Wheelgun Wednesday: The Long-Served French Modele 1892
Welcome back to TFB’s Wheelgun Wednesday, where we explore the vast, storied world of revolvers. This week, courtesy of our friend Cédric, we’ll take a look at the unique French Modele 1892 that saw more than 50 years of service spanning both World Wars. Although the Mle 1892 appears to sport a stereotypical loading gate for the era it was designed, it’s actually part of the cylinder release, and these cylinders open to the right. “Why does it swing to the right” you ask. Let’s explore.
Wheelgun Wednesday @ TFB:
- The Evolution of Magnum Revolvers
- Suppressed Revolver? M1895 Nagant
- Recreating Elmer Keith’s Fabled 600-yard Deer Shot
- A Look At The Manville R12, 12 Gauge Revolver
- Top 5 Reasons You Should Buy A Revolver
FRENCH MODELE 1892 REVOLVER
The Modele 1892 revolver was designed to replace the heftier, yet underpowered 1873 Chamlot-Delvigne 11mm revolver. Since the adoption of the 1892, it’s commonplace to hear that the 8mm Ordnance cartridge is also underpowered, or at least compared to other handgun loads by World War 1. The Mle 1892 revolver was produced for 32 years between 1892 and 1924, during which approximately 365,000 units were made. The top half of the barrel has three slabbed sides, the topmost section displays the model number “Mle 1892” and the right slab shows the year it was produced. In the case shown here, Cédric has two Mle 1892’s in the shop, and one clearly shows it was manufactured in 1898. The lower half of the barrels are rounded.
The side plate on the left side of the 1892 is designed with a hinged feature, and the securing screw on the right side is also captive, which is well thought out for field use.
There were also commercial models made, however, the commercial models lack the “Mfr d’Armes St. Etienne” script on the right side of the frame.
As you’ve probably noticed, the cylinder is machined to include nubs on the high spots between each cylinder flute. A raised nub on the front of the trigger sits between the cylinder nubs when the trigger is at rest, which keeps the cylinder from rotating when you don’t want it to. As the trigger is pulled, the nub at the front descends away from the cylinder, however, then the rear of the trigger ascends to catch the notches at the rear of the cylinder to stop the rotation in time to line up with the barrel. You can see a great animation of this on the C&Rsenal YouTube channel HERE.
Speaking of the C&Rsenal YouTube channel, I highly recommend watching their full Primer on the Modele 1892 where they discuss the complete history, development and practical design features. If you’re not familiar with C&Rsenal’s work, they apply this attention to detail for hundreds of firearms and their designers. You can view their Modele 1892 Primer below, but make sure you check C&Rsenal’s whole video catalog for other firearms you’d like to learn about.
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8MM AMMUNITION
The Modele 1892 revolver was designed to use an 8mm cartridge that goes by a number of designations; 8mm Lebel, 8mm Ordnance, and 8mmx27R. It is generally considered a less-than-ideal cartridge for self-defense or military excursions, but that didn’t stop it from serving the French forces for 56 years between 1892 to 1948. Although the Modele 1935 semi-auto pistol had been officially adopted before World War 2, there weren’t sufficient numbers to retire the Mle 1892.
Even though you might not see a Modele 1892 in the wild very often (or ever in my case), there are enough examples out there that Fiocchi Ammunition has been making 8mm Ordnance for years and presently. However, at the time of this publication, Fiocchi’s offering sits between $1.07 and $1.34 per round. I found higher prices, although those vendors seem to be going out of their way to overprice it. Sadly, while conversing with Cédric, prices in France for 8mm Ordnance ammo is around €2 ($2.10) per round, which is unfortunate given that our fellow gun enthusiasts across the pond have to pay twice as much to enjoy a firearm of their own heritage.
A better piece of news is that, according to the Cartridges of the World book, you can form 8mm Ordnance from .32-20 WCF brass, which is available from Starline Brass. It also states that .32 S&W Long ammo can be used as a substitute in revolvers chambered for 8mm Lebel, but the cases will “bulge badly” and that accuracy will suffer when doing so.
In 2018, the Modele 1892 tragically came into the world spotlight during a terrorist attack in Strasbourg, France in which a man killed 5 people and wounded 11 others with a Mle 1892 and a knife.
FRENCH MODELE 1892 VALUES
The Modele 1892 currently has a wide-ranging value, with pristine examples having ambitious prices up to $2,675 on the high end, while rougher-looking examples can have asking prices around $400. I also found a unique 1892 .22LR conversion model dated 1913 priced at $1800. Generally, prices seem to be trending between $600-$1000.
As mentioned above, the cylinders swing open to the right. This was to facilitate the cavalry so that ye olde revolver could be transferred to the left hand with the reins and reloaded with the right hand, keeping their dominant hand free to use their saber if necessary. There is also a spring in the front of the frame that acts on the crane so that the cylinder is steady in one place, which would really come in handy if you’re bouncing around on a horse.
Interestingly, Modele 1892’s are sometimes depicted with yellowed screws and hammers. To bring that look back to the samples in the shop, Cédric polished the screws and used a propane torch to bring the “strawing” color back.
CONCLUSION
I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief trip in the wayback machine. I’d like to thank Cédric for his lovely pictures yet again. You can follow him on Instagram @cedric_armurier to see his other projects and rarities that come through his gun shop. It is quite remarkable to find such old firearms in pristine condition after so many years, including two world wars, as well as any number of atmospheric battles that attack metals at any given time.
What do you think about the French Modele 1892? What aspects do you appreciate the most about this revolver? I’ve found that French designs in general tend to have a unique thought process behind them, and it partially inspired me to begin learning French. If you own a Modele 1892, let us know how your shooting experience has been in the comment section.
