The model 1870 was a single shot variant of the Swiss Model 1869 Vetterli rifle. The Swiss variant was fed by a 12 round tubular magazine located inside the forestock. The Italian military at the time of adoption opted to manufacture the rifle as a single shot to save money on production. The rifle operated on a simple bolt action mechanism. The Vetterli features a locking collar with two locking lugs that interface with recesses in the receiver, making for a strong lockup when the bolt is closed. There is a long extractor present on the top of the bolt. When the bolt is open a single round of ammunition can be placed either into the chamber or the magazine. The Italian Vetterli is chambered in the 10.35x47R. Many of the single shot Vetterlis in Italian service underwent a conversion to the Vitali magazine system, similar to the magazine conversions found on the Dutch model 1871/88 Beaumont rifles. This gave the rifles a total capacity of four rounds of ammunition. The right side of the buttstock is stamped “AOI” which translates to “Africa Orientale Italiana” or Italian East Africa. This marking indicates this rifle was issued to colonial troops and Italian troops in East Africa, which consisted of Somalia, Eritrea, and Ethiopia pre WW2. This example is dated “1891” on the left side of the barrel.