1895 nagant
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cleardiddion
Member
Fun little guns with awful DA pulls.
Last one I had clocked out right around 21lbs.
As for the ammo, indeed 7.62 Nagant is a bit hard to find at times but availability is getting much better.
Also, keep in mind that it'll eat up .32 S&W, .32 S&W Long, and .32 H&R Mag.
The last one is what mine at up best.
Hope this helps a tad!
Last one I had clocked out right around 21lbs.
As for the ammo, indeed 7.62 Nagant is a bit hard to find at times but availability is getting much better.
Also, keep in mind that it'll eat up .32 S&W, .32 S&W Long, and .32 H&R Mag.
The last one is what mine at up best.
Hope this helps a tad!
AethelstanAegen
Member
Yup, I've got one. It was my first "wheel gun" and got me a little hooked on revolvers. It obviously wouldn't be my first choice for defense (though has taken a few pests of the squirrel variety) but I like mine quite a bit. I found it to be a fun gun to shoot and the price is certainly right. The ammo can be a bit difficult to find but you can run alternate ammo through them (though I haven't bothered to yet). For me it's a fun, cheap, historical piece that I do bring out and shoot but it doesn't see nearly as much use as one of my carry pistols, so the ammo issue hasn't been a real problem for me. I just tack on a few boxes to larger ammo orders in different calibers.
Stainz
Member
Keep in mind that the Nagant's 7.62 x 38r cartridge is tapered, a la an M1 Carbine (Never use that in one!), so expect your straight wall .32 cases to be bulged - maybe even split - to the point they cannot be reloaded. The Nagant's pushrod SA-style ejector rod is helpful here. I wouldn't use .32 H&RM ammo - too stout, especially knowing it'll bulge. The new Serbian-made 'Hot Shot' Nagant ammo is affordable - ~$25/50 - and fits perfectly. Another forum, which deals with oddball firearms, actually has a great 1895 Nagant sub-forum - great resource.
Yeah, I have a few of them - actually got my C&R ffl to have them shipped here. You can clean up their innards - and get that DA pull down to 20 lb, but that's about it. SA is a bit better, but not substantially. Great example of the Belgian Nagant brothers' Victorian engineering.
Stainz
Yeah, I have a few of them - actually got my C&R ffl to have them shipped here. You can clean up their innards - and get that DA pull down to 20 lb, but that's about it. SA is a bit better, but not substantially. Great example of the Belgian Nagant brothers' Victorian engineering.
Stainz
mortablunt
Member
The Nagant is a surprisingly cheap piece. It's technically very interesting and also very reliable. It's original cartridge isn't very powerful by modern standards, but as they say with revolvers, if it fits in the hole, then you can shoot it. The pull is a pain, being a double action. The price isn't too bad, so snap them up while you can.
jahwarrior
Member
another fun fact: they can be fitted for suppressors, and when using the 7.62 round, sounds like you're shooting an airsoft pistol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvF4yurWSc0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvF4yurWSc0
VancMike
Member
I bought both the revolver and an extra .32 ACP cylinder, but have never fitted the ACP cylinder. Using Lee dies, and Starline 32-20 brass, this is probably the easiest cartridge conversion I've ever done. Just pull the handle on the sizing die and you're done.
I'm not sure why Starline is the only recommended brass; I've never tried another brand; Google will help finding brass.
The converted 32-20 brass is shorter than factory loaded, consequently, the "seal" promised by the Nagant design doesn't occur. "Experts" tell us the seal is of doubtful virtue.
However, we might as well make the attempt. You can load either lead or jacketed bullets out so that they extend slightly beyond the cylinder mouth, just like the factory cartridges do. Since there's extra room there, the cylinder will rotate, but with each shot, the bullet will extend into the barrel, thus compensating some for the shorter brass. Now I know the brass still isn't sealing the cylinder gap, but it makes me feel like I did something, OK?!!
You'll have to play around with each particular bullet to figure out how far out to seat. I load 32 ACP bullets: Remington 71 gr., Hornady 100 gr. XTP, Cast Performance 95 gr. LFN and Rainier Lead Safe 100 gr. PFN.
I've not tried .308 bullets in fired afore-mentioned Serbian ammo....most of the .308 bullets are intended for Tokarev, and are 85-86 gr. When I get serious, I'll look for .309-.310 100 gr. LRN somewhere.
Of those bullets I've tried, The Rainier bullet was the most accurate; my theory is that even with the plating, it's the softest lead. But I don't have a hardness tester so I'm willing to be corrected on that score. In any case, with the mild velocities of the Nagant, one certainly doesn't need hard cast or heavy jacketed bullets.
I use Green Dot and W231. A pound of either powder would load enough cartridges to fight the "Glorious Revolution" ....maybe on both sides....over again....
I'm not sure why Starline is the only recommended brass; I've never tried another brand; Google will help finding brass.
The converted 32-20 brass is shorter than factory loaded, consequently, the "seal" promised by the Nagant design doesn't occur. "Experts" tell us the seal is of doubtful virtue.
However, we might as well make the attempt. You can load either lead or jacketed bullets out so that they extend slightly beyond the cylinder mouth, just like the factory cartridges do. Since there's extra room there, the cylinder will rotate, but with each shot, the bullet will extend into the barrel, thus compensating some for the shorter brass. Now I know the brass still isn't sealing the cylinder gap, but it makes me feel like I did something, OK?!!
You'll have to play around with each particular bullet to figure out how far out to seat. I load 32 ACP bullets: Remington 71 gr., Hornady 100 gr. XTP, Cast Performance 95 gr. LFN and Rainier Lead Safe 100 gr. PFN.
I've not tried .308 bullets in fired afore-mentioned Serbian ammo....most of the .308 bullets are intended for Tokarev, and are 85-86 gr. When I get serious, I'll look for .309-.310 100 gr. LRN somewhere.
Of those bullets I've tried, The Rainier bullet was the most accurate; my theory is that even with the plating, it's the softest lead. But I don't have a hardness tester so I'm willing to be corrected on that score. In any case, with the mild velocities of the Nagant, one certainly doesn't need hard cast or heavy jacketed bullets.
I use Green Dot and W231. A pound of either powder would load enough cartridges to fight the "Glorious Revolution" ....maybe on both sides....over again....
Princi
Member
Fantastic revolver for the money. I'm glad someone posted the DA trigger pull because it was way off the scale on my gun and I always wondered what the pull was. I've only shot mine in SA mode.
I was amazed, considering the heavy trigger pull (even in SA mode), how accurately that I shot it.
I've had no problem getting ammo for it, but the ammo that I got was corrisive, so I had to take care in cleaning it afterward.
I was amazed, considering the heavy trigger pull (even in SA mode), how accurately that I shot it.
I've had no problem getting ammo for it, but the ammo that I got was corrisive, so I had to take care in cleaning it afterward.
Stainz
Member
Fiocchi makes similar ammo for the Nagants, but the Serbian-made 'prvi partizan' ammo described as '7,62 mm Nagant FPJ' with a bullet of 98 gr ('6,35 gm'), is less expensive and available. It is the same OAL cartridge as the Fiocchi and the Russian Target ammo, seemingly, no longer available - crimped at the front - ahead of the nearly flush mounted plated wadcutter. The cartridge extends over the inverse b/c gap, effectively sealing the gap from pressure loss, while expanding the thin cartridge mouth. The result is that, as the trigger is released, the cylinder goes back to rest, pulling the expanded case mouth from the barrel entrance.
Shorter cased ammo - like the modified .32-20 cases and .32 S&WL - don't bridge the gap. The modified .32-20 cases fall out - the bulged .32 S&WL cases need the SA-style ejector rod to punch them free. BTW, better than the steel 7.62 Nagant Lee die, which needs lube, is the Lee carbide M1 Carbine die - no lube! I further modify my mixed .32-20 brass by turning .024" off the rim's OD in a Taig micro-lathe - and sand away .010" of rim thickness with 1,000 grit SiC W/D paper. The latter can be ommitted - if you find a spare breech block and remove .010" from it. Save the OEM parts - shooting factory ammo is more fun.
When you manage to pull the Nagant trigger in DA, the cylinder rotates 1/7 th of a revolution, bringing up the next of seven chambers and pushes the cylinder against a returning spring so that th b/c gap closes (The barrel entrance is convex; the cylinder exits are concave.) and brings up a breech block on the back of the cylinder, so the cartridge will stay put during ignition and cocks the hammer's wishbone leaf spring then the hammer, with it's long snout of a firing pin, drops and the cartidge fires. The whole action is held together by one screw - which can trap that hammer spring so the trigger assembly can be removed. The parts are serialized and hand-fitted - and generally, not interchangeable. Additionally, I have never found an aftermarket .32 ACP which would fit any of my Nagants. Besides, .32 ACP ammo isn't cheap - and it is more anemic! The Serbian ammo is appropriate - and my current choice. My homebrews, with Meister 100gr .312" LDEWC, are too much trouble to make.
Stainz
Shorter cased ammo - like the modified .32-20 cases and .32 S&WL - don't bridge the gap. The modified .32-20 cases fall out - the bulged .32 S&WL cases need the SA-style ejector rod to punch them free. BTW, better than the steel 7.62 Nagant Lee die, which needs lube, is the Lee carbide M1 Carbine die - no lube! I further modify my mixed .32-20 brass by turning .024" off the rim's OD in a Taig micro-lathe - and sand away .010" of rim thickness with 1,000 grit SiC W/D paper. The latter can be ommitted - if you find a spare breech block and remove .010" from it. Save the OEM parts - shooting factory ammo is more fun.
When you manage to pull the Nagant trigger in DA, the cylinder rotates 1/7 th of a revolution, bringing up the next of seven chambers and pushes the cylinder against a returning spring so that th b/c gap closes (The barrel entrance is convex; the cylinder exits are concave.) and brings up a breech block on the back of the cylinder, so the cartridge will stay put during ignition and cocks the hammer's wishbone leaf spring then the hammer, with it's long snout of a firing pin, drops and the cartidge fires. The whole action is held together by one screw - which can trap that hammer spring so the trigger assembly can be removed. The parts are serialized and hand-fitted - and generally, not interchangeable. Additionally, I have never found an aftermarket .32 ACP which would fit any of my Nagants. Besides, .32 ACP ammo isn't cheap - and it is more anemic! The Serbian ammo is appropriate - and my current choice. My homebrews, with Meister 100gr .312" LDEWC, are too much trouble to make.
Stainz
AethelstanAegen
Member
+1 to the Prvi Partizan ammo. It's pretty much all I shoot in my Nagant and I've been very happy with it (I also use their ammo in other calibers with the same result). I know RGuns has some of the original Russian ammo but it's sold at a premium and I doubt worth the extra price.
Sergei Mosin
Member
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The original Russian ammunition is loaded hotter than the Prvi - but as it's both corrosive and more expensive and I just shoot my Nagant for fun, I don't see the point in buying the surplus ammo. Go for the Prvi.
Stainz
Member
I have never seen, much less shot, any of the original Nagant ammo. The only Russian ammo I have found was the white boxed 40 rd boxes of 'target' ammo - clean, but slow. I haven't seen it in a while - the surplus sellers had it several years back at ~$14/40. Slow - it always had a low SD. EX: 592 fps +/-6 fps. The Fiocchi ammo made 690 fps +/-9 fps. My Meister 100gr LDEWC's, crimped at the top groove and loaded in my modified .32-20 cases over 2.5 gr Titegroup yielded 700 fps +/-17 fps. Magtech 98gr LRN .32 S&WL made 628 fps +/-23 fps - and bulged & split it's cases. I didn't chrono the new prvi partizan ammo, but it hits coincident POI/POA at 12-15 yd - like my homebrews - a bit better than the Fiocchi ammo. It's my choice for future ammo - if it stays available.
Interesting sidenote - Starline briefly made shortened 1895 Nagant brass!
Stainz
Interesting sidenote - Starline briefly made shortened 1895 Nagant brass!
Stainz
http://www.rguns.net/ammo.shtml
Scroll down they have surplus Nagant ammo for sale, not sure if it's the target loads or not.
Scroll down they have surplus Nagant ammo for sale, not sure if it's the target loads or not.
Quiet
Member
Even with the horrible very heavy double-action trigger pull, I like my 1929 Tula M1895 Nagant. Cost me $100 OTD.
Current production (Prvi Partisan & Fiocchi) 7.62x38mmR Nagant ammo are target loads (in teh .32S&W Long power range) and anemic when compared to the original Russian/Soviet military ammo (in the .32H&R Magnum power range).
My 1929 Tula M1895 Nagant.
Current production (Prvi Partisan & Fiocchi) 7.62x38mmR Nagant ammo are target loads (in teh .32S&W Long power range) and anemic when compared to the original Russian/Soviet military ammo (in the .32H&R Magnum power range).
My 1929 Tula M1895 Nagant.
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