Berdan II M1870
- Category
- Rifle
- Barrel
- 831 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.30 kg
- Introduced
- 1870
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Berdan II M1870 was a single-shot, bolt-action infantry rifle adopted by the Imperial Russian Army and chambered for the bottlenecked 10.75x58mmR Berdan centerfire cartridge. Designed by American inventor Colonel Hiram Berdan with Russian Colonel Alexander Gorlov, it replaced the earlier trapdoor Berdan I and used a turn-bolt action with a 45-degree bolt rotation and a cock-on-closing striker. First produced by Birmingham Small Arms in England, manufacture soon shifted to the Russian arsenals at Tula, Izhevsk and Sestroretsk. It served as the standard Russian service rifle until superseded by the Mosin-Nagant M1891, and remained in second-line and irregular use into the Russian Civil War.
Designed by Hiram Berdan, who had commanded the famed Union sharpshooter regiments in the American Civil War, the 'Berdanka' became the iconic rifle of the late Tsarist army and remained a familiar peasant and hunting arm in Russia long after the Mosin-Nagant replaced it in front-line service.
Distinct from the earlier trapdoor Berdan I M1868. Produced in infantry, dragoon, Cossack and carbine patterns. Around 3 million were built across all variants. Effective range figures derive from sights graduated 200-1,500 arshin (roughly 142-1,069 m).
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Tula Arms Plant
- Category
- Rifle
- Country
- Russia
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1870 to 1892
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 831 mm
- Overall length
- 1350 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.30 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Bolt action
- 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
- 437 m/s
- Effective range
- 284 m
- Maximum range
- 1069 m
- Rate of fire
- 8 rpm
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.
Turn bolt action- 45 degree bolt rotation
Ramp and leaf rear sight
Bayonet lug
Single shot
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 | 4.30 kg | 3.50 kg | Heavier than about 80% |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,557 rifles | 1350 mm | 1080 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,659 rifles | 831 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 II M1870
How much does the Berdan II M1870 weigh?
The Berdan II M1870 weighs 4.30 kg (9.48 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Berdan II M1870?
The Berdan II M1870 is chambered in 10.75x58mmR Berdan.
How many rounds does the Berdan II M1870 hold?
The Berdan II M1870 holds 1 rounds, fed from an internal magazine.
How long is the Berdan II M1870?
The Berdan II M1870 is 1350 mm (53.1 in) long overall, with a 831 mm (32.7 in) barrel.
Who makes the Berdan II M1870?
The Berdan II M1870 is made by Tula Arms Plant (Russia). It was designed by Hiram Berdan.
When was the Berdan II M1870 introduced?
The Berdan II M1870 was introduced in 1870 and discontinued in 1892.
How does the Berdan II M1870 operate?
The Berdan II M1870 uses a bolt action, and its firing mechanism is striker fired.
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
- 1870
- Principality of Bulgaria
- Bulgaria
- Kingdom of Serbia
- Serbia
- Grand Duchy of Finland
- Finland
Provenance
Confidence in this record
80%
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-ii' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "berdan-ii", "name": "Berdan II M1870", "manufacturer": { "id": "tula-arms-plant", "name": "Tula Arms Plant", "countryCode": "RU", "foundedYear": 1712, "website": "https://en.tulatoz.ru", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": "active", "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": true, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:40", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:43:38", "version": "592802e23491a27ab089d44b73cd0f97f7cf62eeb752639057d7004eb2b4c252" }, "category": { "id": "rifle", "name": "Rifle", "description": "Long-barreled firearms designed for accurate shooting" }, "country_of_origin": "RU", "year_introduced": 1870, "barrel_length_mm": 831, "weight_empty_g": 4300, "action_type": "bolt_action"}