The Model 1868 Colt Berdan I emerged from Russia’s urgent post–Crimean War effort to modernize its infantry arms. The key figure alongside Hiram Berdan was Russian artillery officer Alexander Gorlov, who was dispatched to the United States in the mid-1860s to study modern firearms technology. Gorlov evaluated American designs and recognized the potential of Berdan’s small-caliber, bolt-action system. Working closely with Berdan, he modified and refined the rifle to meet Russian military requirements — particularly strengthening components, standardizing dimensions, and adapting it for Russian manufacturing practices. The final pattern adopted by Russia in 1868 reflected Gorlov’s engineering input as much as Berdan’s original concept.

Because Russian arsenals were not yet ready for mass production, Gorlov also supervised the initial manufacturing contract with Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company in Hartford. Colt produced 30,000 of these Berdan I rifles under Russian inspection, with Gorlov playing a central role in quality control and technical oversight. This rifle would be more appropriately referred to as the "Berdan-Gorlov". His involvement ensured the weapon was not merely an imported American design, but a rifle carefully adapted for the needs of the Imperial Russian Army and the stepping stone to the domestically produced Berdan II that followed. It was chambered for the black powder smallbore .42 Berdan cartridge, an extremely modern cartridge for the time, making it one of the most accurate military rifles in the world. This particular rifle is the only known example from the batch of 30,000 which were sent to Russia that ever made it back to America

Production Quantity:

• 30,000