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Cabela's has a shipment of M1895 Nagants in at the moment for $149.00 with an imitation leather holster. I only looked at one and it looked in decent shape but was probably an arsenal refinish. The big drawback was a nasty looking large import marking. The one I looked at was dated 1941.
I thought about picking one up but figured I'd research it a bit first, they have 18 of them in the Hamburg store.
Did some looking around and from the looks of things $149 is a bit high for one of these right now although with shipping and FFL transfer fee it's probably break even. I may still get one as I can get it for free at Cabelas because of my points. Reviews seem to say it is a good reliable revolver that's main drawback is difficulty of getting ammunition. Cabela's has that too. Anyone have any quick advice on what to look for? Early years I saw, doubt they have any of them.
I have yet to buy one, but it's mostly due to the refinish. If one turns up not redone, it'll probably come home with me.
If you get one, a range report would be most interesting!
I did go back up today and picked one up. I asked the fellow to bring out as many as he could, he brought out three. First one out of the box was a 1932 Tula with a very nice bore and wood grips. #2 was a WWII Izhevsk with a dark bore and bad rifling and plastic grips. #3 was a WWII Izhevsk with good rifling but a dark bore and plastic grips. By this time I figured which one was going home but I asked him to bring out two more which he did. A second Tula WWII manufacture and another Izhevsk WWII manufacture with plastic grips and slightly pitted bores were what came out of that batch.
So I now have a 1932 Tula with wood grips. Nice looking gun with the exception of the import mark which is very nasty. Seems to function nicely, grips look very nice and match. With the plastic grips, the portions they replace are the outer two but there is wood in the center as well which they left in place. The wood is a light reddish color and the plastic grips are dark brown. It has been refinished, the trigger guard is Izhevsk.
They come with an imitation leather holster with leather straps, a leather lanyard, a two piece reversible screwdriver with wood handle and a cleaning rod.
They now have no ammo in the store. I went to get a box and they were all gone. Had half a dozen on the shelf as of Thursday. They did pull the box out of the case for me which was three rounds short and knocked off $5 for it. The guy and I were both wondering where the three rounds went, possibly inside a sold revolver but the fellow that sold it to me was very paranoid about checking the cylinders so it wasn't him.
My cost: $0.00 for the pistol and box of ammo. I love their rewards program, highly recommend it.
And here it is:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC_0777-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...SC_0779a-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC_0778-1.jpg
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Seems to be a very protective holster. It has rings to hold the cleaning rod in place but no place for the screwdriver that I can find. Not sure what the little leather "box" is for, ammo perhaps, screwdriver will not fit in it.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC_0781-1.jpg
I don't know when I'll get to the range with it. I'm extremely slow at that. Trigger pull is a bit harsh as expected but not terrible like some imply. If you use it as a single action, it is much smoother. It has a weird feel to it when releasing the trigger because the cylinder moves back to the rear as you do that which is unusual. Examining the bores at Cabela's is not the easiest as they will not allow you to remove the cylinder. We experimented a bit and a piece of white paper in the cylinder gap and a bore light shined down from the muzzle lights it up pretty well, easy enough to view condition anyway.
I made it to the range today. Took the Nagant revolver and my Carcano carbine today.
I want to preface this report stating that I have not fired a revolver of any type in approximately 30 years and do not often shoot semi-autos either but have never been a terrible shot when doing so. My last session on a range with a handgun was two years ago.
My first group of seven shots was fired using single action with my hands braced on a rolled up blanket. Target was 25 yards and an 8.5x11 sheet of paper with a 1 1/2 inch bull in the center. Group size was about 6 inches, all low, six hit the paper and I assume the seventh was just below the bottom. I've never shot a handgun this way before in my life but figured it would be a bit more stable than offhand.
My second group of seven shots was fired at a 2/3rds scale steel torso target (12"x20") at 25 yards offhand and using the double action. I hit the target all seven shots, my wife who was watching said they were all again low on the bottom half of the target.
Ammunition was factory load prvi partizan FPJ bullet 6.35 g/98 gr
I am extremely pleased with how this pistol operated and it's accuracy. With practice, I'm sure I can get that group size a bit more respectable. Trigger pull again is terrible for both single and double action but not bad enough to miss the kill zone on a man sized target at 25 yards.
From my research into this, the factory loads are not anywhere near original military specs which probably explains why it shoots low. Handloading to mil spec will probably correct this.
I had no misfires, no difficulties loading and of the 14 rounds fired, all but one case just slid out on it's own and the 14th just needed a slight nudge. I did not use the pistols rod on any of them. Spun the cylinder and they just fell out. My only major problem is that I badly, very badly, need to get new glasses. I had difficulty seeing the bull in the center of the paper and found myself simply aiming for the center of the paper. But that's me, not the gun.
No cases had any deformities and the primers all looked good.
Try .32 H&R Mag in it. You would be surprised how much more accurate it will become...Just My .02
I picked up two a few years back at a pawnshop (well I say I.... I was only 19). Either way they came with one of th aftermarket cylinders for .32 and we used that I think entirely. I've been told one can fire the .32 in the standard cylinder but your cases will bulge and stick. I've since sold the two revlovers but seeing how prices have gone up, I should have kept them- I paid )$160 for both in great shape and the cylinder converter. Ah... Good times.
My biggest complaint was the the trigger pull but to be fair, I never took her down and polished the innards.
Not sure when it started but Cabela's has these on sale now for $119.99 for a savings of $30 off regular price. The sale lasts until the end of the month. It was not an advertised sale so it is possible it may go a bit longer.
Having a Tula, decided to try to get a decent Izhevsk. Asked the fellow to bring a few out, he said he could bring out two but relented and brought out four. First one was a Tula, next two Izhevsk with badly pitted bores. Number four was a 1943r Izhevsk with a bright bore and no pitting. Unfortunately, instant check was down and I didn't have time to wait so it remains on layaway for now. Looks about the same overall condition as my Tula. Not sure when I'll go pick it up as it's an hour and a half round trip. Probably sooner rather than later. Again, my cost $0.00. Actually, my cost will be $0.01 as I owe them a penny. They won't hold a fully paid for item. Odd policy.
Picked it up last evening and cleaned it up a bit. Bore looks new, the few spots I had seen at Cabelas were fuzz like I expected. Is a 1944r not a 1943r. Condition near identical to the Tula. Did not get a lanyard with this one. May try to find a set of plastic grips for it. Cylinder serial matches the receiver. Haven't taken it apart yet to check the other numbers. It is a rebuild so I expect some force matching. Has a Tula hammer and a few other Tula parts.
congrats , i think these are a nice addition to any collection , mine is a 44r as well , why - may i ask - do you want plastic grip scales ? just askin , i think i like the ones that came on it ,
I have one from way back when you could pick them up for less than $80 complete (using a C&R licence). I also have one of the target Models which required a little bit of amateur gunsmithing Light strike on the primer. Turns out that a lot of the target models had shaved mainsprings but the application of a rolled up rubber band in the "V" of the spring cured that. You can use 32-20 cases and 0.312 heads with the Lee conversion dies but be careful as one pistol will take the thicker rim, others will not...ask me how I know? The 032 ACP cylinder will work but usually required some Dremel work as the pattern of hte spokes does not fit all Nagants and thus it will not revolve properly. Can use 0.32 S&W Longs or S&W Magnums in 0.32, just have to full length re-size. A lot cheaper than the regular Nagant ammo. Dave_n
Just for the variety. No reason other than that and I probably won't seek them out at this point.Quote:
Originally Posted by A square 10
I did get this second one apart to clean it and no force matching. All numbers match but some of the smaller parts are Tula.
Does US federal law require that importer stamp? If so, would the "bring-backs" without them be worth more, and how much?
I'm fairly sure up here north of the border, you don't find those stamps, and thank God for it, in my opinion they look terrible and draw a bit away from the collector's value of the gun (granted, we have pinned mags to do that to semi-autos up here).
Yes, Federal law requires import stamps and the receiver to be marked with the serial number. So this results in two stampings on some items. The import stamp and a new serial number if the serial was numbered on the barrel or some other part. It does draw a bit away from the collector value but does not affect function. These current imports are all arsenal refinished which is also a draw back from collector value so the import mark on them doesn't mean all that much.
I agree that they look unsightly and some companies do a good job of putting them in less obvious places than others. Some just don't seen to care. It seems that earlier imports were marked on the barrels under the cleaning rods with small, clear stampings. Now they are big ugly electro something or others in plain sight.
The flapped pocket inside the holster is for extra ammo.