Lebel Model 1886 rifle Country France Type Rifle Manufacturer Lebel Introduction 1886 Specifications Weight 9.73 lb (4.41 kg) (loaded with 10 rounds) 9.21 lb (4.18 kg) (unloaded) Length 4.28 ft (1.3 m) Barrel length 2.62 ft (0.8 m) Caliber 8 mm Lebel 4 grooves, right to left twist Action Bolt-action Muzzle velocity 2,000 to 2,300 ft/s (610 to 700 m/s) Maximum range 3,500 to 4,500 yd (3,200 to 4,100 m) Feed system 10 round tube magazine

The Lebel Model 1886 rifle (Fusil d\'Infanterie Modèle 1886) is a French 8 mm bolt action rifle which has the distinction of being the first military rifle designed to use smokeless powder-based cartridges. Furthermore the Lebel featured, for the first time in a military rifle, a bolt head which locked into the receiver with two opposed front locking lugs. The Lebel rifle was adopted as a standard infantry weapon by France in April 1887, and remained in official service until the Second World War although its tube magazine had long become an obsolete feature. The Lebel M1886 rifle had a 10-round capacity (comprising eight rounds in the forestock tube magazine, one round in the transporter, and one round in the chamber) and also mounted a bayonet. The Lebel rifle was also first to introduce a boat-tailed bullet (\"Balle D\") as standard military ammunition (1901). The major technical advances introduced by the Lebel rifle, one hundred and twenty years ago, stand in contrast with its rather plain appearance. The production of the Lebel rifle ended after First World War when over 2.8 million had been manufactured. Lebel rifles continued in service into World War II.