CHASSEPOT, shas-po, RIFLE, a breech loading rifle, named after its inventor, and adopted as the firearm of the French infantry in 1866, after the value of the Prussian needle gun had been shown in the war between Prussia and Austria. It is not now in use, having been replaced in 1874 by a much modified form of small-arms. It was a bolt-action gun with a peculiar system of obturation and a paper cartridge. In the war of 1870 it proved a much better weapon than the German needle gun (q.v.). It was considerably lighter than the needle-gun, the weight of the latter being 12 pounds, and that of the former less than nine pounds. In accuracy, penetrative power, length of range, lowness of trajectory and rapidity of fire, it was inferior to the Martini-Henry. To the needle-gun it was superior in length of range and lowness of trajectory, as was shown in the war of 1870, in which the French could open fire at the distance of 1,500 paces, while the effective range of the needle-gun was only 400 to 500 paces. This superiority,
however, was neutralized by the fact that its lightness and its large charge had the effect of producing great recoil and of heating the barrel. At the commencement of an action the men would open fire at long range, but before dosing with the enemy the barrel of their piece was so heated that the weapon could hardly be handled. From the recoil and heating combined, the soldier was obliged to fire from the hip, so that his was not ac curate; while after much firing the breech be came clogged. The chassepot weighed 9 lb. 5 oz., was 6 feet 2 inches long with bayonet, had a calibre of .433 inches, and fired a 386 grain lead bullet with a charge of 86.4 grains of black powder at a muzzle velocity of 1,328 feet per second. It was sighted to 1,312 yards (1,200 metres).