The Nagant sporter: an odd, but effective target revolver

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If a prize was being awarded to the most bizarre, but successful, service revolver issued in quantity, I would unhesitatingly cast my vote for the Russian Nagant. How this handful of complex, moving parts was selected to replace Russia's stunning Smith & Wesson Model 3's in .44 S&W Russian is as mysterious as Imperial Russia itself.

The common Nagant service revolver has been floating around milsurp circles for several years now. Next to the Russian Nagant, the Swedish Nagant in 7.5mm, made by Husqvarna and imported into the US in the '50s and '60s, is probably the most commonly encountered model in collecting circles. Actually, there are a number of Nagant models a collector might stumble upon.

Belgian Connection

The first commercially successful model was purchased by the Belgium military in 1878. After that came a series of improved models designated by their year of issue--1883, 1884, 1886, 1887, 1893--adopted by Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Luxembourg, Serbia, Brazil and Argentina. Outwardly, they look very much like an 1895 Russian Nagant, but they were chambered for a conventional handgun cartridge and were not designed to be gas-sealing. That was a Belgium-Russian twist.

Now, thanks to the footwork of Century Arms International, there's a new Nagant in town. It's the Nagant match pistol, designated the "Nagant Sport" model, and it's a sensational milsurp collectible, selling for about $200.

To appreciate it, we have to look back at a bit of history. Emile and Henri-Leon Nagant were brothers, gifted gunmakers from Belgium.

Brothers Nagant

They established themselves in 1859 in the town of Liege and rose to prominence in 1867 when Remington licensed the Nagants to make tens of thousands of Remington rolling block firearms for the European trade.

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By the late 1880s, the major European powers were actively modernizing their small arms. Russia was no exception, and the Nagants got their foot in door fairly early. In 1890, Russia tested rifle designs supplied by the Nagant firm and their own Colonel Ivanovich Mosin. The result was the best of both designs were finally blended into what we know today as the Mosin-Nagant rifle/carbine that soldiered on from 1891 through the 1950s.

Having selected a long arm, Russia next turned its attention to replacing their S&W Model 3. The Russian military wanted a smaller size, lighter weight revolver, firing a smokeless cartridge sharing the same 7.62mm bore diameter as the Mosin-Nagant dries. The Nagants just happened to have a few designs to share with the Russians, plus a new gas-sealing design based on a cartridge originated by another prolific Belgium gunmaker, Henri Pieper.

And so the Nagants went on to cement their second firearm design in Imperial Russia--the 7-shot, Nagant Model 1895 gas-sealing revolver. More than 2,000,000 were produced between 1895 and 1944, first in Belgium and from 1899-on at the Tula Arsenal. In spite of its complexity and the typical Russian emphasis on simplicity and durability of military arms, the Nagant stands out as one of the legendary revolver designs of all time. The "Sport" model just adds to that legend.

Practicing daily at my Pima Pistol Club is a national and internationally prominent bull's-eye shooter, Steve Reiter. The first day at the range with my new "Sport" model, I strolled over to Steve and asked if he had ever seen a Nagant match model. He sure had. He said he had shot against them at matches in Russia in the 1980s. Imagine being able to buy a Russian match pistol, used in international competition, for about $200. Don't pass this one up!

Differentiating the "Sport" model from the typical service Nagant are a heavy 5-3/4" bull barrel, measuring .788" in diameter, a rear sight adjustable for windage and a front sight adjustable for elevation. Also present is an oversize set of target stocks with a thumb rest for right handed shooters, a lightened mainspring and lighter trigger set up as a single action only.

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Shoots In Spite Of ...

Compared even to a military Smith & Wesson or Colt, the Nagant Sport is not a finely finished revolver. It's just darn accurate. Actually, it's hard to tell what the quality of the original finish was since all the surplus Nagants we're receiving have been arsenal refinished.

What was curious to me was the condition of the bore. One would think a target revolver would receive a superior level of care. Not so. The bore of my Sport model is severely pitted, but the little brick chimney still shoots. In fact, firing Russian target ammunition, featuring a 100-grain, hollowbase, lead wadcutter at 600 fps, I can easily keep seven shots into 2", and it doesn't seem to matter whether I'm 15 yards or 25 yards from the target.

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The grip is comfortable. The bull barrel simply glues you to the target. The sight picture is open and crisp. The trigger is decent, and there's virtually no recoil to the 7.62 cartridge as loaded by Russia, Fiocchi or Century International Arms.