Nagant Model 1895 (M1895)

History of the Nagant Model 1895 (M1895)

The Nagant Model 1895 is a seven-shot revolver developed in Belgium and adopted as a standard weapon by the Russian Imperial Army. The Nagant brothers - Leon and Emile - had already lent their names to the famous Mosin-Nagant bolt-action rifle in 1891, which was also adopted by the Armed Forces of the Russian Empire.

The rifle uses a one-piece magazine with repeat-fire capability and proved to be a huge improvement over the old single-shot Berdan series previously used by Russian infantry. The rifle took advantage of the qualities of Sergey Mosin's competing designs as well as Nagant-generated characteristics, resulting in the rather interesting name "Mosin-Nagant".

The Tsarist army then began adopting the standard service revolver to further modernize their infantry, which became the Nagant Model 1895 (or simply "M1895"), which served with the Russian Armed Forces during the Soviet era of communism. The revolver stems from a patent granted to Leon Nagant in 1894.

Externally, the M1895 follows the long-standing design line of revolvers around the world. There is a sturdy metal frame that houses the inner working parts.

The rotating cylinder accommodates seven ready-to-fire cartridges and sits under a bridge that strengthens the weapon by providing an upper support structure to connect to the support section running below the cylinder. As usual, the back of the hammer is open and within easy reach of the thumb. There is a rather long firing pin on the hammer, which is necessary due to the rather obvious concomitant action of the cartridge and the weapon.

The handle is covered with a checkered pattern for a secure grip, while the lanyard loop/loop is attached to the handle base. The trigger is lowered in the usual way, with a distinctly curved design, and is housed in an elongated trigger guard. The barrel section, located in front of the cylinder, has an enlarged section that helps seal the cartridge during firing. This tapers to the standard part of the barrel covered by the front iron sight.

The front sight mates with the rear notch assembly.

One of the M1895's unique design qualities is its ability to seal, designed to extract the maximum amount of energy from the propellant gas produced during launch. While most service revolvers have the required distance between the rotary cylinder and the barrel assembly, the Nagant M1895 developed a mechanical solution in which the rotary cylinder moved slightly forward when the weapon was loaded . In this way, a complete seal is achieved between the firebox and the bottom of the barrel assembly.

To this was added a specially designed cartridge with a caliber of 7.62x38mmR.

Another unique feature of the M1895 Nagant revolver is its 7.62x38mm R cartridge, designed specifically for this weapon. In general, the cartridge does not have the usual conical bullet, but the bullet is located in the case itself. This helps to further seal the gas escaping behind the bullet as it travels down the barrel and out of the muzzle. In theory, this design approach allows for higher muzzle velocities, thereby capturing and using most of the energy.

The cartridges are noticeably much longer than their counterparts. 32 Smith & Wesson (Long) is easily recognized by his curly head. During its lifetime, it was also known by several other names - "R Cartridge" and "7.62mm Nagant".

Once the M1895 is up, the operator releases the hammer with normal trigger pull and the striker strikes the bottom of the cartridge as usual. The shell mouth of the cartridge then expands in its seat and, together with the chamber pressing against the barrel, captures the gases produced.

The gun reported a muzzle velocity of about 1,070 feet per second.

However, this method of operation requires unique manufacturing, adds cost and complicates production. Additionally, unique cartridges and motions force the operator to load each cartridge individually through the loading door and manually remove each used case.

This makes the M1895 a slow-loading weapon compared to its contemporaries, some of which use a "crescent" clip for quick reloading and the ability to eject all spent cartridges in one motion.

The M1895 Nagant revolver was adopted as the standard Russian Imperial pistol forward (now alongside the equally famous Mosin-Nagant service rifle). Production started in Liege, Belgium in 1895, after which it moved to Russia.

This type proved to be a reliable and very robust combat weapon, the qualities of which were highly valued by Russian infantrymen and officers. The revolver remained the standard issue when Russia was involved in World War I (1914-1918), although its revolution and subsequent civil war freed Russia from global conflict.

The Soviet Union emerged from this movement in the early 1920s.

However, the M1895 Nagant remained until the interwar period. At this time the revolver was produced in two different forms - a "private model" (or "soldier model") with single action and an "officer model" with double action. Single-action models force the hammer to be manually operated for firing, usually using the firing hand's thumb, followed by the subsequent action of pulling the trigger. The dual-action model combines cocking and hammer/strike release action into one.

By the 1920s, there was a precedent for double-action firearms, and many single-action models were retrofitted to double-action standards in time, making single-action a rarity for today's gun collectors.

The M1895 revolver was in service during World War II (1939-1945), even when it arrived in the Soviet Union during the semi-automatic pistol era. In 1930, the Soviet Army adopted the Browning-inspired Tokarev TT-30 series of semi-automatic pistols, which led to the more famous revised TT-33 in 1933. The production of Nagant continues regardless of its value. By the end of the war in May 1945, about 2 million (or more) revolvers had been sold.

Even with the excellent semi-automatic Makarov series launched in the 1950s, Nagant persevered, albeit on a limited scale.

The M1895 served in various conflicts after World War I and World War II, including the Russian Civil War (1917-1922), the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901), the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), The Soviet Union's "Winter War" against Finland (1939-1940), the Chinese Civil War (1946-1950), the Korean War (1950-1953) and even the Vietnam War (1955-1975). This weapon can still be found on distant battlefields today.

Operators (outside Russia/USSR) include Belgium, Kazakhstan, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Yugoslavia, among others. Norwegian and Swedish versions are known to be chambered in 7.5mm Nagant cartridges.

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