The bolt thrust of the 8mm Lebel is relatively high compared to many other service rounds used in the early 20th century. However, the shape of its rimmed bottle-necked case, having been designed for the Lebel rifle's tube magazine, also precluded truly efficient vertical stacking inside a vertical magazine. For use in the magazine tube-fed early Lebel rifle, the 8 mm case was designed to protect against accidental percussion inside the tube magazine by a circular groove around the primer cup which caught the tip of the following pointed bullet. The long-range ballistic performance of the 8mm Lebel bullet itself was exceptional for its time. Standard 8mm Lebel military ammunition was also the first rifle ammunition to feature a spitzer boat tail bullet, which was adopted in 1898. Formed by necking down the 11×59mmR Gras black powder cartridge, the smokeless 8mm Lebel cartridge started a revolution in military rifle ammunition. The 8×50mmR Lebel rifle cartridge was the first smokeless powder cartridge to be made and adopted by any country. Altogether, 3.45 million Lebel rifles were produced by the three French state factories between 18. In spite of early obsolete features, such as its tube magazine and the shape of 8mm Lebel rimmed ammunition, the Lebel rifle remained the basic weapon of French infantry during World War I (1914–1918). Featuring an oversized bolt with front locking lugs and a massive receiver, the Lebel rifle was a durable design capable of long range performance. Each case was protected against accidental percussion inside the tube magazine by a primer cover and by a circular groove around the primer cup which caught the tip of the following pointed bullet. Twelve years later, in 1898, a solid brass pointed (spitzer) and boat-tail bullet called " Balle D" was retained for all 8mm Lebel ammunition.
Lieutenant Colonel Nicolas Lebel contributed a flat nosed 8 mm full metal jacket bullet. The new propellant powder, " Poudre B," was nitrocellulose-based and had been invented in 1884 by French chemist Paul Vieille. The Lebel rifle has the distinction of being the first military firearm to use smokeless powder ammunition.
It is a repeating rifle that can hold eight rounds in its forestock tube magazine, one round in the transporter plus one round in the chamber. The Lebel Model 1886 rifle also known as the "Fusil Mle 1886 M93", after a bolt modification was added in 1893, is an 8 mm bolt action infantry rifle that entered service in the French Army in 1887.