Scarce Pre-1899 Swiss M1896/11 Rifle, 7.5×55 in Nice Condition

A scarce Pre-1899 Swiss M1896/11 rifle. This 7.5×55 Schmidt-Rubin straight pull long rifle is in particularly nice condition. The wood is in unusually good shape for a M1896/11 and the metal shows 90%+ original bluing.  As it was described to me, there are just a couple of rust spots on the buttplate and on the top tang beneath the charging handle safety/de-cocking ring. Serial # 22207XP places its date of manufacture in the last few months of 1898! (They must have a serial # under 236,500 to be legally antique.) The “P” (for “Privat“) suffix on the serial number indicates that this rifle was issued by the Swiss army and then “privatized” when the soldier left the reserves. I found this rifle advertised for sale in Michigan. The seller did not realize the significance of its serial number.  (Less than 3% of these rifles were made before 1899.) Of all of the various Schmidt-Rubin straight-pull rifle variants, it is only the Model 1896  that is both Federally antique, yet also rated to safely handle the high pressure 7.5×55  GP11 cartridge and modern commercial cartridges. I’ll leave the treasure hunt for a possible soldier’s name tag under the buttplate up to you. (KPGL-611)