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Enjoying Black Powder Episode 6: Berdan II (Ad-free)
🕑 Added 2024-12-21 12:00:10 +0000 UTCBlack powder military rifles of the 1860s-1880s are a really enjoyable group of guns. A lot of them are relatively reasonably priced, and they are actually pretty easy to reload for. The unavailability of factory ammunition (for most, although not so much for the Trapdoor) makes them seem like a daunting prospect, but for a pretty simple investment in tools and time one can make up ammunition and have a lot of fun with rifles like this.
That's the idea behind a new series here on black powder military rifles. Each month, my friend - and handloader - Tom and I will take out a different model to have some fun at the range and compare how they handle. And then we will show you how to make the ammunition for them. So grab your pith helmet, pause "Zulu" and join us! Today is Episode Six: the Berdan II!
Comments
Reed Gregory
i’d enjoy it more if o didn’t have to pay extra for another channel or just go to Rumble
Adam Schindler
That monster looks like the bastard offspring of a Chassepot and a Mosin. I actually saw a Greene rifle on sale at Collector's in Houston, and while it is ROUGH, it would really need to see if you could get that thing running. The period wherein the tech finally caught up to the obvious advantages of breechloading, rifling and metallic cartridges is absolutely fascinating, and maybe the era where this (globally amazing) channel finds its truest expression: forgotten weapons which nonetheless brought us to where we are today. I love this series, and would absolutely love to see the Greene or a Chassepot or a Dreyse on this channel.
Forgotten Weapons
Glad you enjoy them!
Dana Arbeit
A really great episode in a great series of videos.
Derrick Hall
I shoot the Berdan 2 as well. 43 Spanish is the go to for brass and all I feed mine. These rifles had really deep grooves mine slugged at .441 for the grooves and .421 bore diameter. My original paper patch rounds from the 1890s measure .431 across the paper. I’d assume the bullet blows out a tad to fill the grooves and also the deep grooves give room for fouling to go into.
Guido Schriewer
nope, it is not a great gun. much rather, well, like any other out of that series.
Thomas Batha
I really enjoy this series. Perhaps an episode on cleaning these old black powder breech loaders? Most of us know how to clean bp muzzle loaders but how much of the breech mechanism needs to be dug out to prevent corrosion on one of these? P.S. You have your theory on the failure to chamber in the first fire attempt. I think the cool hat you wore might have had something to do with it as proven when you changed to a regular weird hat in the second go. Just saying.
Mark Brian
Always learn a lot and enjoy these videos!
