Nagan (revolver): technical specifications and modern modifications

In psychology there is a test called "associative series" - this is when a person is told a word or a picture is shown, and he should name the word that he associates with the presented object. For example, "hare" - "wolf", "rain" - "puddle". And what kind of association does a person have on the word "revolver"? If the question was sounded for a US resident, the answer could be "Smith and Wesson," and from the inhabitants of the post-Soviet space one can hear only one answer - the revolver. Revolver - a legend of several generations. In all feature films about the First and Second World Wars, on bandits and law enforcement agencies, a revolver is used everywhere. All the boys are schoolchildren, show them the legendary revolver, without hesitation, they will say that it is a revolver, they will also ask to shoot.

It all began with the requirements for the tactical and technical characteristics of the revolver

Historically, at the end of the nineteenth century for the Russian army, local armourers did not produce short-barreled weapons of concealed wearing. At that time, the Smith and Wesson revolver was used, which proved itself in the Russian-Turkish war, but its weight and technical parameters left much to be desired. For a country that is constantly in armed clashes, protecting its borders from the raids of enemy armies, it was necessary to self-cocking weapons for firing at short distances. Russian military commanders arranged a grandiose tender of that time for all the designers of weapons-makers in Europe. The task was not easy, but thanks to this revolver (revolver) became the most massive production in the world and became legendary among the judges of weapons. Among them there were such:

1. The revolver should stop the horse from 35 meters or from the same distance punched half a dozen inch boards.
2. The initial speed of the bullet should be more than 300 meters per second.
3. The weight of the revolver must not exceed a kilogram.
4. The caliber should be three lines - 7.62 mm according to the new standards.
5. The capacity of the drum should accommodate more than the standard at that time six cartridges.
6. Smokeless powder was used, and brass should be used as the material of the sleeve.

A huge number of requirements were put forward to the manufacturer, but all of them in their majority described the tactical and technical characteristics of the already existing weapons used by the Russian military.

The trick and ingenuity of the Belgian gunsmiths immortalized their creation for centuries

The Belgian armourers Leon and Emile Nagans at that time already developed such a revolver. However, the caliber of their revolver was 5.45 mm, and in the drum there were only six cartridges. The brothers went to the trick - after making two dozen revolvers, they gave them to the Russian tsar, all the ministers and military commanders. The tender for the armourer's choice was over, and had not started. Even after several years, the presented revolvers with European gunsmiths could not surpass the revolver of the Nagant system.

To fulfill all the customer's requirements, the designers had to create a new drum for seven cartridges and increase the caliber of the bullet, using trunks with three-linear rifles. Having fulfilled all the terms of the contract, the Nagan brothers within three years carried out the delivery of twenty thousand revolvers of the Russian army and ensured the production of a revolver at the Tula Arms Factory.

Belgian gunsmiths also provided two versions of their creation. Slightly changing the device of the revolver, they made it so that the revolver could now be with a self-cocking mechanism, as well as with a manual platoon hammer. This change affected the price of the revolver. So, an ordinary soldier was supposed to cock a finger during a fight, and officers received a self-cocking weapon.

World fame for several years

Having studied the drawing for the patent of the Naganov pistol, any gunsmith could reproduce it without much effort. After all, the revolver device "Nagan" is easier than any similar competitor. A few years later in the territories of the United States, South America and Europe began to appear the same revolvers with a reduced caliber of bullets. However, the whole mechanism was very similar to the Tula revolver - revolver. Photos made by reporters over a century, confirm this fact:

1. The self-powered shock-trigger mechanism, which pulled the trigger by pulling the trigger.
2. Monolithic, non-separable frame of the revolver.
3. The ramrod tube in the fighting position is retracted inside the drum axis.
4. Screwed into the frame of the trunk on a deaf landing.
5. The entire shock-trigger mechanism is fixed in the frame and is closed with a removable cover.
6. Smokeless powder is used.

On the other hand, it is thanks to the increasing popularity of the revolver all over the world, and, accordingly, to mass production, and there was a large leather holster under the revolver. Historical documents indicate that in the Tsarist times there was no holster. However, if we talk about the production of a revolver in Serbia, then there appeared a holster to it, exactly the one used by the Red Army men.

Favorite weapons of bandits and Red Army men

If you look at history, be it a textbook, film or documentary video, first of all you can pay attention to the lack of a large range of weapons from the belligerents. The Maxim machine gun, Mosin's rifle and the most popular weapon are the revolver. The revolver is present in the fighters on both sides of the conflict. Any military will confirm that the fewer weapons in the war, the more likely to find the necessary ammunition for their weapons in combat. To fight, you need the weapon itself, supplies to it and its fault tolerance. And if you consider that the cleaning and disassembly of the revolver revolver in a very short time, then this can explain why he fell in love with all the parties to the conflict.

Up until the outbreak of World War II, the essential and only drawback of the revolver was the difficulty of pressing the trigger to fire a shot. The indicative ease of firing simultaneously with two hands is false for that time. You can see this technique in the film "Elusive Avengers".

The best weapon for SMERSH

From the beginning of the Second World War until the Caribbean crisis of 1962, Soviet gunsmiths developed a huge number of pistols and revolvers, which they tried to promote in the military circles. Allowing one misfire during the test shooting at the landfill, then still unknown Tula Tokareva caliber 7.62 mm for a long time stuck in the laboratories of the arms factory. However, by the end of the twentieth century, the TT 7.62 mm pistol had become a favorite weapon of criminals, thanks to its low price, excellent resiliency and huge lethal force.

The State leadership, the GRU scouts, spies and NKVD got the best revolver in the world. The gun "Nagan" has undergone many improvements. Along with the usual revolver in the museum, you can find a revolver with a silencer and a flame extinguisher for SMERSH and GRU employees. Until now, among collectors of weapons, the Nagant-carbine is in demand, which was intended for border troops and allowed to fight at great distances.

Favorite weapons of the military in peacetime

At the end of the Second World War, all the weapons used by soldiers in battle and captured from the enemy, was located in the military warehouses of many Soviet republics. The country was built and developed both spiritually and sportily. It was thanks to the development of sport in the USSR that they remembered the revolver revolver. The responses of the former participants in the fighting were all one and the same saying that for sport shooting there is no better gun than the revolver. Considering that in the thirties the development of a 5,6 mm caliber (with lesser deadly force) was already underway and its limited number was released. The caliber of 5.6 mm for Russian gunsmiths was not new, since he met in revolvers Smith and Wesson, brought by Russian generals from abroad.

They did not invent anything new, they only changed their trunks and drums. So appeared in clubs for sports shooting revolvers "revolver", having a caliber of 5.6 mm. They were joined by three-line, converted to a caliber of 5.6 mm, which received the factory marking of TOZ, called the people "small". High firing accuracy, very low recoil, easy maintenance and a large aiming range are the characteristics thanks to which a revolver and a small rifle can still be found in sports clubs and armored internal troops.

To change the flag on the revolver during the start

It is not known who came up with the idea to replace the flap of the flag when starting runners to shoot a revolver, but as a starting pistol in all competitions a revolver was used. The development of the 30-ies under the caliber of 5.6 mm was also useful here. The cartridge was completely changed for javelin, the power of which was enough to play a loud shot. The system was re-equipped using zealously to shoot off signal rockets, so there was also a signal revolver revolver. Before the collapse of the USSR, he will disappear completely from the market, making people believe that the time of the revolts in the past. But the revolver can easily compete for a place in a private collection.

If you understand, for a whole century was released a large number of modifications of the revolver, which, having different tactical and technical characteristics, found their application in different areas. However, the shock-trigger mechanism, incorporated in the revolver in the late nineteenth century, did not change at all.

Traumatic weapons as a step of the revolver in the masses

Magnificent weapons not only acquire legends, but also acquire admirers who wish to acquire their illustrious weapons legally. This is how the traumatic revolver Nagan was created. The caliber of the rubber bullet was reduced to a standard of 5.45 mm, since with a caliber of 7.62 mm, a rubber bullet with good aiming still allowed the horse to stop. Also, in order to reduce the lethal force, the barrel of the revolver was significantly shortened, and from the rifled weapon the revolver moved into the niche of smooth-bore pistols. Such a modification of the legendary weapon did not please the fans, but for lack of analogues it was necessary to be satisfied with what is.

The popularity of the revolver in traumatic performance is still very high. In addition, a traumatic pistol, like the original one, still shoots bullets at the expense of powder gases, and for fans of combat weapons, the revolver in this performance is more valuable than a pistol that fires compressed air. In time, the revolving revolver "Nagan" appeared at the same time will force buyers not to forget about the legendary weapon for a second.

Shoot - so shoot

The famous concern Izhmash, known all over the world for the production of Kalashnikov assault rifles, since 1942, was engaged in the production and modernization of the Nagant revolver. After all during the Great Patriotic War the Tula Arms Factory was evacuated to Izhevsk. And during the collapse of the USSR, thanks to the export of weapons to foreign countries, the plant increased its capacity.

From the end of the twentieth century to today, pneumatic weapons have become very popular. The pneumatic revolver Nagan quickly found its customers and admirers. Outwardly, it is very similar to the original of the late nineteenth century. But on closer examination it can be seen that a compressed gas cylinder is built into the handle. The walls of the trunk, in contrast to the original, are very thin, the same wall has a revolver "Nagan" in one of the early modifications.

Do not forget about the collectors

The demand for a revolver, as close as possible to the original, never decreased among collectors. Now it is definitely impossible to say why the signal revolver "Nagan MR-313" was launched into the masses, without consulting with well-known collectors. After destroying the serial number of the product by polishing the label of the Baikal factory with a laser over the native brand, the manufacturer stripped the historical value of the revolver, discouraging the collector's hunting to acquire a revolver. Having seen the reaction of the market to new weapons, the concern changed the production technology. Thus, the signal revolver "Nagan R-2" appeared. Leaving the serial number and native marking, the factory logo was located on the back of the revolver.

Having studied the negative feedback from customers about the borehole, the manufacturer refused to change the inner diameter of the barrel. Damage of the revolver to protect against shooting with live ammunition was produced in two ways - the drum was wasted up to 10 mm, adding inserts under the jaw, and the trunk was drilled through the frame on the right side and a large pin was inserted. The pin with a diameter of 8 mm is welded to the trunk and gently ground on the edge.

But what about Flaubert?

The Flaubert cartridge with a caliber of 4 mm, which specifies the acceleration of the bullet with the energy of powder gases, was not evaluated in the post-Soviet space. At first no one could believe that under the patron of Flaubert, no permits were needed, then a 4 mm caliber was raised to laugh. But faced with the problems of increasing the initial velocity of the bullet in pneumatic pistols, in which either the cylinder has a low pressure, or the spring is not rigid enough, the buyers paid attention to the novelty. And the appearance of the revolver of the Nagant system under the patron of Flaubert contributed to the growing demand for such a remarkable gun in the arms market.

It was a fighting pistol that does not allow to kill or injure a person who shoots bullets at the expense of the energy of powder gases and does not require the permission of the authorities. This is just a dream. Great purchase - both for home collection of weapons, and for entertainment in nature.

Nagan and modding

Given the trend of the 21st century, one can see that among the owners of weapons, the modification of products, both visual and improving tactical and technical characteristics, is popular. First of all, the revolver handle is subjected to modernization. The material used is carved wood, textolite, organic glass with dummy patterns or colored metal. For good accuracy and accuracy of shooting, the revolver can be equipped with a folding butt. This solution will allow shooting not on weight, but with an emphasis, like a rifle, which is very convenient during training shooting.

To improve the TTX installed laser, optical or collimator sights, this allows you to improve the accuracy of shooting. The muffler is mounted on the barrel, which serves as an excellent counterweight during the shooting, reducing the recoil to zero. And although there are many variations on the modernization of the revolver, nothing will eclipse the first sample of the legendary revolver of the Nagant system of the late nineteenth century.