We just received a small quantity of original Italian Vetterli Model 1870/87 rifles. All rifles are chambered in the 10.4x47mmR cartridge. This batch of rifles has the rear sight and base missing. These rifles may or may not come with a front sight blade. This modification was probably done by cavalry units in Ethiopia.
The condition is fair overall condition. These rifles have been in storage in Ethiopia for a century. The rifles are functional. They will have some surface corrosion, surface rust, wear on the metal and dings, dents, scratches, etc. in the wood. The rifles may or may not come with a cleaning rod. These rifles may have some cracks in the stock and minor pitting. Hand select rifles are generally more towards fair to good overall condition, but please keep in mind these rifles are over 130 years old. We will pick the best out of what is available. May be missing some very small parts such as a front sight or sling swivel, but generally they are mostly complete. The rifles may or may not come with a cleaning rod. Please note that the sear spring may be broken and the bolt may not stay cocked.
Items are surplus firearms. Firearms are sold as is. No exchange nor refund!
These rifles are considered Antique and therefore do not require any Licenses. A government Photo ID like Drivers License or passport will be required to purchase these rifles, please upload at the checkout. Thanks for your business!
ANTIQUE – NO FFL OR C&R REQUIRED, Only Photo ID.
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Headquarters
- Royal Tiger Imports
- 295 North Dr Suite A
- Melbourne FL 32934
- * Not Open to the Public.
Contact Info
- Phone: (321) 212-7801
- Fax: (321) 989-0232
- customerservice3@rtifirearms.com
- Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm EST
Royal Tiger Imports
17 reviews for Vetterli Model 1870/87 Rifle Caliber 10.4x47mmR B-Grade without rear sight!
FranklinTompkins (verified owner) –
Received mine today (10/23/23), and can’t be happier. Shipped fast, well packaged, and Fed Ex was quick on the dely. Rifle was better than expected. I knew the rear sight was gone, but the rifle looks like it will clean up nicely. The rifling looks pretty good, and I even got a cleaning rod!
This is the 11th rifle I have bought and glad to say that I have been pleased with them all. Lots of “quality time” ahead of me this Winter getting them spriced up. Now we just need a good source for spare parts (hint, hint).
FranklinTompkins (verified owner) –
Second one delivered today (10/30/23), almost as good as the first one I rec’d a week ago. No cleaning rod this time : (
Still very ice piece of history. Get yours while you can!
Nicholas Guarino –
I was expecting a train wreck and I got a complete firearm in surprising good shape, stock was solid and should look real nice after a thorough cleaning.
Jamesy362 (verified owner) –
I gotta say I was expecting a shot out piece of junk but I was extremely suprised with the rifle I got. The rifling is fantastic and the stock only has a few minor cracks and all I need is to find a rear sight and clean it up real good. I’m a little upset about the wire wheeling but otherwise I can’t complain
MichaelPaccilli (verified owner) –
Once again, very impressed with the rifle I received!! A bit dirty, and after a few hours cleaning I now have a beautiful 1884 Terni-with fantastic rifling in the bore!! Highly recomeded to any looking to add a Vetterli to their collection, at a great price- Thank you RTI!!!
markapahls (verified owner) –
Threw out the reviews that sounded too good to be true and the reviews that sounded like like crying because the 140 year old rifle they got from Africa was disgusting and rusty. I have taken chances on antique rifles before and had a ball fixing them up to shoot. Read up front about what to expect missing rear sight,cleaning rod,small cracks in stock. Sent my 199 bucks and rolled the dice. 70/87 arrived in a week,fedex,good packaging. Box contained black,rusty,discustingly dirty old rifle. Just what I ordered. Half a gallon of mineral spirits,steel wool ,oxpho blue and linseed oil later it looks great. Bore was sharp and bright. Even had a cleaning rod. Couldn’t find a proper rear sight so I soldered on a mount and used a 91 carcano sight. Shoots 5” groups at 100 yards 6 o’clock hold on sr-1 target. Reamed throat to 29/64 the to use 44 cal bullets sized.427 instead of heeled bullets you can’t find anywhere anyhow. Hope you have as much luck. Don’t set your sights too high
BaylorBlackwell (verified owner) –
My 1870/87 Vetterli-Vitali arrived earlier today (4/4/2024) and I really could not be happier with what I got. The front sight and cleaning rod were gone (as fully expected) but other than that, I received a great piece. The stock is in fantastic shape with tons of great color left and relatively few dings and scratches with no breaks or cracks at all. There are three brass nails lined up on the butt, a really nice bit of trench art. All of the metal has cleaned up nicely. I think a few parts, mostly the magazine and stock plate around it, got a taste of the Ethiopian wire wheel unfortunately, but that’s not RTI’s fault and it isn’t anything horrendous anyway. The bore isn’t mirror bright of course, but there is good rifling all the way through and it mostly just needed a cleaning like everything else.
This is the third B Grade rifle I’ve gotten from RTI, and I think each one has been better than the last. Once again, I couldn’t be happier with this one, it was a great buy.
reichertlife (verified owner) –
Just got my 10.4 X 47 Vetterli the other day alongside a 6.5 Vetterli, And I have to say this rifle was much better than I was expecting for a B grade and the rifling is honestly some of the best rifling I’ve seen when compared to Some other rifles in my collection. Everything is completely functional other than being a little dirty, nothing a little cleaning and a couple coats of linseed oil can’t fix however. Overall, extremely happy with my purchase and I’ll be buying more from RTI soon.
atomicpanda1977 (verified owner) –
The fellas in picking/shipping chose what I consider a fine looking antique…great job guys! Yeah it’s crusty, rusty, and missing the rear sight and rod, but I expected that. I did not expect a stock in such good shape with no cracks or chunks missing, a cool AOI mark on the buttstock, a decent bore, and all the other hardware present! This is probably my 4th “B” grade purchase and my intent was to decorate my walls with these relics, but this one will find a spot in the safe once it’s cleaned and inspected to make sure it’s safe to fire.
EliHines (verified owner) –
Bought during the 4th of July sale. Rifle arrived as described with a great bore. Should be a good shooter once fully cleaned.
AbrahamSpinelli (verified owner) –
Also purchased on 4th of July, arrived a week and a half later. Overall very happy with the good, bad, and unexpected. The good: bore looks good, nothing missing besides the rear sight and cleaning rod, it’s cleaning up nicely. The bad: front sling swivel is broken (no big deal), and in my case the stock does have a bunch of cracks, but…. that is to be expected with the unexpected: I received an unusual, early Tipo P. conversion with dual magazine lugs instead of the normal reinforcing shroud. This type was dropped early because it caused the stock to crack, but I can fix that, and I consider it a more than fair trade-off. Like I said overall very satisfied!
AbrahamSpinelli (verified owner) –
Also purchased on 4th of July, arrived a week and a half later. Overall very happy with the good, bad, and unexpected. The good: bore looks good, nothing missing besides the rear sight and cleaning rod, it’s cleaning up nicely. The bad: front sling swivel is broken (no big deal), and in my case the stock does have a bunch of cracks, but…. that is to be expected with the unexpected: I received an unusual, early Tipo P. conversion with dual magazine lugs instead of the normal reinforcing shroud. This type was dropped early because it caused the stock to crack, but I can fix that, and I consider it a more than fair trade-off.
roberthouse2400 (verified owner) –
Rusty, gunky and greasy as usual. I expect it will clean up after some elbow grease. A lot of elbow grease. After what it has gone through, it’s a wonder that it’s in the shape that’s in. Over all I’m pleased with this purchase. This is the second one of these I’ve purchased and just as happy with it as I was with the first one. Just remember that it will need a deep cleaning. Take before and after pictures so you can show off your work. They do clean up into a decent presentation to display if that’s what you want. For me, I’m a shooter so as long as it is safe to shoot, I’m happy.
DarrenLeung –
Aside from the stated missing rear sight, they were in much better shape than I expected for the price. Overall though, they worked functionally and were well worth the discounted price at ~$150 and thus would be a 5 star review in my book.
darth.vader2002 (verified owner) –
I got one during the $150 sale they recently did. The outside of the rifle is in amazing condition (just dirty) but the inside has a fair amount of rust but that’s to be expected in a 140-year-old rifle. The only issue I have run into is the swivel to release the bolt wedge won’t move so I’m stuck on that but other than that it should hopefully clean up well. I also picked up an insert for it to shoot another caliber so we shall see how that goes
AndrewJones (verified owner) –
Very satisfying to pull all of the dirt and crud out of this rifle. A little tricky to get the bolt out but with some persistence & wiggling it comes free. The only issue I see on it is a broken sling swivel, so no bid deal there. It’s a super cool antique.
DarrenLeung (verified owner) –
Got mine well-packed and shipped within a work week. Bought during one of the $150 sales they have quite often, so I’m not sure how that may make a difference in quality or not.
For the antique itself, all the parts came intact, with the exception of the missing bottom rear screw behind the metal plate holding the magazine together, which leaves the metal plate dangling a bit. The bore surprisingly exists with intact fair rifling but expected pitting. All the other parts, including the stock, came without any permanent damage (maybe minor rust/pitting on the shoulder plate, which the rust should at least clean off nicely with some 0000 steel wool). Wood has some nice unit markings (or storage markings, not sure which. Should clean up quite nicely as a display piece with some Ballistol. Unfortunately, the bolt does not stay cocked when returning the bolt to the closed position after being cycled with snap caps) without pulling the trigger and thus could pose a safety issue should somebody try to live-fire it and was unaware. Once again, not sure if intentional or due to wear.
With the exception of the couple negatives (missing rear screw, and the striker going forward after cycling a snap cap without pulling the trigger, thus potential safety issue), I would rate the one I got as a G-VG (had the missing parts been there) after a light restoration/cleaning.
For the discounted price of $150 and great service, packaging, and shipping time, I would definitely rate this 5 out of 5 stars. If the price was not discounted, then I would put it closer to 4 out of 5 stars.
In conclusion, very satisfied with this antique Ethiopian example at a discounted B grade. Was suspecting to get something closer to the picture, but actually I think they did better!