page_title: Vetterli rifle
section_title: Repetiergewehr Vetterli, Modell 1869, 69/71
hierarchical_section_title: Vetterli rifle / Repetiergewehr Vetterli, Modell 1869, 69/71
caption_attribution_description: Cutaway diagram of a 1870s Swiss Vetterli rifle action
context_page_description: The Vetterli rifles were a series of Swiss army service rifles in use from 1869 to 1889, when they were replaced with Schmidt–Rubin rifles. Modified Vetterlis were also used by the Italian Army.
  The Swiss Vetterli rifles combined the American Winchester Model 1866's tubular magazine with a regular bolt featuring for the first time two opposed rear locking lugs. This novel type of bolt was a major improvement over the simpler Dreyse and Chassepot bolt actions. The Vetterli was also the first repeating bolt-action rifle to feature a self-cocking action and a small caliber bore.
  Due to the Swiss Federal Council's early 1866 decision to equip the army with a breechloading repeating rifle, the Vetterli rifles were, at the time of their introduction, the most advanced military rifles in Europe. The Vetterli was the replacement for the Eidgenössischer Stutzer 1851, an Amsler-Milbank metallic cartridge conversion from previous Swiss muzzle-loading rifles.
context_section_description: The 1869 Repetiergewehr Vetterli (English: repeating rifle, Vetterli) was the first iteration of Vetterli rifles to go into full mass production. It was designed by Johann-Friedrich Vetterli (1822–1882), a Swiss riflemaker, who worked in France and England before becoming director of the Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft's armament factory in Neuhausen Switzerland. He also adapted his rifle into a single-shot centerfire variant procured by the Italian Army. In 1871 the Model 1869 was updated by removing the loading gate and magazine cutoff switch.  This change was designated the Model 1869/71
caption: Cutaway diagram of the Vetterli rifle's action.
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