I received my hand select Berdan rifle yesterday. The rifle was in good shape, with only dings and dents in the stock no cracks. It had holes drilled in it for a sling. The bore was nice with strong rifling. Now the bad, it was cut down in ethiopia and had the front sight brazed back on at a 45 degree angle. And the stock has been cut and shortened as well. I believe they we're making them into cavalry carbines. Over all not bad, and the aight is fixable. I was not happy with the fact that they hand selected a cut down rifle over a full length as shown in their photos.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Nice surprise
August 31, 2020
Reviewer:
Ddily from florida
I recieved mine and it was missing the cleaning rod but the bore and stock were in wonderful condtion. I ended up getting a dragoon model which I was very excitrd for. It also had some really cool markings on it, and had an inscription on the barrel in ethipoian said for the government.
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Rifle Arrived Today
August 28, 2020
Reviewer:
Steve
Out of the box I was impressed. It is worn and well used but stock is solid with no cracks. Metal is in decent shape, no surprises under the wood. Metal under the wood better than outside the wood. Bore is bright with strong rifling. Rear sight came off during shipment but is an easy repair. Bolt and trigger function properly. Looks to be very similar to rifle in the photos.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Not bad for the price
August 27, 2020
Reviewer:
Paul from OR
Pros: Surprisingly good/complete mechanical condition and even an ok bore. Excellent price for a Berdan II. Metal finish is very decent considering this particular example was nearly 140 years old and was stored in a barn.
Cons: The stock came with a pair of long, deep cracks. Cleaning rod missing (although this is common for old surplus and it wasn’t actually advertised as having one).
Overall I’m quite happy for the price. Stocks can be repaired. Even if I were to employ a professional to do the repair (rather than doing it myself) I would still have paid a lot less over all than for what Berdan II’s typically go for.