Berdan rifle
| Berdan rifle No. 2 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Single-shot rifle |
| Place of origin | United States Russia |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1870–1895, later as reserve issue |
| Used by | Russian Empire Ethiopian Empire Kingdom of Bulgaria Korean Empire Kingdom of Serbia Argentina Finland |
| Wars | Paraguayan War Argentine Civil Wars Franco-Prussian War Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 First Italo-Ethiopian War Russo-Japanese War Balkan Wars World War I Russian Revolution Finnish Civil War Second Italo-Ethiopian War Winter War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Hiram Berdan |
| Designed | 1868 (Berdan I) 1870 (Berdan II) |
| Produced | 1868–1891 |
| No. built | 3,000,000 |
| Variants | Berdan I: infantry rifle Berdan II: infantry rifle, dragoon rifle, cossack rifle, cavalry carbine |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 4.6 kg (10 lb) with bayonet 4.2 kg (9.3 lb) without bayonet 3.58 kg (7.9 lb) (Dragoon) 3.38 kg (7.5 lb) (Cossack) 2.8 kg (6.2 lb) (Carbine) |
| Length | 130 cm (51 in) (Infantry rifle) |
| Barrel length | 83 cm (33 in) (Infantry rifle) 72 cm (28 in) (Dragoon) 71.8 cm (28.3 in) (Cossack) 47.5 cm (18.7 in) (Carbine) |
| Cartridge | 10.75×58mmR 7.62×54mmR |
| Action | Berdan I trapdoor Berdan II bolt-action |
| Rate of fire | 6–8 rounds per minute |
| Muzzle velocity | 437 m/s |
| Effective firing range | 400 arshins (284 m, 310.6 yd) |
| Feed system | Single-shot |
| Sights | rear sight in arshins 200–1200; front sight is inverted v; some infantry rifles have a long range "volley sight" on the right side of front barrel band, along with a second "V" on the right side of the rear sight slide installed after 1878 |
The Berdan rifle (Russian: винтовка Бердана) is a single-shot rifle created by American engineer and inventor Hiram Berdan in 1868. It was the service rifle of the Imperial Russian Army from 1870 when it replaced the Krnka to 1891, when it was replaced by the Mosin–Nagant rifle. The gun was widely used in Russia as a hunting weapon, and sporting variants, including shotguns, were produced until the mid-1930s. The Russian Berdan I (M1868) and Berdan II (M1870) rifles of .42 caliber are distinct from the Spanish Berdan 15 mm (0.591 in) conversion rifles adopted by Spain as the M1857/67 Berdan (and related engineer, artillery & short rifles).