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Original French Gras Cavalry Carbines are now on sale! B Grade Cavalry Carbines at a huge discount
The cavalry carbines are in fair condition. Metal has some patina and/or minor rust pitting. Most of the finish is worn on these rifles. The wood is will have the typical dings, dents, scratches, etc of military used firearms. The stocks may have significant wear and/or cracks at the wrist, near the buttplate, etc. Most rifles do not have a cleaning rod. The bolts will be functional but may have a weak striker spring and/or missing extractor, extractor spring, etc. There are both 1874 and 1866-74 Chassepot conversions in this batch, the vast majority are 1874 marked receivers. Don’t miss this chance to get a Gras carbine at a huge discount! Please look at detailed pictures and the video below.
Please note: the rear sight may missing on the B Grade condition Gras carbines.
The firearms are considered an Antique and no FFL is required. Photo ID required for age verification. Please send a photo of your ID to ffl@rtifirearms.com along with your order number. Thank you for your business
A Brief History of the Chassepot Fusil Gras rifles:
The Chassepot (pronounced “shas-poh”), officially known as Fusil modèle 1866, was a bolt action military breechloading rifle, famous as the arm of the French forces in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. It replaced an assortment of Minié muzzleloading rifles many of which were converted in 1864 to breech loading (the Tabatière rifles). A great improvement to existing military rifles in 1866, the Chassepot marked the commencement of the era of modern bolt action, breech-loading military rifles. Beginning in 1874, the rifle was easily converted to fire metallic cartridges (under the name of Gras rifle), a step which would have been impossible to achieve with the Dreyse needle rifle.
If you would like to see an in depth restoration of one of our B Grade Gras Cavalry Carbines, check out this video from Surplus Restoration!
If you would like to see this video as a condensed version, check this video out as well!
Visit our friends at Milsurp Munitions, they make correct new production ammunition for C&R and Antique Firearms.
See items related to this product.
19 reviews for B Grade Mle 1874 Fusil Gras Cavalry Carbine
William M –
Disappointed in this one. I’ve rolled the RTI dice before but got burned this time. I did not expect a pristine carbine by any means, but what I got is barely above scrap metal. Broken brass barrel bands, wood is almost non-existant. Barrel is held to what’s left of the stock with loose leather string, and bore is completely gone. I would avoid these
Dan –
First the good; stock, bore and hardware in decent shape. The bad is missing the rear sight and missing the rear barrel band but has an ugly/cool Ethiopian replacement. No markings except for what came originally. Overall very happy with this gun for $199.
BB –
My carbine came in today, and I’m extremely happy with it. The rear sight and the cleaning rod are missing, but that’s to be expected with these. Otherwise everything is present and in great shape, even the stock is only lightly dinged. There was some rust and gunk but everything cleaned up with no more than what should normally be done on an old milsurp. The bore is good, a bit worn, but all of the rifling is still clearly present. Overall, I’m very happy with it, it was well worth it.
Randall –
Overall the gun is in great shape considering its history. Bore is good, markings are crisp… there’s also some Arabic(?) markings stamped on the barrel. Finish is decent considering age, barrel bands look great, no cracks in the stock. This carbine would be far above B-grade except its missing its rear sight entirely. Happy with this purchase, maybe someday I can rectify the missing rear sight.
Phillip Heirshaft –
Didn’t expect much for $200 but what I received was no disappointment. A nice working relic from 150+ years ago. Rifle complete except for a cleaning rod and one trigger guard screw.
Keith.303 –
This was my second purchase from RTI, and I am VERY pleased. I got an 1875 dated Chatellerault carbine with a surprisingly good bore all the way to the muzzle, all original parts, and a nice, tight action. The stock is solid, no major cracks or chunks missing. And, Uh, it’s got a 100% complete rear sight. Yeah, that was a big surprise. The only part missing was the cleaning rod, and I have already made one out of cheap steel rod, and installed it. I wanted a shooter, and certainly got one.
A big thank you to whoever sent me this rifle, I guess I’ll have to get an infantry Gras now.
Mark Zuniga –
I’ve now ordered two of these and the first one looks externally good but very worn finish and wood but the bore is very good for an old crusty rifle. No rear sight on either but that’s expected or cleaning rods. The second one has lots of finish on it but a lot of rust and putting in and out. The muzzle end down about 3 inches of the bore was also heavily worn and pitted. The saving grace of the second rifle was the wood stock only has a couple of small repairable cracks but otherwise in good shape. I think when buyingu rheee you should buy two of these knowing one is probably gonna be a parts gun for the either.
ThomasStaggs –
I asked for a rear sight and got one! Rifle was in pretty good shape and a nice bore and stock. Unfortunately the barrel was bent up at the muzzle considerably. But RTI sent a return tag and I am waiting on a replacement.
pgbarrow (verified owner) –
Ordered one of these and am very pleased. I requested and received a mechanically complete rifle sans rear sight, and the condition of the rifle I feel was accurately given by RTI. My rifle shows sign of heavy use, to the point the steel of the barrel is noticeably worn away at the forward most barrel band where one would have held onto it. The stock was the worst condition part, the front where the cleaning rod would have sat badly bashed up. After a complete strip, dip in a chem tank, sanding, cold bluing, and polishing the rifle that came out looks great. It has three Amharic stampings on it, one of which seems to be “Official Guard”. Overall a fascinating piece if you are the type of person who likes mil surplus that has “been there, done that”. Rifling looks pretty good, but I have not and likely will not shoot its original chambering due to ammo cost. Instead I purchased a 410 shotshell adaptor from Proteus Armaments which worked perfectly. It patterns like a cartoon at 10 yards, but is very fun to shoot.
jertekrol (verified owner) –
Got one of these B-grades on sale. Fairly decent rifle for under $250. Was covered in grime and rust, after a full strip and cleaning the gun actually functioned properly and bolt was fully operational and complete. Rear sight had oddly been removed and re-soldered on backwards, and was missing the slider. Stock is complete and usable with some gouges and small chips. Stock is a French or Belgian factory conversion from a long rifle. All brass barrel bands are in decent shape. Almost no finish on top half of barrel & receiver but some good bluing still remained on bottom half. After cleaning, the bore seems *ok* with rifling visible but significant pitting. Muzzle is well over 11mm.
TaylorBlack (verified owner) –
Another great rifle from Royal Tiger Imports. This is my third purchase and another piece of history I am very proud to own. I can’t wait to see how she cleans up. The brass is absolutely beautiful.
roberthouse2400 (verified owner) –
The carbine is all matching except for the stock. Unfortunately the barrel has a bulge 4.612” in front of the barrel breach. I hope that one day RTI has a barrel or a barreled action that they will offer for sale. Thanks to forgotten weapons video I know which one I have. I would have given it a 5 star rating but for the barrel. Packaging was just like in the various videos that are posted. It is more than adequate for its intended purpose. The inside of the barrel cleaned up nicely as did the stock. All in all, I am happy with a 158 year old firearm that saw multiple military’s usage before it became mine. It was very clear that it was neglected by the last owners so you should aware that it will need to be cleaned up.
With that being said, I just ordered another one.
t0r0scorpio (verified owner) –
Well I’m actually very impressed. This is an actually better than B grade 1866-74, closer to A possibly. It is complete, even came with a cleaning rod and sights were not butchered, nothing of the sort was done to this. Wasn’t even that grimey and the stock is exceptional, not much much damage at all and not even really that much handling wear and tear. I don’t even see much rust on the surface. this rifle must’ve had little use or was actually taken care of by its previous operator(s). A basic wipe with some wood cleaning soap revealed very nice original finish. I have yet to field strip and clean the metal parts but the action is solid and the firing pin strikes loud, I think it would’ve been fine to shoot right out of the box if ammo were available.
roberthouse2400 (verified owner) –
Shipping was fast and it was adequately packaged. This is number two. The first one was $349. This one was $199. The first one was a rifle cut down in Belgium to carbine size. All matching, very happy. So I thought why not a B-grade ? I ordered one and got a French made carbine. Even happier ! It cleaned up very easily. It was dirty filthy caked on nastyness. But again, it cleaned up easily. It also was complete except for the cleaning rod which I knew would not be there. The rear sight was there and complete. Which I was not expecting. I have everything to shoot it but the brass. I am at the present time actively searching for that.
I said all that to say this, I
recommend this product for a purchase .
Bubblesk (verified owner) –
Another winner came in in not bad shape , the brass shinnedup great, what a beautiful rifle, lots of Bing, love it, if you have good work ethics these rifles can be turned into a great project, their is always a way to fix anything, thanks again to all involved, Another diamond in the rough, would recommend to all
noah.a.whitley (verified owner) –
While I do like the Gras carbine and aesthetically as it looks good, I do feel that I was misled. “The cavalry carbines are in fair condition. Metal has some patina and/or minor rust pitting. Most of the finish is worn on these rifles. The wood is will have the typical dings, dents, scratches, etc of military used firearms. The stocks may have significant wear and/or cracks at the wrist, near the buttplate, etc”. My particular individual has a long gash on the metal barrel close to the muzzle which seems to be beyond the description provided and makes the carbine unusable from a safety standpoint. While I feel the rest of the carbine looks good (very good rifling and intact rear sights!), I cannot help but think, due to the gash on the barrel, it should be a C-grade and definitely not a B grade.
Bubblesk (verified owner) –
Update just added a Berthier rear sight, fits great no drilling and tapping or welding needed, fits like a glove butt not O. Js.
badslobo (verified owner) –
Great deal on a historic weapon ! Exactly as described,fully functional with a worn bore that cleans up nicely. .446 bullets keyhole however .450/451 make nice round holes and shoot accurate. No complaint and thank you to all at Royal Tiger.
Jim Stiner (verified owner) –
I received my Gras in a little more than a week from the time I ordered it. Overall the gun is complete. Functions and has the rear sight. There was a crack in the wrist of the stock which was repaired with pins by someone a very long time ago. The crack is repairable. The gun was no where near as dirty as I thought it would be, after 10 minutes wiping it down with a crocodile cloth 10 minutes using 000 steel wool on the he brass and 10 minutes wiping the entire gun down with linseed oil it looks amazing. I wish I could post a photo. The blueing is almost all gone. And the stock is worn around the wood line. My is a chassepot conversion with all the markings very visible . Very happy withy purchase. I now have a 152 year old rifle worn but looks good.