Berdan II rifle
Country	Russia
Type	Rifle
Inventor	Hiram Berdan
Date of design	1868 (Berdan I) 1870 (Berdan II)
Service duration	1869-1891, and later as reserve issue
Cartridge	10.75 mm x 58mm rimmed; 24-gram paper-patched round nose lead bullet, 5 gram blackpowder; cartridge also known as .42 Berdan
Action	Berdan I "trapdoor"; Berdan II "bolt"
Rate of fire	6-8 per minute
Muzzle velocity	at muzzle: 1440 fps, 438 mps
Effective range	400 arshins (284 m)
Weight (Unloaded)	4.2 kg without bayonet 4.6 kg with bayonet
Length	1.3 m (infantry rifle)
Barrel	.83 m (infantry rifle)
Magazine capacity	no magazine, single shot only
Viewing sights	rear sight in "arshins" 200-1200; front sight is inverted v; some later rifles have long range "volley sight" on front barrel band
Variants	infantry rifle; dragoon rifle; cossack rifle; cavalry carbine
Number built	about 3 million

The Berdan rifle is a Russian rifle created by famous American firearms expert and inventor Hiram Berdan in 1868. Standard issue in the Russian army during 1869-1891, the Berdan was replaced by the Mosin-Nagant rifle. Widely used in Russia as a hunting weapon, sporting variants, including shotguns, were produced until the mid-1930s. Image File history File links Berdan rifle. ... A rifle is a firearm that uses a spiral groove cut into the barrel to spin a projectile (usually a bullet), thus improving accuracy and range of the projectile. ... Hiram Berdan Hiram Berdan (1823-1893) is an American engineer and military man, creator of United States Sharpshooters and inventor of Berdan rifle, Berdan Sharps rifle and numerous other weapons. ... Rimmed, centerfire . ... In firearms terminology, an action is the system of operation that the firearm employs to seal the breech (in a breech-loading firearm), and to load consecutive rounds. ... The Rate of fire is the speed at which a specific firearm can operate. ... A guns muzzle velocity is the speed at which the projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun. ... Obsolete Russian weights and measures were used in Imperial Russia and after the Russian Revolution until they were replaced in the Soviet Union by a metric system in 1924. ... Hiram Berdan Hiram Berdan (1823-1893) is an American engineer and military man, creator of United States Sharpshooters and inventor of Berdan rifle, Berdan Sharps rifle and numerous other weapons. ... The Mosin-Nagant (Мосин-Наган) is a military rifle of Russia and later the Soviet Union, in service in various forms from 1891 until the 1960s, when it was finally replaced in its final function as a sniper rifle by the SVD rifle (Снайперская винтовка Драгунова - Snayperskaya Vintovka Dragunova - Dragunov...

Two different versions of the single-shot Berdan rifle were adopted as service weapons by Imperial Russia. The first version, manufactured by Colt in the USA, and known as the model of 1868, or Berdan I, is a hammerless trapdoor breechblock design, and was manufactured in limited numbers as a full length infantry rifle. Colt also manufactured a few half-stock Berdan I cavalry carbine prototypes, but these were never adopted for Russian service.

The model of 1870, or Berdan II, is a bolt action with a short, pear-shaped, bolt handle. The bolt handle serves as the only locking lug for the action, and when closed, points upwards at a 30 degree angle, rather than horizontally. The rifle was known for its simplicity and reliability. The Berdan II was produced in four variants: an infantry rifle, the lighter and slightly shorter dragoon rifle, a cossack rifle with a button trigger and no trigger guard, and a cavalry carbine. Infantry and dragoon rifles were issued with quadrangular socket bayonets. Initial production of the Berdan II was at Birmingham Small Arms in England. The rifles were later manufactured in large numbers by Russian factories at Tula, Ishevsk, and Sestroretsk. Estimated production is about 3 million. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with History of the Cossacks. ... A carbine is a firearm similar to, but generally shorter and less powerful than a rifle or musket of a given period. ...

The 10.75x58r cartridge used in the Berdan was also invented by Hiram Berdan, with assistance of Russian Colonel Gorloff. The bottleneck cartridge case used the Berdan primer, it's first use in a small arms cartridge.

Both the Berdan I and Berdan II were used by Guards units in the Russian Army during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, and continued on in Russian service even after the adoption of the Mosin Nagant. During WW1, some Russian second line, training and service units were armed with the Berdan II in caliber 10.75x58r.

In addition, in about year 1900, a limited number of Berdan II infantry rifles, perhaps as many as 200,000, were converted to caliber 7.62x54r for Russian service by arms makers in Belgium. These rifles have new barrels and sights, and new bolts with a front locking lug and longer bolt handle.

The Berdan II was also adopted by Bulgaria, and saw very limited service in Finland as late as WW2.

See also

• Berdan Sharps rifle