Follow up details on the gun with intials BFS...Does this help anyone with where and what company made it?

Question

It is a bolt action with the bolt handle being straight. It has a elevated rear site and a bayonet can be attached. It also has a fixed magazine and the barrel is 31 inches long. The number 679 is on the bolt, reciever, and barrel. But, there is the number 2980 belove the rear site and I thought that number was the serial number. The stock is in pretty good condition. Helpful?

Answer 1

I just looked at the earlier version of your question. You have a Dutch 1870/88 Beaumont-Vitali rifle. Can't tell you offhand what the BFS means, but the stock cartouche says Maastricht, which is the town it was made in. This is an 11mm black powder cartridge rifle with a 4 round box magazine.

I think you probably have a marine model, if it has a side-mounted bayonet lug. The standard model uses a socket bayonet.

Answer 2

Number 679 would be the last 3 digits of the serial number. the full number should be on the receiver. The Swedes did this and they had King Gustav's crown on many of the parts, but you probably have something from the Netherlands. The 31 inch barrel and straight bolt handle are pretty common for infantry rifles of that period. Fixed 5-shot magazines were common on Mannlichers and early Mausers, and you mentioned a probable date of 1875 on the stock.

Regardless of present condition, DON'T TRY TO CLEAN OR POLISH THE GUN, INCLUDING THE STOCK, until you know about what it's worth. You might cut the value by half. And DON'T MODIFY IT IN ANY WAY.

Answer 3

If you have a photograph of the weapon, try contacting the National Rifle Association. They have experts there that can identify almost any firearm ever made. It might even end up in the American Rifleman magazine . . .