Nagant M1895
Tula Arms Plant / Izhevsk Arsenal · Revolver · Discontinued · 1895
Also known as: Revolver obr. 1895g, Nagant Revolver, Revolver Model 1895, 7.62mm Nagant, Nagan, Ng30
Overview
The Nagant M1895 is a seven-shot, gas-sealed revolver designed by Belgian brothers Léon and Émile Nagant of Liège and adopted by the Russian Empire in 1895 to replace the Smith & Wesson Model 3 Russian. It is one of the only successful production firearms to employ a true gas-seal system: upon cocking, the entire cylinder is cammed forward so that the mouth of the chambered case telescopes into the rear of the barrel, and the 7.62x38mmR cartridge's bullet is seated deep inside the elongated case neck. When fired, the case mouth expands to form a gas-tight seal with the forcing cone, eliminating the cylinder gap and recovering the velocity normally lost to blow-by in conventional revolvers. The revolver was produced in two principal models - a double-action/single-action 'Officer's' variant and a cheaper single-action-only 'Soldier's' variant - and fed through a right-side loading gate with rounds ejected one at a time via a manually operated rod beneath the barrel. Production began in Liège but quickly shifted to the Tula Arms Plant in 1898, and later also to Izhevsk, with roughly two million revolvers produced between 1895 and 1945. The Nagant served as the standard Russian/Soviet sidearm through the Russo-Japanese War, World War I, the Russian Civil War, and the early Soviet period, remaining in parallel service with the Tokarev TT-33 throughout World War II and continuing with NKVD and rear-area units into the 1950s.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 795 g (28.0 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 880 g (31.0 oz) |
| Overall Length | 229 mm (9.02") |
| Barrel Length | 114 mm (4.49") |
| Height | 135 mm (5.31") |
| Width | 38 mm (1.50") |
| Sight Radius | 162 mm (6.38") |
| Firing Mechanism | Double Action Single Action |
| Trigger Type | Double Action Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 7 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Revolving Cylinder |
| Muzzle Velocity | 272 m/s (892 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 258 J (190 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 50 m (55 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 100 m (109 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 14 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Rifling Twist | 165 mm (6.50") |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 7.62x38mmR Nagant · primary — also known as 7.62 Nagant, 7.62mm Nagant Gas-Seal, Cartridge 7.62mm Revolver Mod. 1895
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Revolving Cylinder, Loading Gate Single Round
- Safety mechanisms: Heavy Double Action Trigger
- Features: Gas Seal Cylinder, Seven Round Cylinder, Loading Gate, Ejector Rod, Solid Frame, Fixed Sights, Lanyard Ring, Exposed Hammer
Variants
- Nagant M1895 Officer's Model — Da Sa
- Nagant M1895 Soldier's Model — Single Action
- Nagant M1895 Training Revolver (.22 LR) — Training
- Nagant M1895 BraMit (Suppressed) — Suppressed
- Polish Ng30 — Foreign License
- Nagant M1895 Carbine — Carbine
Service history
Operators
- Imperial Russian Army · adopted 1895 · as Revolver Model 1895
- Soviet Armed Forces · adopted 1918 · as Revolver obr. 1895g
- NKVD · adopted 1934 · as Revolver obr. 1895g
- Red Army · adopted 1918 · as Revolver obr. 1895g
- Polish Armed Forces · adopted 1930 · as Ng30
- Swedish Armed Forces · adopted 1887 · as Revolver m/1887
- Royal Norwegian Army · adopted 1893 · as Revolver M/1893
- Hellenic Army · adopted 1895 · as Nagant 1895
- Romanian Land Forces · adopted 1939 · as Model 1939
- National Revolutionary Army · adopted 1930 · as Nagant 1895 (captured/imported)
Conflicts
- Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)
- World War I (1914-1918)
- Russian Civil War (1917-1922)
- Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921)
- Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
- Winter War (1939-1940)
- World War II (1939-1945)
- Korean War (1950-1953)
- First Indochina War (1946-1954)
Production
Estimated total produced: 2,000,000 · Production years: 1895-1945
Initial production at Fabrique d'Armes Léon Nagant in Liège, Belgium, transferred to the Tula Arms Plant in 1898; later also produced at Izhevsk. Polish Ng30 and Radom variants add tens of thousands more; total including licensed and foreign copies approaches 2 million.
Origin
Country of origin: Belgium
Designer: Léon Nagant and Émile Nagant
Discontinued: 1945
Notes
Because the gas-seal system eliminates the cylinder-barrel gap, the M1895 is one of the very few revolvers that can be effectively suppressed. The BraMit device - a two-chamber suppressor developed by the Mitin brothers in the late 1930s and issued from 1940 - was fitted to Nagant revolvers for use by Soviet scouts, partisans, and NKVD operatives, making it a genuinely quiet close-range weapon. The tradeoff was ballistic: the 7.62x38mmR cartridge fires a ~7g bullet at only ~270 m/s, producing under 260 J of muzzle energy - roughly half that of contemporary .32 ACP or .38 Special loadings and considered underpowered for military use even at the time of adoption. Reloading is notoriously slow: the cylinder does not swing out, so spent cases must be ejected one at a time through a side-mounted loading gate using a rod stored retracted under the barrel. Finnish forces captured and issued the Nagant during the Winter and Continuation Wars, and Poland produced the Ng30 copy at Radom. A training variant chambered in .22 LR was widely issued to Soviet DOSAAF marksmanship clubs. After WWII the revolver was handed off to second-line and reserve units, exported to Warsaw Pact allies, and eventually released in vast numbers onto the Western surplus market, where its low price and historical cachet have kept it a collector staple.
Background
The Nagant M1895's gas-seal mechanism made it one of the only revolvers in history that could be effectively suppressed - a tactical accident that became a feature when the Soviet BraMit suppressor was issued to NKVD agents, partisans, and scouts during WWII for silent sentry removal and close-quarters assassination. For decades the revolver also served a darker ceremonial role: it was reportedly the sidearm most commonly carried by NKVD execution squads during the Great Purge. Ironically, the weapon that made the Nagant infamous was already obsolete when adopted - its anemic 7.62x38R cartridge, chosen to enable the gas seal, produced less muzzle energy than a .32 ACP pocket pistol, a limitation Russian officers complained about from the 1905 Russo-Japanese War onward.