The M-1870 Berdan II Infantry Rifle
in Pictures

This section has many high detail pictures of the M-1870 Berdan II infantry rifle. Virtually every part of the weapon is photographed and described.  Our example was manufactured in Sestroretsk in 1884.  To go to a specific part of the weapon simply click on the desired section below. I should warn you that some of these pages may take a little while to load.

 

Barrel Bands

Here are two close up photos of the barrel bands of the Berdan II rifle.  The picture on the right is of the rear barrel band, a small arrow marking can be seen on it.  The front barrel band can be seen in the picture on the right.  The front sling swivel can also be seen beneath the front barrel band.

 

Buttplate and Rear Stock

This section details the buttplate and rear stock, particularly the stampings on the rear stock.  The first picture to the right shows the rear of the buttplate and one of the retaining screws.  The serial number of the weapon is stamped on the buttplate.  This number can be seen in greater detail in the photograph below.

The second retaining screw and top of the buttplate can be seen on the middle right picture.

On the right side of the rear stock can be found an imperial acceptance stamp.  This mark can be seen in the picture to the right.  It is difficult to see, but has an imperial eagle in a circle.  This circle is surrounded by a larger circle the a Cyrillic letter P on one side and a letter K on the other.  There is also an arrow marking at the top of the stamp.

 

The Receiver and Trigger

The receiver of the Berdan II is a relatively simple design housing a multi-piece bolt.  An unusual feature of the rifle is that when the bolt is locked and ready to fire the bolt handle only moves down 45 degrees, rather than the 90 degree angle of most bolt action rifles.  In these pictures you can see both sides of the receiver of the Berdan II.  The bolt and trigger areas are also discussed here.

Another close view of the bolt can be seen in the picture to the right.  In it the bolt is in the closed position.

Directly below you can see the bolt in detail.  The serial number is stamped on it in two places, once on the rear bolt, and once on the bolt handle.

An arsenal marking can be found at the front of the receiver.  This marking can be seen in detail at the bottom right.

 

Bolt and Chamber

The bolt and chamber of the Berdan II can be seen in these three pictures.  The top right picture shows bolt in the closed position at its distinctive 45 degree angle.

The bottom two pictures show the bolt pulled to the rear.  The first shows the empty chamber while the second shows the chamber with a single .42 caliber cartridge loaded in it.

   

Trigger and Markings

This section details the trigger area of the Berdan II rifle and the markings that can be found on this part of the weapon.

In the top picture you can see the trigger, trigger guard, and the rear sling swivel.  While below you can see how the components attach to the stock with two screws.  In the final picture at the bottom right you can see a small arsenal stamp located just ahead of the trigger guard.

      

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