1895 Nagant - 7.62N or 32 ACP?

[ilcop22]

Evening,

I'm a big Mosin Nagant fan, so when my tax "refund" came in, I decided it was time to add the 1895 Nagant revolver to my collection. It seems as though I have very narrow, limited options when it comes to reloading the 7.62 Nagant round from what I've read online. Lee makes a die set, but suggests only using Starline brass. Other die sets are out of my price range. The alternative is to buy a .32 ACP cylinder and swap that out. .32 ACP is definitely cheaper to reload, but the cylinder almost costs as much as the revolver itself. I've also read you can shoot the 32 S&W and 32 H&R from it, but it seems there's a split in the community as to whether that's safe or not. Any thoughts or experiences with this revolver?

[zaphod042]

I've got one and opted to go with the Lee die set and Starline .32-20 brass. Its fun to shoot but the double action trigger is pretty heavy. The lee die set converts .32-20 brass to 7.62 Nagant so the brass is a lot cheaper to get than using original 7.62 Nagant. Do a search on youtube for 1895 Nagant and check it out.

[ilcop22]

I had been looking into the Lee die. Glad to know you've had success.

I did some more Googling and came across some great CB threads, including this one:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=141657
Which ultimately lead to this one:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=136472
Which brought me to this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-Vej1DUHSE&list=UUbINzgctsnkUyuco9zyZBVg&index=59&feature=plcp

I now have my answer. Thank you.

[azrednek]

I've shot hundreds of 32 S&W, both short and long in my Nagant revolver. The only H&R Mag I ever shot were very mild hand loads using 32 Long data. Back in the mid 70's through the early 80's I used to find 32 S&W ammo cheap at gun shows. I used to get partial boxes or loose 32 S&W dirt cheap. Finding it now is a lucky find and it is no longer cheap. The 32 S&W brass at least in my experience is usually destroyed and not reloadable after shooting it in a Nagant. J&G was and possibly still is, selling Fiochii 32 S&W Long with flush seated lead wad cutters for a good price. I got two boxes but haven't had a chance yet to try it in my Nagant.

[Who's this Guy ?]

Don't buy a .32acp cyl. unless your ready for the possibility to fit it or have it fitted to your gun.
I never done it myself but I have heard of the .32 SW long shot out of the Nagant. I also heard of a trick to prevent case splitting of the brass by wrapping clear tape around it. That also takes up some of the loosness in the cyl. Again I never tried it. So I don't recommend it.

[leadman]

I shoot one of these.

With the price of ammo down to reasonable levels there is no reason to use the incorrect ammo. Privi makes some that is selling from $20 to $29 a box of 50. Cabela's recently had it on sale.

The Lee die set will sork to load the original case with a slight modification. To push the bullet into the case like the original the seater plug will need to be turned down so it will go thru the restriction in the die about 1/2" to 3/4". The seater die will turn the end of the case in enough so the case mouth will enter the cylinder and seal the gas.

I made a taper die to put a taper on the mouth of the case like the original Russian ammo has. I think this will improve accuracy as sometimes the crimp used by Privi and Fiochi does no straighten out when fired. I think this is deforming the bullet some.

I did velocity tests with cases shortened to cylinder length and normal length. There was almost 200fps lost with the shorter brass.

Graf & Sons does have empty brass for sale at times on their website.

[jh45gun]

I shot factory 32 mag in mine all the time with no issues. It deforms the case a bit but no big deal and I suspect a sizing die would put them right back into shape. Do not have one anymore but at one time I had two of them and shot both the 32 long and 32 mag in them.

[azrednek]

I also heard of a trick to prevent case splitting of the brass by wrapping clear tape around it. That also takes up some of the loosness in the cyl. Again I never tried it. So I don't recommend it.

I tried that. It will help preserve the brass but extraction is very difficult. Have to admit I never tried clear tape. I was advised to use medical adhesive or black electrician's tape. If I remember correctly. It was one layer with white tape and 2 or 3 with black. It has been well over 20 years since I tried it. Before I knew of Teflon plumber's tape which may also work and make extraction a bit easier.


I shoot one of these.
With the price of ammo down to reasonable levels there is no reason to use the incorrect ammo.

I'm 100% in agreement with Leadman. Back in the 70 and 80's when I was shooting mine there was no alternative as 762 Nagant revolver ammo was nearly impossible to find.

[x101airborne]

Check out my thread "Economy with the 7.62 Nagant".

Great fun to shoot. I used the lee die set and 32-20 brass. A slight modification to the weapon made it a GREAT, cheap little plinker. I liked it so much, I am looking for a few more.

My load was a 95gr SWC, 32-20 brass, standard primer, 3 grains Red Dot. Barely broke sound barrier (that is a guess without using a chrony). Would shoot right under 3/4 inch groups at 25 yards off bags. And it hit EXACTLY to point of aim. I have some new 22 rifles that are not that accurate.

[Black Wolf]

Here's what I do. I use the actual Nagant brass and reload it with a cast bullet.
http://www.surplusfirearm.com/2011/06/04/reloading-the-7-62-nagant-revolver/

[ilcop22]

Check out my thread "Economy with the 7.62 Nagant".

Your thread is listed in post #3 - It's the way I've decided to go with this, so thanks!