1895 Nagant: Worth It?

[Tallball]

I have a Makarov and like it very much. I have a Tokarev and like it very much. I paid around $200 for a good-looking arsenal refinished Nagant and it had a horrible trigger. It was the worst trigger I ever felt on any firearm. It was interesting to look at - other than that there is nothing good I could say about that handgun. I traded it in on something else and have never missed it for one second.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Ah! It seems that these aren't the best guns in the trigger department. How powerful is the shell? Would it work as a defensive arm if called upon in an emergency?

 

[Dog Soldier]

Yes I also considered this. Do you suspect very few troops were issued handguns? It seems all Military issues officer sidearms. But the "Grunt's" handguns are more closely rationed?

 

[Panzerschwein]

Yes I also considered this. Do you suspect very few troops were issued handguns? It seems all Military issues officer sidearms. But the "Grunt's" handguns are more closely rationed?

Perhaps this is the reason. Mostly it was probably officers running around with Nagant revolvers. The men probably had Mosins and papashaws!

 

[Dog Soldier]

Yes that is very likely. I have read that handguns in Europe and Asia were seen as a badge of authority. That is why these handguns were not powerful or tuned for accurat firing.

 

[Kendal Black]

I am not sure the prices will hold at that high level. I sense a bubble: For eight years people have bought firearms (anything that will shoot) like there was no tomorrow. Prices have gone up, up, up. What goes up...

No tomorrow? It is tomorrow. And the Nagant is still a historically important but rather poor pistol. Among all the Soviet-era sidearms you could collect, I might rate it, for real usefulness, slightly ahead of a Tula-Korovin or maybe a shashka.

 

[toivo]

I got on when they were $99. I bought it for historical interest -- to complete the basic set of Russian service pistols of the 20th century: Nagant, Tokarev, and Makarov. I never had any illusions that it was going to be anything other than a novelty.

 

[Kendal Black]

I formed my impression (tending much toward the negative) when they were 59.95 to C&R in Shotgun News.

The current price may come down. In the meantime, there are better weapons to fill out a Soviet collection. If I had been cursed, by fate of birth, to fight for Russia in that era I would have traded my Nagant and two crates of vodka for a Smith and Wesson No. 3. One crate for a Bolo Mauser. It's just not very good. It is also perfectly Stalinist: Whether you like it or not, Comrade. They churned out millions of a pistol no one could shoot, which is a cameo of what is wrong with a command-driven economy. Da, efficient, no gap in barrel! Approve it at once!

 

[Kendal Black]

Ah! It seems that these aren't the best guns in the trigger department. How powerful is the shell? Would it work as a defensive arm if called upon in an emergency?

I cannot think of any reason why a Russian would use it for defense if he had a Makarov. Progress and all.

 

[AZAndy]

Mine was $80, I think. No, I surely wouldn't pay modern prices for one. Using a fish scale, the DA is 25 lbs. A proper cleaning calls for some disassembly, since the cylinder doesn't pivot out, which also means that loading and ejecting is a slow process. Ammunition is expensive and quite difficult to reload. The only real plus I can think of is that it's the rare revolver you could put a silencer on if you wanted to. I got it mostly because I was intrigued by the cylinder-forward action. I'm tempted by more Makarovs, but one Nagant is more than enough. It's mostly a show-and-tell piece, as in "can you believe this?"

 

[AZAndy]

Ah! It seems that these aren't the best guns in the trigger department. How powerful is the shell? Would it work as a defensive arm if called upon in an emergency?

The only commercial load I've used, Fiocchi, is 98 grains at about 850 fps, so it's the same class of energy as a .32ACP or a light .380. Military loads were purportedly closer to .32 Magnum at over 1000 fps. Sure, you could use it if you had to.

 

[GBExpat]

IMO, the only reason to own one is Novelty (of which it has boatloads) ... but it is not anywhere near novel enough to command a $400+ price tag.

I am tickled to hear of some folks mentioning that prior to getting (shooting) their first M1895, they were considering buying multiples of the cheap pistols (how many of us thought that, raise your hands) ... and after actually shooting one, they bought no more and some of them sold that first one. <chuckle>

I think that that represents the core of the "review".

 

[hAkron]

Gunbroker is not the best place to save money on anything that has become rare or prized. Local gun stores (around here at least) still go by book value, or by what they remember something being worth. In 2012 I bought a Smith & Wesson 1006 for $375 (comparable guns on Gunbroker at the time were around $850). A few months ago I bought, from another local spot, an East German Makarov for $200.

My point is, if you want something odd ball that used to be cheap, keep an eye on the local shops.

 

[CajunBass]

I saw one at my dealer the other day for $295.00. Now I don't know a thing about which model or arsenal it was other than that it was a Nagant.

I paid...$87.00 for mine I think it was, something like that and it was OK for a "toy." I never even tried to shoot it. Sold it a few years later for $145.00. Don't miss it a bit. Trigger took two men, a boy, and a small dog to pull.

I sure wouldn't pay $400.00 for one, but then, I don't want one. If you do.....

 

[fireman 9731]

To those who own or have shot Nagant revolvers, would you pay $400-$500 for one these days if you didn't have yours when you got it cheap?

No.

I think I paid $99 for mine. They are really interesting and unique. Their value is in their history, not their practicality.

 

[Ryanxia]

I have one. The single action trigger is pretty good but the double action is very heavy because the cylinder is rotating into the barrel.
I had a buddy practically beg me to buy it off him since he knows I love Mosin rifles and I paid $140 for it about 2 years ago. They are definitely a piece of history but other than that I wouldn't put a high value on it. I think $350 is about max I would pay for one if you're a collector like me. The round is light so it's definitely not bad to shoot but I can think of much better things to buy.

 

[Elm Creek Smith]

Mine Nagant is a Tula Arsenal-manufactured piece from 1929, arsenal refinished after WW2. All Soviet-era Nagants were built/converted to DA*. It doesn't take much to make them SA only. (Instructions on how to do it are on the internet somewhere, I'm sure.) From a Russian manual, I learned that you can "reduce" the DA trigger pull by putting a .30 caliber bullet between the front grip frame and the mainspring and remounting the side grip panel. It works; the trigger pull goes from impossible to atrocious.

*(The Red Army considered the Imperial policy of differentiating between officers' guns and NCOs' guns to be to bourgeois for a dictatorship of the proletariat!)

 

[tark]

I got mine from J&G about seven or eight years ago Came with a holster and cleaning rod. $59 was what I paid. Worst D/A trigger on the planet. About 17 or 18 #. The single action was not bad at all, it breaks cleanly at about seven pounds. The cartridge is the most anemic centerfire pistol round I have ever fired. The commercial ammo would NOT reliably penetrate a pine 2X4. The Russian milsurp was about half again as powerful....but horribly corrosive. Accuracy in S/A mode was about grapefruit sized groups at 15 yards. An interesting piece of history but not much of a weapon.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Dangit! I sure wish I could find one for $59!! Lol!!

 

[Proinsias]

$70 in 2008.

I haven't shot it much as ammo is hard to find. You can technically shoot .32 S&W, .32 S&W Long, .32 H&R Mag, and it was surprisingly accurate with Long. It's technically DA, but I didn't realize that at first because the pull is crazy heavy. I pulled a bit and saw no movement, so I assumed it wouldn't fire that way. I'd never shoot it DA with any accuracy.

 

[GBExpat]

In April'15 someone here on THR gave us a Heads-Up regarding $9.99 boxes of commercial 7.62x38r ammo at AmmoToGo.

Ever since, that is all that I have been shooting in my M1895, not that I have shot much at all.

 

[gearhead68]

I bought my 1939 Tula Nagant from AIM Surplus when they were $80. I also bought a set of reloading dies for the Nagant from Lee. I bought virgin 32-20 Starline brass. Put the virgin 32-20 in an electric drill and use a file to turn down the 32-20 rim to the proper diameter. Take the reduced rim 32-20 brass and draw it squarely across a mill file to reduce the thickness of the rim. This modified brass is now ready to run through the Lee Nagant dies. Use small pistol primers in this brass. This brass is too short to do the gas seal with the barrel but will function very well in a standard Nagant and can be reloaded my times. Beware, unmodified 32-20 brass rims can bind up in the Nagant revolver.

Only real men can fire the Nagant in double action since, it seems like the trigger pull is 20 pounds plus. The single action is stiff but doable for old revolver shooters. The Nagant is ugly as sin but built like most Russian weapons - almost impossible to destroy and goes bang every time. It is NOT a target revolver but will get the job done all day long.

My Nagant is in very good condition and I reload using jacketed MI Carbine bullets of 110 Grs over 3.5 Grs of Unique Power. Firing off hand and single action, there is no problem hitting an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper at 15 yards all day long. After your seventh round, it is useful as a club since reloading takes a process by itself.

I'm a shooter and not a collector. I bought it to shoot and have shot it a lot. It is not a real fun gun to shoot but makes you appreciate how guns have improved over the years.
I would think that $150 purchase price on Gunbroker plus the $25 shipping price plus the $25 FFL transfer cost equaling $200 would be all this gun is really worth to up pick and look over every so often.

 

[PabloJ]

Guys I've been wanting a Nagant revolver to go alongside my Tokarev and Makarov. But are the prices worth it these days? A couple years ago you could get one in great shape for under $200. Well I checked the prices on Gunbroker and lo and behold, prices on arsenal refurbished nice condition Nagants is now in the $400-$500 range with accessories. I was bidding on one and it was at $350 and I got outbid and it sold for $425.

So are they worth it? I'm seeing commercial ammo for $0.33 a round so not terrible, and the hotter military surplus stuff for a few cents more (while supplies last obviously). I really should have jumped at the chance when these were still being imported a couple years ago, but I feel like I might be missing out.

To those who own or have shot Nagant revolvers, would you pay $400-$500 for one these days if you didn't have yours when you got it cheap? They seem like neat guns but I hear they have awful triggers.

Thanks!

Considering what one can buy for $400 to $500 or little more paying that for Russian or Soviet era Nagant is not very smart. I don't know who buys them but around here ones in very good to excellent condition with holster and cleaning rod go for $300 to $350,

 

[alexander45]

Dang I did not know those things had gotten up that high, I always liked the way they looked but never had much use for one other than a collectable

 

[MedWheeler]

I'm with you. Even Gander Mountain had them for $150 just a few years back, and they typically price high. What a deal that would be these days.

You and I are going down almost the exact same "Commie-Bloc" handgun road lately, and the "Old Nag" has been, well, nagging on me, too.