Soviet My Soviet Moisen Nagant revolver and rifle

[Hauptmann]

Hi all,

Hope these are okay here as they are indeed Soviet militaria. First is my Soviet revolver. Got it way back when (nope, not gonna say it! ) but in a way wish I hadn't as it was a bit pricey back then... and needless to say they dropped considerably in later years.

However I do love it and hope to get the holster and other accessories for it at some point.

This was actually my first piece of Soviet militaria and I got it before the wall fell.

[Hauptmann]

And here's my rifle. It walked into a little militaria store in Havana Florida that I used to frequent (no longer there, sadly the owner passed away years ago from what I understand). I was sitting with the owner behind the counter chatting and a fellow came in from over in Pensacola. His buddy ran a pawn shop over there and he sent over a few items for sale or trade, this rifle being one of them.

The owner bought this one outright and I took a good look at it while they finished doing the rest of their deals. I don't know what it was about it, except perhaps the unusual way the stock fitted together... which was different than any rifle I'd ever seen. It's a very nice shape and was just one of those "gotta have it" pieces so as soon as the other guy left I worked out a deal and it was mine.

This was like right after the wall fell so these were both early acquisitions. In fact all my first pieces came from that little shop including a really nice clock from a Mig 17 which is fully functional and looks great... one of those been there done that pieces. I'll have to do a post on that one too. It's not one of the ones that later was sold through catalogs and such. My understanding is it came out of a wrecked Mig in Afghanistan. No idea if it's true or not but got it for what I feel is a very good price... well under those later catalog deals and as with much of this stuff it was in trade and I had very little in the pieces I traded off. So I was very happy.

Thanks for looking,

Dan

[Chris Boonzaier]

Nice indeed... I remember those pistols from a youth filled with Sven Hassel books ;-)

[Guest Rick Research]

About 6 years ago I encountered a 1935-made Nagant revolver in immaculate, mint, drop-dead, NEVER USED condition with all its accessories-- holster, lanyard, tool pouch with tools

for under $90.

UNfortunately in the demented "cradle of liberty" where I live, although licensed, was unable to BUY this because it was an out of state show. The identical revolver, dated 1895, WOULD have been legal for me to return home with-- which is typical of the mindlessly idiotic rules our self-anointed One Party Elite have put in up here...

punchline is, I would have--and offered to-- pay the full price for the GEAR and go home sans revolver... but the dealer would not split up the set.

I often wonder HOW something like that ever sat untouched through all of WW2 and the 50+ years afterwards.

[Michael Johnson]

I often wonder HOW something like that ever sat untouched through all of WW2 and the 50+ years afterwards.

You've never dealt with Quartermasters?

"Yes, but if I issue you that, there'll be a gap in my shelf! I'll only have ninety-nine left, and I like round numbers!"

[Hauptmann]

About 6 years ago I encountered a 1935-made Nagant revolver in immaculate, mint, drop-dead, NEVER USED condition with all its accessories-- holster, lanyard, tool pouch with tools

for under $90.

UNfortunately in the demented "cradle of liberty" where I live, although licensed, was unable to BUY this because it was an out of state show. The identical revolver, dated 1895, WOULD have been legal for me to return home with-- which is typical of the mindlessly idiotic rules our self-anointed One Party Elite have put in up here...

punchline is, I would have--and offered to-- pay the full price for the GEAR and go home sans revolver... but the dealer would not split up the set.

I often wonder HOW something like that ever sat untouched through all of WW2 and the 50+ years afterwards.

Hi Rick,

Ah yes, don't get me or "especially" Kim started on the idiocy of anti-gunners and the insanity of gun laws in this fine nation of ours! Number one, we used to do conservative talk radio down in Florida. Number two, Kim founded an organization called SAS (Second Amendment Sisters) which I may have mentioned to you. A pro gun self defense organization for women and families and we all went up against Rosie O'Donnell and the rest of that bunch in the million mom march several Mother's Day's ago up in D.C. That's the short version of a very long story believe me.

Such wonderful rules like: You can put a bayonet on a Russian military made/marked SKS, as well as like all the Soviet Block ones as well, but you can't put one on a Chinese marked Norinco!!!! WHY? Does it make that one type more insanely dangerous than all the rest? But (my understanding), if you remove and replace 10 or more parts on it with the same U.S. made parts then under the law it's now considered to be a U.S. made and not an import gun and then one can put it on. Right... lets add more money to the equation. I'm so sorry I didn't get a Soviet block marked piece as that bayo and how it stayed on the gun folding and unfolding was one of the things I really love about that rifle.

And how about when my Uncle Jack mentioned in my tribute post, brought back a beautiful Mauser Broomhandle... a rare one only two of which were in the country at that time that we know of... complete with the wood stock/holster. But he had to remove the attachment piece after the 60's gun legislation went through because having that on it (or even in ones possession) at the time made it illegal. But you could have it without that one piece. Then years later they let you have the "priviledge" of having and using the stocks again. How nice of them! Sadly my dad who had bought it from Jack, for some idiot reason known only to him sold it off and then regretted it for ages since it's one of like five guns I had begged him "not" to ever sell.

And then of course I lose his entire collection, not only of guns but swords, knives, locks and keys, lighters, models and supplies, reference books, etc. which is a really long story but suffice it to say he did not do what he'd said he had as far as making sure I'd get it all as he'd intended. He left it to someone he'd trusted and she screwed us over royally. But that of course as I say is another really long story.

But hey, at least we can own guns which sure beats alot of other countries who have totally or just about totally abolished them and ended up with higher crime than they know what to do with.

Oh well, time to climb off my soapbox and simmer quietly. Oh, and to top it all off Kim just got called into work... albeit because the lady who is scheduled just had a bad scare over at the hospital... still not sure how that's going to turn out... good we hope and pray. But today is our 22nd anniversary and we'd planned to head out about 1 p.m. to go celebrate. No idea how that's going to work out.

Fun!

But back to the revolver... they likely made so many gazillion of these things that tons of them just sat in stocks even during the war... just had more than they'd ever need. Plus they'd gone over to the Tokarovs so sure that also helped keep a few of the older model in stocks. Needless to say sorry you missed that one. I believe they're still fairly cheap although I haven't kept up with them. But you can easily have your local gun dealer order one, assuming that you don't have FFL of any type. I was tempted but decided against it as just one more pain in the backside I didn't need in my life.

I think I have like $250 in mine with no accessories. But again it was well before the wall fell and of course such things were pricier back then... who knew! I passed up a very nice British Webley to get this and then when they went for a song with all accessories years later I wished I'd gotten the Webley. Again I love my Nagant but just knowing I could get them with all accessories in mint condition for a song... arrrrrrgh! (Reaches for antacid tablets!)

But if you ever find or decide to order one they are an extremely interesting pistol with alot of history and they tie in beautifully to any Imperial or Soviet Russian collection without a doubt! I'd highly recommend them. But if you get one as a shooter keep in mind they have a bear of a trigger pull and I "think" the ammo can be a bit pricey. But hey, you only go around once, right?

Thanks,

Dan

[Hauptmann]

You've never dealt with Quartermasters?

"Yes, but if I issue you that, there'll be a gap in my shelf! I'll only have ninety-nine left, and I like round numbers!"

Hi Michael,

Oh how I needed that although I know it was in answer to Rick's question. Just the pick me up I needed and probably a large part of the answer to his question. Quartermasters can be fun! Three people you always need to meet and get chummy with in the service are: the Cook, the Chaplain and the Quartermaster.

Thanks!

Dan

[Hauptmann]

Nice indeed... I remember those pistols from a youth filled with Sven Hassel books ;-)

Hi Chris,

Not familiar with those books but many thanks for admiring my pretty!

It's such an interesting pistol... the shells and mechanism being designed to make a tighter gas seal when it's fired. Has one heck of a trigger pull on them though... not for the limp wristed shooters of the world, that's for sure!

I hope to get a few rounds some day and take her up to the range just to get a feel for how she performs. In the meantime she's just part of the overall Soviet collection.

Thanks!

Dan

[Hauptmann]

Finally managed to get a holster for my Nagant:

[Hauptmann]

[Hauptmann]

This is the clearest shot I could get of the marking with my camera. Will have to redo this one with my scanner next time I pull that out.

Also, I got a copy of the NRA Man At Arms Gun And Sword Collector Vol. 32 No. 2 2010 with an interesting article on the 1895 Nagant's. It talks about how the officers pistol's (double action) are much more common than the soldier's pistol (single action) and how some of the officer's models have been "converted" to only function with single action ie: faking the soldier's model and thus fetching more money. It shows what to look for to try to avoid this situation. To be honest, I never realized there were two types like this nor that this was being done. Needless to say it's well worth it if you can get ahold of the article. Although it states that some collectors believe a very small number of these were converted during WWII to save on ammo all the examples they'd examined were modern conversions made to deceive. From what I understand only three small pieces have to be removed from the hammer to convert these and unless you know what to look for you could end up spending more for what ends up being a common piece.

You basically have to remove the grip and sideplate and you'll then be able to see the difference. The officer's model has a notch on the hammer for a small piece of spring steel, a hole for a screw and another small piece that all go together, whereas the soldier's model has none of these on the hammer.

So if you ever come across one of the "soldier's models" take care, do a bit of investigation re: asking if you can see inside the side plate and check it for authenticity. Of course if they don't want to show you then I think I'd just walk away.

Anyhow for those of us who are not NRA members you can probably still find these at a local bookstore or order one through same. There's a picture of two Nagant's on the front cover, one in it's holster... you can't miss it!

Dan

[Sergey]

I congratulate. These are good subjects. It is pleasant to see them here.

[Hauptmann]

Thank you Sergey. Hoping some more folks will add any they might have over time. I'd actually love to add an Imperial example both of the rifle and the revolver at some point. I know where one of the rifles is for a decent price... just have to wait till I can afford it.

Plus I still need to obtain a cleaning rod for my revolver set... along with some ammo at some point as I've never fired it and would love to sometime.

Dan

Edited May 10, 2010 by Hauptman