French Mle 1892 "Lebel" Revolver

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  • mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,338
    Catonsville
    -One of the few French military handguns that was missing from the collection were the early revolvers. The Mle 1873 and the Mle 1892. I missed the boat getting an 1892 when they were much more affordable around 10 yrs ago. An honest oversight as I was more focused on French auto loaders.
    -A very nice Mle 1892 rig popped up in a west coast auction last weekend. The holster was a repop so it really didn't factor into my bidding calculus other than the thought that I could probably get $50-75 for it over on Evil Pay. In the end I got the lot for $50 under my proxy bid which was set to 80% of market. Mle 1892s have started to take off, bringing between $800-1000 these days.
    -She showed up today and I was impressed with both the revolver and the repop holster. There were traces of storage grease on the revolver and the build quality of the holster was much better than most copies you see these days. Someone did a good job with this one.
    -My example is dated 1902. The Mle 1892 was built as late as the early 20s but for the most part production ended with the Great War. Total production was approx. 365,000. Back off the capture screw at the rear of the frame and the lock works plate swings open. To load you pull back on the loading gate, much like a Swiss 1882 revolver. With the loading gate back you can also swing the cylinder out to the right. Trigger pull is a heavy but crisp in both SA and DA. The grip is better than you'd expect and the frame has an unusual offset to the right where the grips mount.
    -It's a pretty revolver and like the Luger the precise machining and fine finish meant it was expensive to make (roughly 30% more than a Lebel rifle). That fact forced the French government to focus more on auto loaders when tremendous material losses mounted.
     

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    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,338
    Catonsville
    -Just found that, like the Swiss 1882, you can pull the trigger to rotate the cylinder when loading. Safe to do as when the loading gate is back the hammer is locked back and disabled. Cool!
     

    jr355

    Active Member
    Apr 21, 2014
    301
    Fullerton md
    Yep, one of the few Left handed revolvers ever made. Ammo is occasionally available from Sellier Bellot. Designed for the cavalry so loading was done will the reins held in left hand along with the frame while right hand placed rounds in the chambers.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    Excellent grab. The French sure added nice flair with the cursive engraving
     

    MilsurpDan

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 1, 2012
    2,217
    Frederick County
    Looks nice. I’ve been loading rounds for mine with cut down .32-20 cases. It’s pretty easy to make.

    Mine is marked “Fox Studios” under the barrel. It was a movie prop gun.
     

    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,338
    Catonsville
    I was surprised at the quality of construction more than anything. Don't think it's hyperbole to compare it with a Swiss revolver of the same period.
    Figured out why the holsters for this revolver have such big ammo loops. Early models had single round loops, like the Japanese T-26 holsters. But at some point the French started packing 8mm Ordnance ammo in 6 round packets. The larger loops are to hold these packets.
     

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    Jul 1, 2012
    5,712
    That's a really nice one!


    The T-26 has that same frame offset thing going on, left grip much thicker than the right.
    Probably something to do with allotting space for the mainspring & inner workings.
     

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