by German
Date 1895
INDUSTR Rear sling box magazine Weight 8 ⁄4lb (3.78kg) used a rotating locking lug turned
engineer Ferdinand von Mannlicher,
Origin Austria
1
in a camming (spiraled) groove.
Ammunition was fed from a fixed
Barrel 30in (76.5cm)
attachment
box magazine.
Caliber 8mm × 50R
Bolt handle
rear sight
▼ MAUSER INFANTERIEGEWEHR 98 In the Gewehr 98, Mauser brought protrudes horizontally Rear-locking lug Leaf-type
Date 1898 the bolt action magazine rifle close
to perfection by adding a third
Origin Germany rear-locking lug, as well as improving
Weight 9lb (4.15kg) gas sealing and refining the magazine.
Barrel 29in (74cm) If the rifle had a fault, it lay in the
design of its bolt handle.
Caliber 7.92mm × 57

Sling
Semi-pistol grip

Detachable
Regimental
identification plate ten-round magazine
Rear sling
attachment

Bolt handle
Ten-round Bolt handle
magazine

▲ LEE-ENFIELD MARK I A redesigned version of the .303
Date 1895 Lee-Metford of 1888, the “.303 caliber,
Rifle, Magazine, Lee-Enfield”—or
Origin UK
Mark I—had a detachable ten-round
Weight 8 ⁄4lb (4kg) magazine, and, with the bolt handle
3
Barrel 25in (63.5cm) near the trigger, was faster to operate
than the rival Mauser rifle.
Caliber .303in
Wooden butt