All photos this page are through the kind courtesy of Jos vanHelden

Subj:  Berdan Dragoon
Date: 02-02-17 12:23:58 EST
From: vhelden@home.nl (J v Helden)
To: KeithDoyon@MilitaryRifles(.)com

Hi Keith,

Here are some details about the Berdan II Dragoon rifle.
These Dragoon rifles became part of the Imperial Russian Army by order of the Tsar dated 26 September 1870.
At the beginning of the Russian-Turkish War in 1876 the Russian Army had 2352 Dragoon rifles.
The total quantity ever made is unknown to me, but except this piece in my own collection I have never seen them, so the survival rate must be very low.

                                Inf. rifle                        Dragoon

Total lenght            1350mm                         1230mm
barrel lenght           831mm                           716mm
barrel size               17,9mm                          17,0mm
barrel bands
hold by                    screws                           springs
rear sight               rifle rear sight               carbine rear sight
sling provision      sling swivels                 square holes in stock

Other types produced are carbines and kozak rifles.

There must be 30.000 pieces made by Colt (info from some books), I have never seen one but a Canadian dealer told me he had several Colt produced Berdan II rifles during the years. Prior to 1874 most Berdan II rifles (and others) are made by NA & A Co Ltd Birmingham.
After 1874 the Russians had enough machinery to produce them in their own factories.

Best regards
Jos van Helden

Page built February 19, 2002