1895 Nagant Revolver Trigger Work

Is there any way you can reduce the trigger pull on this thing?" asked the customer, holding an 1895 Nagant revolver. "I can barely squeeze it in single action, almost cannot in double action, and I can’t hit anything with any action because my hand is shaking so much from the strain." "There’s a lot going on inside a ‘95 Nagant," I replied. "It’s not so much a revolver as a handheld machine that locates cartridges rotationally and translationally.

Not only does the trigger rotate the cylinder and cock the hammer, but it also moves the cylinder forward to insert the rear end of the forcing cone into the chamber opening in the cylinder. All that takes some force." The 1895 Nagant revolver is 126 years old and pure "Old World".

It For all its "old world" character, the ‘95 Nagant is quite advanced mechanically, with its internal mechanism that pushes the cylinder forward as the action is cocked. was advanced for its time in that it featured a unique gas seal to reduce gas leakage at the forcing cone and cylinder. On the other hand, it has a reputation for a horribly heavy trigger pull. Designed by the Belgian Nagant brothers, Emile and Leon, it has its roots in earlier Nagant cartridge revolvers, notably the 1887 Swedish 7.5mm revolver.

The Nagant firm was heavily involved with the development of the 1891 Mosin-Na- This revolver’s unusually light trigger pull provided the clue and inspiration as to the direction the author took with the customer’s revolver. gant rifle, and the Russian Czar’s government wanted to replace the aging S&W No. 3 revolver in 44 Russian with a more up-to-date handgun.

Knowing the Nagants, they tailored the request for quotation on existing Nagant revolvers, with one major exception: They wanted the revolver to have a tight seal between the forcing cone and the chamber openings to reduce or eliminate gas leakage and improve bullet velocity. The Nagant brothers delivered, designing the prototype in 1892 and delivering the first of approximately 20,000 Belgian-made Model 1895 revolvers in that year or early

It is the first step in disassembly of a ‘95 Nagant revolver. This gains quick access to the mainspring, which can be compressed slightly with thumb and forefinger for removal. No tools necessary! 1896; sources are conflicting. It was chambered in a .30 caliber rimmed cartridge with a recessed bullet and a crimped case mouth that reminds one of a short, wide-mouth funnel.

In operation, as the 1895 Nagant is cocked the cylinder is cammed forward by a sliding wedge and a rotating block that are part of the lockwork, so that the rear of the forcing cone enters the chamber opening in the cylinder, and the crimped "funnel" case mouth enters the forcing cone just a tad.

The concentric, annular overlapping of the three components does indeed This serves the same purpose as the groove in the backstrap of a Colt double-action revolver with a V-shaped mainspring; locating the mainspring apex to allow the top and bottom leaves to do their thing. The thickness of the bottom leaf is essentially uniform and ends in a notch on one side. serve to "seal" the barrel/cylinder gap and increase bullet velocity by a claimed 200-300 feet per second.

In addition, it has been widely reported that the 1895 Nagant "is the only revolver that can be silenced." Silenced examples are in various museums in the former Soviet Union, the United States, and in other countries. Some US-resident 1895 Nagant owners have modified their revolvers to accept suppressors, with some degree of success. A bit more about the cartridge; it fires a 97 grain .311 caliber bullet at 1070 fps for a muzzle energy of

The Number 2 pencil points to the long firing pin just clearing the frame; this is the position from which the hammer can be removed from its pivot. The trigger can be lifted off its pivot when in this position. 250 foot-pounds of force. That puts it approximately in the same class as some loadings of the 32 H&R Magnum and a bit more powerful than the revolver loading of the 32- 20 Winchester Center Fire.

It has been widely reported elsewhere that one can fire in the 1895 Nagant revolver the 32 ACP, the 32 S&W Short and Long, and the 32 H&R Magnum. However, bulged and To remove, rotate it backwards into the position shown.

Take care to keep the sanding drum moving and to not exert too much force that causes overheating and tempering of the hardness. cracked cases result due to differences in chamber inside and outside diameter of the various cartridge cases, thus, it is not recommended to do so. "Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should" applies here. Back to the customer, who has been waiting patiently during this review of the background and history of the 1985 Nagant revolver, it was to his fortune that I had an in-

A reduction of about 0.008-0.012" from the original thickness seems to bring the single and double actions pulls to manageable levels. Insert the top leaf tip in its recess in the hammer, then do the same with the bottom leaf tip in its trigger recess. Be sure to place the mainspring apex locating peg in its hole in the right grip frame; a tap with a light hammer ensures that it is seated. terest in the Nagant personally and own a few examples.

One of them in particular was captured by the Finnish Defence Forces sometime during the Winter or Continuation Wars when the Soviet Union invaded Finland. This 1895 Nagant features a glossy black blueing and a small rectangle surrounding the letters "SA" for "Suomen Armeija" (Finnish Army).

This 1895 Nagant example possesses the lightest single and double action trigger pulls of any other 1895 Nagant that I’ve either handled or fired, with a single action pull averaging 6.4 pounds and a double action pull of 13 pounds. In comparison, the customer’s 1895 Nagant exhibited a single action pull force of 12.3 pounds and a double action pull that maxed out my Lyman electronic gauge.

Exploratory surgery was indicated on both my Finn Capture Nagant and my customer’s revolver to compare and contrast apparent differences in the lockwork that could possibly explain the light vs. heavy trigger pulls. What exactly did the Finns do? Disassembly Disassembly of the 1895 Nagant is extremely simple but not obvious to the uninitiated. If you have experience with the takedown of Colt, Smith & Wesson, and other revolvers, you may have some "unlearning" to do.

Lower the loading gate on the right side of the revolver and rotate the cylinder to verify there are no cartridges. Grasp the head of the ejector rod and rotate it 180 degrees counter-clockwise. The ejector rod can be Far, 1 oz., a reduction of 5.8 pounds. Not in the same league as modern double-action revolvers, certainly, but such a reduction made the ‘95 Nagant shootable with reasonable accuracy.

1895 Nagant Revolver (Speci ications subject to change without notice) 1 Front Sight 2 Barrel 3 Ejector Sleeve 4 Frame 5 Ejector Rod 6 Ejector Rod Spring Stop 7 Ejector Rod Spring Stop Screw 8 Trigger Guard 9 Trigger Guard Screw 10 Trigger pulled forward and out of the cylinder axis pin. The collar surrounding the barrel into which the ejector rod is mounted can be swung to the revolver’s right to clear the kidneyshaped flange on the cylinder axis pin. Withdraw the cylinder axis pin forward and out of the revolver.

With the loading gate still open, the cylinder can be removed from its window in the frame to the right. Using an appropriately-fitting screwdriver, loosen and remove the screw that is in the right side plate just above and centered on the top of the right grip plate to free the removable left side plate. Using a urethane hammer, tap the right side of the frame slightly to pop off the left side plate.

Now for a glimpse of the unusual innards of the 1895 Nagant: There’s a hammer, trigger, and a hand that all look somewhat normal and famil- 11 Hand 12 Left Side Plate 13 Left Grip 13a Grip Insert 13b Grip Insert Screw 14 Recoil Plate 15 Hammer Block 16 Mainspring 17 Cylinder Pin 18 Cylinder Sleeve 19 Cylinder Sleeve Spring 20 Cylinder iar, but there’s some other bits behind the hand and in front of the hammer. The hammer has an incredibly long firing pin and the reason for it will become apparent in a minute.

Inside the grip resides the Vshaped mainspring not unlike those of Colt, Webley, or Enfield revolvers. The end of the lower leaf imparts against a shoulder in the rear of the trigger, and acts as the trigger reset spring. The end of the upper leaf of the mainspring is thicker and has a duckbill-shaped tip which engages in the underside of the rear of the hammer, providing the force to drive the cocked hammer forward for the firing pin to strike the cartridge primer.

At the apex of the mainspring where the two leaves join, the right side of the spring features a small diameter cylindrical peg that seats in a hole in the right side of the grip frame.

In this man- 21 Loading Gate 22 Loading Gate Pivot Screw 23 Loading Gate Spring 24 Loading Gate Spring Screw 25 Side Plate Screw 26 Firing Pin 27 Firing Pin Pivot Pin 28 Double Action Fly Screw 29 Double Action Fly 30 Double Action Fly Spring 31 Hammer 32 Lanyard Ring ner, the mainspring apex is held fast in the Nagant’s grip and the upper and lower mainspring leaves are free to pivot about this locating peg.

Some Interwebz resources instruct to install the grip retaining screw into a threaded blind hole directly under the "tail" of the hammer with the hammer cocked. The hammer can then be released and wiggled up and off its pivot pin. While this method works, my experience is this can be cumbersome with certain examples of ‘95 Nagant revolvers. One in my collection cannot be disassembled in this manner due to dimensional variation in components.

The central issue is compressing the mainspring slightly in order for it to be removed. I find that the thumb and forefinger are entirely suitable, given the following procedure. To begin internal disassembly, first look to the front of the trigger guard where a flat-headed screw of large head diameter can be found. Loosen the screw to raise the screw head out of its countersink in the trigger guard. Rotate the trigger guard down, pivoting around the stud at its rear, then lift the trigger guard off of the stud.

To prevent loss while handling the frame, the trigger guard screw can be completely removed and stored in a parts bag, box, or magnetic dish. With the trigger guard removed, easy finger access to the mainspring is possible. Grasp the two leaves of the mainspring with thumb and forefinger and squeeze them together slightly to allow the tip of the lower leaf to pop out of the trigger.

You may have to first pry the mainspring locating peg out of its seat in the right grip frame to facilitate the lower leaf removal from the trigger. The mainspring is now unrestrained and you can simply withdraw the end of the upper leaf from its recess in the rear underside of the hammer. Rotate the hammer to the rear just until the tip of that "anteater nose" firing pin clears the frame. Take note of the double and single action sear

engagement surfaces in relation to each other. Grasp the hammer with both fingers or forceps and withdraw it from its pivot stud. Turning attention to the trigger, with a pick or small screwdriver swing the hand to the rear to clear the frame, then wiggle the trigger up and off its stud. You will note that the cylinder stop/bolt is a nub on the top rear surface of the trigger, not a more conventional spring-loaded semi-circular block peeking up out of a slot in the bottom of the cylinder window.

The cylinder stop function is also partially performed by ratcheting teeth on the rear OD of the cylinder which mate with a single tooth in the extension at the top of the loading of the loading gate. This prevents the cylinder from turning backwards. Clever, these Belgians. Remove the vertically-sliding hammer block that’s actuated by a prong at the rear of the trigger. Rotate the recoil plate to the rear clearing the frame, and up and off of its axis stud.

This recoil plate looks like a tiny mallet with an oversized head and has a hole through which the long firing pin passes to reach the cartridge primer. In operation, as the trigger is pulled to the rear, the hammer block pushes the recoil plate forward which in turn forces the cylinder forward for the chamber mouth to engage the forcing cone. Trigger Work We’ve gone a bit farther than necessary. Let’s turn attention to the mainspring once again.

To recap, the upper leaf end is larger with a "duckbill" appearance, whereas the lower leaf is continuous in thickness and ends in notch. We will be concerned with the lower leaf. The lower leaf of the mainspring in my Finn Capture Nagant was about 20% thinner than the lower leaf of the customer’s revolver mainspring. The customer’s mainspring lower leaf was roughly 0.047-0.052" where the lower leaf of the Finn Capture mainspring was 0.039-0.042".

The thickness of the upper leaves of both mainsprings was the same, within a couple thousandths of an inch. This makes sense, in away. Although both leaves of the mainspring are involved in all of the lockwork forces, the lower mainspring has more of an effect on trigger pull, and it stands to reason that the Finn armorers would thin the lower leaf. Again, both leaves work in balance and have an effect on all forces in the lockwork.

Going too far with thinning or bending one of the leaves can be detrimental to the revolver’s action, such as misfires from hammer strikes being too light. It was fortunate that I had a pattern from which to work in the Finn Capture Nagant’s mainspring. I had fired several dozen rounds from the SA revolver and it had never failed. Visual examination of the other internals along with measurements of some key dimensions showed little or no difference between those parts in the customer’s revolver or my Finn Capture.

The primary detectable difference appeared to be the thickness of the lower mainspring leaf. I chose to do the "other half of the experiment" and install the Finn mainspring in the customer revolver. I cocked the hammer and pulled the trigger a bit too enthusiastically, expecting the heavy pull, and was shocked at how much lighter the pull was. The Lyman gauge showed that the customer’s single action pull was now 6 lb., 14 oz.

Out of curiosity, the customer’s ‘95 Nagant mainspring in the Finn Nagant revolver yielded a measured single action pull of 12.9 lb. After gathering the above information, the rest was easy and completed with fundamental metalworking. The customer’s mainspring was clamped in a vise with the lower leaf up, and a rotary tool sanding drum was used to grind the leaf thinner starting about 3/8" from the end and stopping 3/8" from the apex.

The grinding was performed lengthwise, not across the leaf, because the leaf is curved and the sanding drum is straight, so the grinding would be extremely irregular and non-uniform if the leaf was ground across instead of lengthwise. I marked the boundaries of grinding area with an indelible marker and worked those areas between the marks until the middle 2/3 to 3/4 of the lower leaf was about 0.040" thick.

I worked slowly, moving the sanding drum constantly and watching the metal for any indication of discoloration. Frequent stops were made to allow for cooling and for measuring the thickness of the lower leaf. I also re-assembled the revolver at grinding intervals to check the trigger pull. Once finished with grinding, the mainspring was wiped down with Corrosion X to forestall any rusting. The customer’s 1895 Nagant was reassembled and the single-action pull tried and measured a final time.

It felt like a S&W revolver in comparison and the pull force was 7 lb. 1 oz. The double action pull was 12.7 lb. Three 7-shot cylinders full of primed resized cases yielded 21 bangs. When the customer came over and dry-fired his Nagant, the look of surprise on his face was priceless, asking, "What did you do?" "Trade secret," I said. After a brief chat with him continuously dry firing at a spot on the far wall the entire time, he took leave.

And I took out the first of my other 1895 Nagant revolvers and starting with that one over the next few nights gave them all the old "Finn treatment." A final note. While this method worked for this particular ‘95 Nagant and others in my personal collection based on what was apparently done at one point to another ‘95 Nagant that was once in Finnish Army inventory, this technique may not work for all ‘95 Nagant revolvers.

Mainsprings are difficult to come by and the usual parts vendors are out of stock most of the time. Proceed with caution. AG