Is there any mention anywhere about how the two compared? I read that needle system was problematic, and what the Chassepot gained in performance over the Dreyse was at the cost of reliability, or something along those lines, but I was hoping for something of a more in depth comparison, if such a thing is possible.
Followup question
I've recently started reading on the Chassepot and I've stumbled upon some hard to believe numbers when it comes to its rate of fire. Wikipedia says 8-15 rounds per minute, which is not sourced, but I have found the same numbers in Geoffrey Wawro's "The Franco-Prussian War: The German Conquest of France in 1870-1871" and Michael E. Haskew's "Rifles & Muskets: From 1450 to the present day", among others. Meanwhile, Cathal J. Nolan's "The Allure of Battle: A History of how Wars Have Been Won and Lost" mentions even more incredible numbers: 'as high as 15-18 rpm'. Richard Holmes' "The road to Sedan: the French army, 1866-70" meanwhile says 6-7.
I've also found mention of 5 RPM in David Gates' "WARFARE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY", but I that's probably not the modèle 1866 as the book mentions it being used by a single squadron of the cavalry of the French Imperial Guard in 1859.
There's also one video on YouTube showing someone shooting 9 rounds in about 1 minute.
Are there different models or what's going on with this large range of numbers?