| 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[1] Finland |
| Wars | Paraguayan War Argentine Civil Wars 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 | 4.2 kg (9.3 lb) without bayonet 4.6 kg (10 lb) with bayonet |
| Length | 130 cm (51 in) (infantry rifle) |
| Barrel length | 83 cm (33 in) (infantry rifle) |
| Cartridge | 10.75×58 mmR; 24 gram paper-patched round nose lead bullet, 5 gram black powder; cartridge also known as .42 Berdan or 4.2 Line Berdan, 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 |
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 to 1891, when 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).