Time for another VS question: The Mauser 71/84 or the Remington-Lee.

[Teku]

A have a bad habit of wondering these odd hypothetical vs with these old rifles, but I find them interesting to think about nonetheless.

For this particular one:
Mauser 71/84, the Kropatschek 1871


The Remington-Lee navy rifle (any model of the 45-70 versions)


Both of these rifles were comperable in terms of firepower of the time as .43/11mm Mauser is about on par with 45-70. The big difference between the two was the operating systems. On one hand, you have a cock-on-open tube loader which was typical of the time, and on the other you have a cock-on-close box magazine that detaches. Both have strengths and weaknesses in their own right, but I'm curious to here what others have to say about it.

What are your thoughts on this?

 

[MichaelWC]

To be honest. I do enjoy Imperial German rifles and carbines. I would have to choose any of three Remington-Lee models in 45-70. M1879 Remington-Lee, M1882 Remington-Lee and M1885 Remington-Lee. Why? Well it's all how you reload the rifles. Mauser 71-84 you have to reload the tubular magazine one round at a time. Remington-Lee pull out the magazine and you put a new magazine in. That's a big game changer. This is just my opinion but the Remington-Lee had better webbing equipment. The United States Navy Naval Infantry would carry four magazines and 100 loose rounds of ammunition on their webbing belt.

 

[Rescuerandy2]

Good Afternoon,

Have owned both and must go with the RLs. The box magazine was way ahead of its time and is so much easier to reload. Whether you are a fan of cock-on-opening or cock-on-closing, the RLs do not need you to give a good stout pull on the bolt to operate the mechanism. With the Mauser, you need to pull back on the bolt handle smartly or NoGo on a good ejections. Randy