[cameramon]

AIM Surplus, J&G Sales and several other online retailers are selling a newly found cache of 1970's USSR surplus Nagant pistol rounds at a good price. The surplus Russian loads are evenly tapered to the mouth of the case, whereas the modern loads have straighter case walls with a pronounced crimp at the mouth. They look distinctly different, even though they are designed to work the same way in the same unique gun.

Does anyone know why two different designs exist? Which design gets a better gas seal?

http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.a...ame=Russian+7.62x38R+FMJ+14rd+box&groupid=124

http://www.jgsales.com/7.62-nagant-russian-surplus-108gr-fmj,-14rd-box.-p-6865.html

 

[texaswoodworker]

I don't know how the new ones work, but it looks like you could reload rounds like that.

 

[USAFret]

I bought some of the surplus USSR ammo from SOG and it worked fine in my 95 Nagant. Expanded as expected and was accurate. Getting the fired shells out with the Mickey Mouse extraction system wasn't always that much fun though! All in all I was satisfied.

 

[cameramon]

I bought some of the surplus USSR ammo from SOG and it worked fine in my 95 Nagant.

Thanks for your input, USAFret. I've never fired a Nagant pistol before, so I'm speaking in the abstract.

Other than being corrosive, how do the surplus rounds compare to the "modern" rounds? Does the shape of the case seem to make any difference or seal better than the other?

If a surplus round is harder to extract, wouldn't that indicate that the round better sealed itself during firing? (I wonder if it would help to wipe the rounds with a silicone cloth before loading the cylinder?)

 

[c3shooter]

Compare FIRED casings- you may find greater similarity- those tend to "iron out" the brass.

 

[cuate]

1895 Nagant Cartridges

Thanks for your input, USAFret. I've never fired a Nagant pistol before, so I'm speaking in the abstract.

Other than being corrosive, how do the surplus rounds compare to the "modern" rounds? Does the shape of the case seem to make any difference or seal better than the other?

If a surplus round is harder to extract, wouldn't that indicate that the round better sealed itself during firing? (I wonder if it would help to wipe the rounds with a silicone cloth before loading the cylinder?)

I have never fired Russian Military surplus ammo in my Nagant but fired a lot of
Privi non corrosive cartridges bought locally at at places like MidwayUSA online. And I have reloaded these with Lee 30 Carbine dies. The case necks need annealing to prevent splitting after reloading but I have reloaded them until they split and then discard them. I also have Lee dies for 32-20 brass to shoot in my Nagant and they last much longer, don't do the nifty Nagant seal but shoot just fine. In both Privi and 32-20 cases I use CCI small pistol primers, 3 1/2 grs. of Trail Boss gunpowder and Hornady .32 cal. jacketed hollow point bullets I resize to .309 dia. Plenty hard hitting, accurate and I have fired a couple of hundred of these reloads.

 

[USAFret]

I haven't fired the PVRI ammo in the Nagant but I've been told that it does not have the necked down cartridge profile that the original Soviet cartridges inherently have. If that is true, then they would not seal as effectively (or seal at all) as the original rounds would do. I like the idea of wiping down the cartridges with silicone spray to better eject the fired shells. I had to hammer out one spent shell with a screwdriver recently. Anyway, I'm probably going to retire my Nagant to a wall display since it's a year-of-birth gun. It should look great next to my grandfathers 45-70 Springfield Model of 1873 rifle.