 The cartridge for the tube-fed long arm was originally loaded with a 15.0 g (232 grains) cupro-nickel-jacketed, lead-cored, flat-nosed, wadcutter-style bullet, called ""balle M"", which had been designed by Lieutenant Colonel Nicolas Lebel.The flat point (flat nose or tip) of this bullet had been designed to be safe inside the newly commissioned rifle's tube magazine.It was propelled by the first practical smokeless, nitrocellulose-based powder ("Poudre B"), as developed by Paul Vieille in 1884.