Berdan I M1868
- Category
- Rifle
- Barrel
- 825 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.20 kg
- Introduced
- 1868
About
What it is, and why it matters
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 Roughly 30,000 were manufactured by Colt in Hartford, Connecticut, before the design was quickly superseded by the bolt-action Berdan II in 1870.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.
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.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC
- Category
- Rifle
- Country
- Russia
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1868 to 1871
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 825 mm
- Overall length
- 1346 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.20 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Firing mechanism
- Striker fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 1
- Magazine
- Internal
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 427 m/s
- Effective range
- 500 m
- Maximum range
- 1000 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Trapdoor breech
Forward lifting breech block
Leaf rear sight
Bayonet lug
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 1,612 rifles | 4.20 kg | 3.50 kg | Heavier than about 80% |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,557 rifles | 1346 mm | 1080 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,659 rifles | 825 mm | 584 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 1,611 rifles | 1 | 5 | Holds fewer rounds than about 90% |
Answers
Questions about the Berdan I M1868
How much does the Berdan I M1868 weigh?
The Berdan I M1868 weighs 4.20 kg (9.26 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Berdan I M1868?
The Berdan I M1868 is chambered in 10.75x58mmR Berdan.
How many rounds does the Berdan I M1868 hold?
The Berdan I M1868 holds 1 rounds, fed from an internal magazine.
How long is the Berdan I M1868?
The Berdan I M1868 is 1346 mm (53.0 in) long overall, with a 825 mm (32.5 in) barrel.
Who makes the Berdan I M1868?
The Berdan I M1868 is made by Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC (United States). It was designed by Hiram Berdan.
When was the Berdan I M1868 introduced?
The Berdan I M1868 was introduced in 1868 and discontinued in 1871.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Imperial Russian Army
- 1868
Provenance
Confidence in this record
74%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/berdan-i' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "berdan-i", "name": "Berdan I M1868", "manufacturer": { "id": "colt", "name": "Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1855, "website": "https://www.colt.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": "American firearms manufacturer headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1855 and now a subsidiary of Colt CZ Group, continuing production of iconic firearms including the 1911 pistol.", "status": "active", "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:38", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:43:38", "version": "7143c7ff3f7e156063a240f2df7b4746ee1c0394d7cd5f592d05bac43233d637" }, "category": { "id": "rifle", "name": "Rifle", "description": "Long-barreled firearms designed for accurate shooting" }, "country_of_origin": "RU", "year_introduced": 1868, "barrel_length_mm": 825, "weight_empty_g": 4200, "action_type": null}