Nagant revolver

[Nobade]

Not sure if this is better off here or in the handgun room, but it involves black powder so here I am. I want to give props to nwellons for his encouragement on this topic, he is right on.

The Nagant revolver makes a really good black powder repeating handgun! If you don't have one, I recommend getting one while they are just $100. I got some Privi brass from Graf's, used a combination of my 32-20 and 30 Carbine die sets to load ammo, (32-20 shell holder and expander die, 30 carbine sizer, and 30 carb taper crimp die) and an arbor press to seat the boolits. The cases hold 17gr. KIK FFFg (same as my 32 H&R) under a Ideal #3118 seated flush with the case mouth.

I fired a whole box of 50 rounds through my new revolver, and the gas seal really works. It kept the fouling inside the barrel and I had no problem with the gun getting sticky. It ran the same at the end as it did in the beginning. Accuracy at 25 yards held at about 2 inches offhand - better than most all of my handguns. Velocity ran right at 875 fps, not too bad for a little pipsqueek. The sights even are regulated correctly and it is hard to miss a pop can or tennis ball on the ground.

Clean up is nothing - wet patch down the bore, toothbrush on the front of the cylinder, Ballistol on everything and it's done. No fouling anywhere else, it stays clean.

This thing is amazingly entertaining to shoot, and I am quite impressed with the thinking that went into the design to control the fouling. I think it is the most fun I have had shooting a handgun in years. The fact that you can get as good or better performance from it with black powder as you can with smokeless due to the very low pressure it's rated for is just another bonus!

[nwellons]

Thanks, nobade

Now is the time to pick one of the cheap Nagants up. Sturdy, accurate enough, inexpensive, and excellent with the gas seal to keep black powder where it belongs - in the chamber and bore.

I only shoot black powder in my two Nagants.

[MikeS]

ok, so where do you find these cheap Nagants?

[Nobade]

I got mine from AIM surplus, but lots of places have them now. Graf's does, J&G sales, and plenty of others I'm not aware of. There are also lots of them on Gunbroker, but they're probably more expensive. I haven't checked recently.

[cajun shooter]

My brother in law just purchased two of them from Cabela's for just a very small amount. I gave him some old 32 S&W I had to shoot in it.
It's weird to watch the cylinder move forward to seal the chamber when the trigger is pulled.

[nwellons]

Here is an action shot. You can see there is no flash in the cylinder gap when it fires.

[Nobade]

That's some good timing on the picture! It's obvious why the fouling doesn't get all over everything.

Say Cajun Shooter, tell your BOL to get some of the proper brass from Graf's while he still can. You can fire 32 S&W an other cartridges in these revolvers but it really won't work well. The real brass isn't very expensive and makes them work like they are supposed to, which is quite good especially when loaded with black powder.

[Maven]

Nobade, et al., Refresh my memory, are those revolvers double action only?

[slim1836]

I bought ammo for my Nagant at Cabelas. Have also used .32 S&W through it but accuracy is not good.

Weapon can be used as single or double action.

Slim

[Ramar]

I bought mine at Century International Arms and I also got the extra cylinder for it in different caliber. I can't remember; maybe .32 s&w.

15 + years I've had it and sad to say I haven't fired it yet. I did a complete strip down and it's like new condition. I think it's a 1916 mfg. date.

Ramar

[montana_charlie]

Not sure if this is better off here or in the handgun room, but it involves black powder so here I am.
According to Waksupi, "This forum is for sharing information on loading for BPCR type rifles."

But, I don't remember ever seeing any pistol shooter chased away if he was trying to figure out a black powder load ... even for modern calibers like .38 Special.

CM

[I'll Make Mine]

I bought mine at Century International Arms and I also got the extra cylinder for it in different caliber. I can't remember; maybe .32 s&w.

I've seen video of a Russian Nagant revolver with a .32 ACP cylinder (six shots instead of seven in the original chambering); seemed to work okay, but I wouldn't expect much for accuracy with the bullet jumping better than an inch and a half before it finds rifling. The cases headspace on the mouth, and the ejector rod gets them out easily. You could probably get a .32 S&W cylinder made up, but I doubt it would work any better and .32 ACP ammunition is a lot easier to find (though you could probably also use .32 H&R Mag and still be within the pressure of military loads in factory Nagant cases -- there's room in the cylinder for .327 Federal, but I wouldn't...).

If you really, really can't find Nagant brass, there are a number of positive reports around on forming brass from .32-20 -- you have to either thin the rim of the .32-20 by a tiny amount on each case, or have a tiny amount taken off the surface behind the cylinder (on the plug that pushes the cylinder into "seal" position, I forget what it's called). The .32-20 is too short to seal, but that lets you load the bullet at the case mouth and actually (if so inclined) crimp.