Colt's · Rifle

Berdan I M1868

Name: Berdan I M1868
Brand: Colt's

10.75x58mmR Berdan · introduced 1868

Also known as Model 1868, Berdan No. 1, .42 Berdan trapdoor

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About the Berdan I M1868

The Berdan I M1868 was a single-shot, hammerless 'trapdoor' breech-loading infantry rifle designed by American inventor Colonel Hiram Berdan in collaboration with Russian officers Alexander Gorlov and Karl Gunius. Chambered for the bottlenecked 10.75x58mmR Berdan centerfire cartridge, it employed a forward-lifting breech block locked by a coil-spring striker. Roughly 30,000 were manufactured by Colt in Hartford, Connecticut, before the design was quickly superseded by the bolt-action Berdan II in 1870.

Designed by the same Hiram Berdan who commanded the famed Union sharpshooter regiments in the American Civil War, the Berdan I was built in Connecticut for the Tsar's army, making it a uniquely American-Russian collaboration of the breech-loading era.

Berdan I M1868 specifications

General

Type: Rifle
Firing mechanism: Striker-fired
Trigger: Single stage
Calibres: 10.75x58mmR Berdan
Magazine capacity: 1 rounds
Magazine: Internal

Dimensions

Barrel length: 825 mm (32.5 in)
Overall length: 1346 mm (53.0 in)
Weight (empty): 4.20 kg (9.26 lb)

Barrel

Rifling: Right hand
Grooves: 6

Materials

Barrel: Steel
Receiver / frame: Steel
Stock: Wood
Finish: blued

Performance

Muzzle velocity (typical): 427 m/s (1401 fps)
Effective range: 500 m

History

Introduced: 1868
Discontinued: 1871
Production status: Out of production
Country of origin: RU
Designer: Hiram Berdan

Features

Trapdoor breech
Forward lifting breech block
Leaf rear sight
Bayonet lug

Safety

Half cock

Distinct from the later Berdan II M1870 bolt-action rifle. The Berdan I used a trapdoor-style action and saw limited adoption before being phased out by 1871; about 18,000 remained with Russia by the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.