I just picked up the Nagant revolver I bought for my son. Theoretically and legally it's still mine of course, until he comes of age. No problem; nothing comes out of the safe unless I'm with it anyway...it's a package deal.
It's a 1936 Tula.. Great condition, except for a little light frosting of the barrel.
It was completely, totally clean and dry when we disassembled it, so I'm assuming it was dipped to get the cosmoline out of it. It came with a holster, lanyard, and two-piece screwdriver, and a cleaning rod that rides in loops on the holster.
It's smaller than it looks; remember, it's basically a .32, with a 4-1/2" barrel. We'll take it shooting as soon as it warms up outside.
Sportsmans Guide has ammo on sale accoding to the mail catalog I got last week.
For now, we just bought a box of H&R .32 Magnum cowboy loads, so we could make it go bang this afternoon (we're just leaving). But it would be nice to see how it handles the stuff it's designed for.
The M1895 Nagant is the ideal handgun to reload for. We use .32-20 brass, with the proper dies from Lee - with the low pressures, the brass lasts forever. Cast lead bullets are cheap, and the Red Dot powder works great.
We currently load about 740FPS. Works great with steel spinner targets, and doesn't damage them like a .22WMR can.
Most I've seen generally shoot a bit high and to one side. A good polish job on the trigger parts will smooth the stiff trigger pull.
Great little revolver, and loads of fun!
__________________ If you actually passed third grade English, let it show!
Adult Literacy is your friend.
Nice little pistol; wasn't overly impressed but can't beat the price on them. I am actually up in the air whether I want it or not. If someone offered me what I paid for it I'd probably let it go.
Let us know how it shoots.
__________________ Never explain with conspiracy what can easily be explained with incompetance!
Nice little pistol; wasn't overly impressed but can't beat the price on them. I am actually up in the air whether I want it or not. If someone offered me what I paid for it I'd probably let it go.
Let us know how it shoots.
Well, I know it's a Nagant...I meant what year, what condition, wood or bakelite grips, etc. And what did you pay for it?
Oh yes: the range report. Since it was my son's gun, he shot up most of the box, and he's inexperienced with a handgun. The best I can say is that he didn't kill or wound any of us; his shots all went down-range.
I used one cylinder load, and scared a beer can thoroughly at 25 yards without actually touching it, shooting one-handed. My nephew showed me up: also shooting one-handed, he proved it shoots high by using up three shots before actually touching a paper target at the same distance, then put the next four into a four-inch group slightly left and high of the bullseye.
We were shooting .32 H&R Magnum cowboy reloads, and I think they must have been loaded with chimney soot. Everything in sight was throughly blackened, including the front of the brass. The cylinder chambers are tapered, and the brass expanded to fit them about to the halfway point, then tapered back in to the bases. I suppose a couple more reloads might roughly shape them to the bore...but I think it's time to take the dog's advice, buy some reloading equipment, and start making our own out of .32-20 brass.
The pistol was comfortable to hold. Curiously, it pointed reasonably well for both my nephew and me right-handed, but was way off left-handed (I'm left-handed, but wound up shooting it right-handed for that reason). The grips seem to be somewhat assymetrical. I don't know whether they were designed that way, or whether it was just due to the vagaries of manufacture in the Soviet Union.
Double-action was a joke, obviously. Single-action had a heavy pull, but a crisp trigger. It didn't really have any slack to take up; I just started applying pressure, and at a certain point it would go.
As I said, the gun was bone-dry when we got it. We oiled it here and there, but I think it would help a lot to follow the advice I saw somewhere on the internet: take the side-plate off and hit everything in sight with a spray lube, one with a solvent that dries off leaving a film of moly and graphite. After all, there are more moving parts in there than the average revolver has.
Interesting note: the block which cams the cylinder forward also seems to act like a transfer bar. So unlike many old revolvers, it should be safe to carry on a full chamber.
I followed up on the SOG ammo, Joe. Looks like they still have it. I'll order some this weekend, after the money-tree bears fruit again.
The M1895 Nagant is the ideal handgun to reload for. We use .32-20 brass, with the proper dies from Lee - with the low pressures, the brass lasts forever. Cast lead bullets are cheap, and the Red Dot powder works great.
We currently load about 740FPS. Works great with steel spinner targets, and doesn't damage them like a .22WMR can.
Most I've seen generally shoot a bit high and to one side. A good polish job on the trigger parts will smooth the stiff trigger pull.
Great little revolver, and loads of fun!
Mine's a 44 Tula? (arrow in triangle). I paid $129 for it about 4 years ago when they were first imported. Very light to shoot and mine was dead on but shot about 1" low at 35 feet. Have actually considered buying more of them at the $80 they're asking for them now.
Trigger pull!; them ruskies were'nt girly men!
__________________ Never explain with conspiracy what can easily be explained with incompetance!
Last edited by SPOCAHP ANAR; 01-18-2007 at 08:50 PM.
Mine's a 44 Tula? (arrow in triangle). I paid $129 for it about 4 years ago when they were first imported. Very light to shoot and mine was dead on but shot about 1" low at 35 feet. Have actually considered buying more of them at the $80 they're asking for them now.
Trigger pull!; them ruskies were'nt girly men!
I guess if you drank enough of it, you might not notice your trigger was trying to cut your finger in two.
For $129.00, I'd probably rather take my chances on another $89.00 one instead, or look around for an older one; would be nice to find one of the original Belgian-suppied revolvers (not holding my breath; blue isn't really my color).
The triangle would be an Izhevsk marking, to the best of my knowledge; Tula used an arrow within a star after 1928 and a hammer before, while izhevsk had a bow and arrow before 1928.
If I get another stiff one, maybe I'll fill it with toothpaste and work it until my hands are about to fall off. That should polish every moving part in it...
Troy, the .32-20 brass is a bit short, and the gas seal doesn't work. Shoots fine though. Starline makes brass for the Nagant, but it was proven too short for proper gas seal too. The brass needs to be the full length of the cylinder with the bullets fully recessed in the case to seal. But reloading can be very simple and effective.
__________________ If you actually passed third grade English, let it show!
Adult Literacy is your friend.
just last year I bought a nagant revolver dated 1901 (105 err.. 106 years old!! mr. revolver) And it can still hit paper at 50 yds. good deal too $175 can't wait to get more ammo...
Troy- I picked one of those up also and have shot it a bit. The ammo is a bit pricy but it is also quite unique when you look at it with its set back inside the case projectile. The front of the casing is used to seal the cylinder/barrel gap, sort of. To think anyone in their right mind carried this underpowered thing into combat is to understand the type of fool that embraces communism! What idiots!
However, the design is intesting and a great addition to anyones collection, The cylinder advancing when the happer is cocked, to encompus the rear of the barrel in an attempt to capture more of the cartridge chamber gases, rather than let them vent off as they do in normal revolvers is to say the least creative. I wonder how effective it really was to increasing projectile velocity & ft. lbs. of energy? To think that they put all that engineering genius into this junk rather than develope a simple blow back auto pistol is almost funny. Oh well, these same guys believed Marks and Lenon too.
You have to admit that to remember that they could comtemplate this idea,... and do the machine work to make it sort of work, is neat. It tells worlds about the machinists of that time in the world. They built this stuff with files and slip sticks,... not computers and CNC machines! Anyway, In a gun fight,... stick to a .380 or better!
Remember: YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TO MANY GUNS!
Mine has a double-action trigger pull that would challenge King Kong! The single-action pull is better, at about 6 lbs or so. Not exactly IPSC-ready, but OK for a service pistol built in 1945.
Location: "...upon the east bank of Big Blue River, a mile or two north of the point where that stream crosses the Michigan road"
Posts: 2,167
Okay, I jumped on the band wagon today. I went to my local gun shop just to look(....yeah, right!). They've got a whole batch of these little beauties. I had the sales person dig looking for a '42 Izhevsk to match my 91/30, but had to settle for a '44 Izhevsk. It was $129 and included the same accessory kit as others on the forum have been describing. A pretty good bargan for a piece of history.
The sales guy turned a pale white when I told what I'd heard about shooting .32 H & R. If I understand correctly, these are 7.62mm not 7.65mm. So do these shave lead when shooting a slightly oversized bullet? I think as long as the correct ammo is available, I'll go that route. They had the good stuff priced at $29 for 50 rounds.
It appears to be unfired and has the darker wood handle. I'll post pictures after I pick it up.
__________________
"An armed society is a polite society." -- Uncle Ted quoting Robert Heinlein to Piers Morgan 2013
mr. revolver) And it can still hit paper at 50 yds. good deal too $175 can't wait to get more ammo...
