Beaumont M1871/79
- Category
- Rifle
- Barrel
- 832 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.42 kg
- Introduced
- 1879
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Beaumont M1871/79 was the updated pattern of the Royal Netherlands Army's single-shot bolt-action service rifle, designed by Dutch engineer Edouard de Beaumont. The 1879 modernization adapted the rifle to a more powerful 11mm black-powder cartridge, fitting a new leaf rear sight graduated to 1,800 metres and drilling dual gas-vent holes in the bolt to vent the gases of a ruptured case; the original bolt-locking safety was deleted. Like the parent M1871 it retained the distinctive V-shaped leaf mainspring concealed inside the hollow two-piece bolt handle.
The Beaumont's signature trick was hiding its V-leaf mainspring inside the bulbous two-piece bolt handle. The 1879 update kept that quirk untouched while quietly punching gas-vent holes into the bolt, an early acknowledgement that black-powder cases sometimes let go and the shooter's face was in the line of fire.
Only European-based Dutch Army rifles received the 1879 upgrade; naval and colonial examples kept the original M1871 sight. From 1888 most surviving rifles were further converted with a Vitali four-round box magazine to become the Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88. A batch of surplus M1871/79 rifles is believed to have been sold to Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia and bears the Lion of Judah stamp.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Geweerfabriek Hembrug
- Category
- Rifle
- Country
- Netherlands
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1879 to 1888
- Variant of
- Modernization
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 832 mm
- Overall length
- 1320 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.42 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Bolt action
- Firing mechanism
- Striker fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 1
- Magazine
- Internal
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 450 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 2126 J
- Effective range
- 600 m
- Maximum range
- 1800 m
- Rate of fire
- 14 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Single shot
Metallic cartridge
Leaf mainspring in bolt handle
Bayonet lug
Ladder rear sight to 1800m- Dual bolt gas vent holes
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 1,612 rifles | 4.42 kg | 3.50 kg | Heavier than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,557 rifles | 1320 mm | 1080 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,659 rifles | 832 mm | 584 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 1,611 rifles | 1 | 5 | Holds fewer rounds than about 90% |
Answers
Questions about the Beaumont M1871/79
How much does the Beaumont M1871/79 weigh?
The Beaumont M1871/79 weighs 4.42 kg (9.73 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Beaumont M1871/79?
The Beaumont M1871/79 is chambered in 11x52mmR Dutch Beaumont.
How many rounds does the Beaumont M1871/79 hold?
The Beaumont M1871/79 holds 1 rounds, fed from an internal magazine.
How long is the Beaumont M1871/79?
The Beaumont M1871/79 is 1320 mm (52.0 in) long overall, with a 832 mm (32.8 in) barrel.
Who makes the Beaumont M1871/79?
The Beaumont M1871/79 is made by Geweerfabriek Hembrug (Netherlands). It was designed by Edouard de Beaumont.
When was the Beaumont M1871/79 introduced?
The Beaumont M1871/79 was introduced in 1879 and discontinued in 1888.
How does the Beaumont M1871/79 operate?
The Beaumont M1871/79 uses a bolt action, and its firing mechanism is striker fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Royal Netherlands Army
- 1879
- Ethiopian Empire
- Ethiopia
Provenance
Confidence in this record
74%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/beaumont-m1871-79' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "beaumont-m1871-79", "name": "Beaumont M1871/79", "manufacturer": { "id": "hembrug-zaandam", "name": "Geweerfabriek Hembrug", "countryCode": "NL", "foundedYear": 1679, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "updatedAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "version": "fe83c3872cc981eea7f93e8605c860b11b13a06dddb30f170c6d6caa33fb4cbd" }, "category": { "id": "rifle", "name": "Rifle", "description": "Long-barreled firearms designed for accurate shooting" }, "country_of_origin": "NL", "year_introduced": 1879, "barrel_length_mm": 832, "weight_empty_g": 4415, "action_type": "bolt_action"}