Nagant revolver in Guns World

The Nagant gas-seal revolver was patented by the Nagant brothers (Emile and Leon) in 1892 with some additional improvements made in 1895. This design was one of several offered to the Imperial Russian Army as a new service revolver in 1895. Emile and Leon were on good terms with the Russian Army due to a previous cooperative effort to produce the Mosin-Nagant M1891 service rifle. This may be why the Russians adopted their design.

The first 20,000 revolvers were manufactured by the Nagants in Liege Belgium between 1895 and 1898. In addition to purchasing these guns the Russians bought the equipment and tooling necessary for domestic production.

Country Of Origin:	Belgium / Russia
Designation:	Revolver
Cartridge:	7.62 mm Russian Revolver
Production Date:	1895-1950

Length:	230 mm
Barrel:	114 mm
Weight:	750 g
Rifling:	4 grooves, rh
Chambers:	7

The Russian "Tula" arsenal began producing revolvers in 1898.

The revolvers purchased from Liege had single/double action lockworks. When production began in Russia almost all revolvers were made in single action only. This continued until the 1917 Russian Revolution after which The Nagant was once again primarily made in single/double action. Nagant revolver production continued in the new USSR until at least 1945 and I can vouch for at least one 1945 Tula made revolver that is single action only. In addition to the standard revolver there was a short barreled GRU model, a silenced model, and reportedly some made in .38 Special and .22 Long Rifle. The .38 and .22 Cal. versions did not have a gas-seal mechanism.
In 1930 Charles and Maurice Nagant, sons of Leon, sold rights, machinery and remaining parts for the Model 1895 to Poland. Quantities of the M1895 were produced in Poland under the name Radom Ng30 (Ng meaning Nagant). Production continued until adoption of the Radom VIS-35, 9mm semi-auto pistol in 1935.
The Nagant revolver has poor stopping power, a long heavy double action pull, and a loading gate and ejection rod that makes reloading slow and cumbersome. On the plus side it's extremely reliable and easily repaired if problems do occur. This made them very popular with the troops. Most of the Nagants available today were arsenal reconditioned and put into storage after WWII. They are in beautiful shape and at well under $100.00 each a great bargain. The ammo is a little bit pricey but reloading dies are available and it can be made up from 32-20 Winchester cases. The M1895 Nagant is an interesting piece of shooting history.