Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88
- Category
- Rifle
- Barrel
- 830 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.55 kg
- Introduced
- 1888
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88 is a Dutch repeating bolt-action service rifle, created from 1888 by retrofitting the single-shot Beaumont M1871 with an Italian Vitali four-round box magazine. Chambered for the 11mm Beaumont black-powder centerfire cartridge, it retained the original Beaumont action with its distinctive V-shaped leaf mainspring hidden inside the hollow bolt handle, but added a fixed magazine loaded from above by an en-bloc clip. The conversion kept the Royal Netherlands Army's existing rifle stock in service as a magazine repeater until the smokeless-powder Mannlicher M1895 replaced it.
The Beaumont-Vitali married two national designs across Europe: a Dutch single-shot rifle whose mainspring lived inside the bolt handle, fitted with an Italian Vitali magazine that had originally been devised to modernize Switzerland's Vetterli rifles. Many examples carry two dates stamped years apart, one for the 1870s rifle and one for the 1888-era magazine conversion.
The Vitali magazine system was licensed from Italy, where it had been used to convert the Vetterli M1870 into the Vetterli-Vitali M1870/87. Conversions were carried out at the Dutch state arms factory at Hembrug (Zaandam) and by contractors including P. Stevens of Maastricht. A magazine cutoff allowed the rifle to be fired single-shot while holding the magazine in reserve.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Geweerfabriek Hembrug
- Category
- Rifle
- Country
- Netherlands
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1888 to 1895
- Variant of
- Magazine conversion
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 830 mm
- Overall length
- 1320 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.55 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Bolt action
- Firing mechanism
- Striker fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 4
- 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
- 1000 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.
Vitali box magazine
En bloc clip loading
Leaf mainspring in bolt handle
Bayonet lug
Ladder rear sight
Magazine cutoff
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 | 4.55 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 | 830 mm | 584 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 1,611 rifles | 4 | 5 | Holds fewer rounds than about 60% |
Answers
Questions about the Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88
How much does the Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88 weigh?
The Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88 weighs 4.55 kg (10.03 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88?
The Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88 is chambered in 11x52mmR Dutch Beaumont.
How many rounds does the Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88 hold?
The Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88 holds 4 rounds, fed from an internal magazine.
How long is the Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88?
The Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88 is 1320 mm (52.0 in) long overall, with a 830 mm (32.7 in) barrel.
Who makes the Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88?
The Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88 is made by Geweerfabriek Hembrug (Netherlands). It was designed by Edouard de Beaumont.
When was the Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88 introduced?
The Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88 was introduced in 1888 and discontinued in 1895.
How does the Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88 operate?
The Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88 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
- 1888
Provenance
Confidence in this record
76%
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-vitali-m1871-88' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "beaumont-vitali-m1871-88", "name": "Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88", "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": 1888, "barrel_length_mm": 830, "weight_empty_g": 4550, "action_type": "bolt_action"}