MilsurpDan
Ultimate Member
I got this in the mail last week along with a Steyr M1888/90.
I know the horror stories about Royal Tiger Imports, but I had good luck with the Steyr M1888/95 I got for Christmas, so I figured I’d try again. I got these as a birthday gift anyway, so I wasn’t out any money.
The Vetterli M1870/87/15 was a WWI “emergency” issue rifle. The Italians were desperate for modern firearms and converted black powder 10.4mm Vetterli M1870/87 rifles to smokeless 6.5x51 Carcano ammunition. These are what I consider to be one of the worst rifles issued on a large scale during WWI and even WW2 (worst imo is the North China Type 19).
Luckily these were only for second line units, but they were also issued on a large scale to Italian Colonial units in Africa like this example.
Royal Tiger is known for selling many garbage-tier rifles, but to me, the collectibility of these out-weighs the risk. These are all rifles that saw use pre-WWI up to modern times. Many (especially in the Austrian rifle’s case) were captured and re-issued multiple times.
I opted for the extra hand select for this rifle, and I really got a gem. Instead of being coated in goat crap and grime, I got a rifle that had been dunked in cosmoline and almost perfectly preserved. Little to no rust anywhere, matching numbers, and a spotless bore. Other than a few dings on the stock and some discolored areas, I’d say it was almost unissued.
The only disappointment (if I could even call it that) was that somebody scraped off the Italian AOI marking and the conversion marking from the Gardone Arsenal. Some Ethiopian must’ve gotten pissed and didn’t want to see the Italian markings on it.
These are considered to be unsafe to shoot at best with anything other than extreme reduced loads. If I even decide to shoot it, it’ll be with cast bullets with black powder or light pistol powder gallery loads.
I know the horror stories about Royal Tiger Imports, but I had good luck with the Steyr M1888/95 I got for Christmas, so I figured I’d try again. I got these as a birthday gift anyway, so I wasn’t out any money.
The Vetterli M1870/87/15 was a WWI “emergency” issue rifle. The Italians were desperate for modern firearms and converted black powder 10.4mm Vetterli M1870/87 rifles to smokeless 6.5x51 Carcano ammunition. These are what I consider to be one of the worst rifles issued on a large scale during WWI and even WW2 (worst imo is the North China Type 19).
Luckily these were only for second line units, but they were also issued on a large scale to Italian Colonial units in Africa like this example.
Royal Tiger is known for selling many garbage-tier rifles, but to me, the collectibility of these out-weighs the risk. These are all rifles that saw use pre-WWI up to modern times. Many (especially in the Austrian rifle’s case) were captured and re-issued multiple times.
I opted for the extra hand select for this rifle, and I really got a gem. Instead of being coated in goat crap and grime, I got a rifle that had been dunked in cosmoline and almost perfectly preserved. Little to no rust anywhere, matching numbers, and a spotless bore. Other than a few dings on the stock and some discolored areas, I’d say it was almost unissued.
The only disappointment (if I could even call it that) was that somebody scraped off the Italian AOI marking and the conversion marking from the Gardone Arsenal. Some Ethiopian must’ve gotten pissed and didn’t want to see the Italian markings on it.
These are considered to be unsafe to shoot at best with anything other than extreme reduced loads. If I even decide to shoot it, it’ll be with cast bullets with black powder or light pistol powder gallery loads.
