Handled my first Nagant revolver today

Cyrano · 02-27-2008, 07:20 PM

I was at a gun shop in the next county (it's a fair drive but the place just feels right and they have great ammo prices) today and I got to handle a Nagant 1895 revolver for the first time.

Jeez, they're ugly. The machining was rough as hell, and if I didn't know Nagant designed it that way, I'd swear the loading gate had been bubba'd. The grip actually isn't too bad, but the trigger was heavy as pure neutronium even in single-action mode. The shop owner swears they actually shoot pretty well - he owns one - and even has the correct ammo for them. But for reasons I don't understand he has them priced at $175.

That price IMHO is a long way beyond absurd, given you can find them on the internet for $79 with cleaning kit, lanyard and holster and he was throwing nothing in. Considering that for the same price I could get a PA-63 and a bunch of ammo even allowing for S&H and the transfer fee, I think his price is out to lunch somewhere. The one virtue the Nagant revolver has going for it is simplicity. It has so few parts almost nothing can go wrong with it. (Just be sure to keep a pencil in your pocket so you can poke out the spent cases when it comes time to reload.) But that's not enough for me to get a pistol that fires a hard to find round when I can go down the street and buy a used .38 Special revolver from another gunshop that at least has the virtue of easy to get ammo. for $100 OTD.

I think I'll wait awhile and see if one turns up at a gun show with a reality-based price on it - like maybe a throw-in when you buy a 91/30!

ArkansasHunter · 02-27-2008, 07:23 PM

LMAO ! Well said Cyrano .

squirrelbaster · 02-27-2008, 07:24 PM

at the gun shows around here you can easly buy a 91/30 and a nagont revolver sepritly for that price out the door

SwedeSteve · 02-27-2008, 08:37 PM

Good judgement Cyr !!

just_a_car · 02-28-2008, 04:14 AM

You can also buy a .32ACP 7-shot cylinder for them: GunBroker.com: 32ACP cylinder for 1895 Nagant Revolver 32 auto
$75 + $12.95 shipping = $87.95

It gets relisted if it does or doesn't sell, so don't pay more than that price... if it gets bid-on, just wait until it's relisted.

Might make finding ammo easier, but certainly not cheaper, compared to the surplus.

Edit: forgot, J&G has 'em also for a bit cheaper ($69.95)... depending on location, it might work out better with shipping: Russian 1895 32ACP Nagant Cylinder, replacement part.

texnmidwest · 02-28-2008, 05:53 AM

Thanks for the info everyone. I was thinking about getting one of these revolvers but was having a hard time ordering something I had not handled before. 32 acp. seems like the way to go. But, that does increase the overall cost of the revolver. I have a walther PP in 32 that I love to shoot. So maybe having a revolver that shoots the same thing would be a plus.

Big Dog · 02-28-2008, 06:26 PM

The Nagant is a plinker's dream! Great little gun if you handload for it. We use re-formed .32-20 brass and Red Dot powder - with the low pressure, the brass lasts forever!
The pre-WWII pistols are a bit better finished. The earlier the manufacture date, the higher the price. I wouldn't pay more than $80 for a WWII model.
Thinning the hammer spring can tame the hefty trigger pull.

Not a good defense piece - but a fun and funky little handgun.

toolman · 02-28-2008, 06:58 PM

The only way one would be worth that price would be if it was one of the single-action models. FWIW, they're much more complicated than a standard double-action revolver due to the gas-seal feature. This is also what makes the trigger pull so horrible.

just_a_car · 02-28-2008, 06:58 PM

Also, it's the perfect candidate for threading the barrel for a sound suppressor (which was done by the KGB). Due to the cylinder sealing to the rear part of the barrel, you don't have any gas exhaust and no ejection; all the gas goes out the muzzle and gets suppressed.

texnmidwest · 02-28-2008, 07:56 PM

Help! Help! I'm being surpressed!

Rest in Peace Monty Python. Camelot will never be the same.

SwedeSteve · 02-28-2008, 08:44 PM

LOL Tex!

02-27-2008, 07:20 PM	#1
Cyrano Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New York Posts: 2,298	Handled my first Nagant revolver today I was at a gun shop in the next county (it's a fair drive but the place just feels right and they have great ammo prices) today and I got to handle a Nagant 1895 revolver for the first time. Jeez, they're ugly. The machining was rough as hell, and if I didn't know Nagant designed it that way, I'd swear the loading gate had been bubba'd. The grip actually isn't too bad, but the trigger was heavy as pure neutronium even in single-action mode. The shop owner swears they actually shoot pretty well - he owns one - and even has the correct ammo for them. But for reasons I don't understand he has them priced at $175. That price IMHO is a long way beyond absurd, given you can find them on the internet for $79 with cleaning kit, lanyard and holster and he was throwing nothing in. Considering that for the same price I could get a PA-63 and a bunch of ammo even allowing for S&H and the transfer fee, I think his price is out to lunch somewhere. The one virtue the Nagant revolver has going for it is simplicity. It has so few parts almost nothing can go wrong with it. (Just be sure to keep a pencil in your pocket so you can poke out the spent cases when it comes time to reload.) But that's not enough for me to get a pistol that fires a hard to find round when I can go down the street and buy a used .38 Special revolver from another gunshop that at least has the virtue of easy to get ammo. for $100 OTD. I think I'll wait awhile and see if one turns up at a gun show with a reality-based price on it - like maybe a throw-in when you buy a 91/30!

02-27-2008, 08:37 PM	#4
SwedeSteve Bullet Maintenance !! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: The anchor point, Alaska Posts: 10,306 Images: 1	Good judgement Cyr !! __________________ Thank God we don't get as much Government as we pay for! -Will Rogers

02-28-2008, 04:14 AM	#5
just_a_car Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Edmonds, WA Posts: 3,515	You can also buy a .32ACP 7-shot cylinder for them: GunBroker.com: 32ACP cylinder for 1895 Nagant Revolver 32 auto $75 + $12.95 shipping = $87.95 It gets relisted if it does or doesn't sell, so don't pay more than that price... if it gets bid-on, just wait until it's relisted. Might make finding ammo easier, but certainly not cheaper, compared to the surplus. Edit: forgot, J&G has 'em also for a bit cheaper ($69.95)... depending on location, it might work out better with shipping: Russian 1895 32ACP Nagant Cylinder, replacement part. __________________ Last edited by just_a_car; 02-28-2008 at 04:54 AM.

02-28-2008, 05:53 AM	#6
texnmidwest Listen to yur Inner Hippo Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: South east Wisconsin Posts: 3,403	Thanks for the info everyone. I was thinking about getting one of these revolvers but was having a hard time ordering something I had not handled before. 32 acp. seems like the way to go. But, that does increase the overall cost of the revolver. I have a walther PP in 32 that I love to shoot. So maybe having a revolver that shoots the same thing would be a plus. __________________ "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (If all else fails play dead)

02-28-2008, 06:26 PM	#7
Big Dog Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Tallahassee, Florida Posts: 10,208	The Nagant is a plinker's dream! Great little gun if you handload for it. We use re-formed .32-20 brass and Red Dot powder - with the low pressure, the brass lasts forever! The pre-WWII pistols are a bit better finished. The earlier the manufacture date, the higher the price. I wouldn't pay more than $80 for a WWII model. Thinning the hammer spring can tame the hefty trigger pull. Not a good defense piece - but a fun and funky little handgun. __________________ Moderator of: AR15/M16, M14/M1A, New/Beginning Shooters and Militaria/Collectables.

02-27-2008, 07:23 PM	#2
ArkansasHunter Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: South Arkansas Posts: 10,684	LMAO ! Well said Cyrano .

02-27-2008, 07:24 PM	#3
squirrelbaster Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Ohio Posts: 2,237	at the gun shows around here you can easly buy a 91/30 and a nagont revolver sepritly for that price out the door

02-28-2008, 06:58 PM	#8
toolman Mr. Fixit Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: abilene,tx Posts: 5,569 Blog Entries: 22	The only way one would be worth that price would be if it was one of the single-action models. FWIW, they're much more complicated than a standard double-action revolver due to the gas-seal feature. This is also what makes the trigger pull so horrible. __________________ Don't be messin' with my gun!

02-28-2008, 07:56 PM	#10
texnmidwest Listen to yur Inner Hippo Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: South east Wisconsin Posts: 3,403	Help! Help! I'm being surpressed! Rest in Peace Monty Python. Camelot will never be the same. __________________ "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (If all else fails play dead)

02-28-2008, 08:44 PM	#11
SwedeSteve Bullet Maintenance !! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: The anchor point, Alaska Posts: 10,306 Images: 1	LOL Tex! __________________ Thank God we don't get as much Government as we pay for! -Will Rogers