Well, after selling the two Glock G17 mags and 1500 rounds of 9x19mm ammo so I'd have funds to buy another gun I just couldn't find anything decent locally SO I just ordered a Nagant M95 from AIM. This will be my second one, had one about 10 years ago and it was actually in excellent condition. I did a mod to it so I could use 32-20 brass and the Lee die set and worked up a load using a .32cal HBWC and some Unique. Shot pretty good too but a buddy of mine who shoots CAS wanted it so I sold it to him. I just wanted to get another gun to have around the house besides just having my Glock G19. This will give me an inexpensive gun to use and it'll be something my wife will be more comfortable with since she likes revolvers better then semis. I'm surprised that the Privi Partisan ammo was so cheap relatively speaking. $22/50 isn't bad for non-corrosive 7.62x38r ammo. Now if someone(HELLO LEE) would bring out an actual set of 7.62x38r dies that'd not cost an arm and a leg so we could reload the proper ctg. for this pistol I'd be in hog heaven. Anyway, probably won't shoot it much, just a few rounds to see where it'll hit and then let my wife put a few through it and that'll probably be it. After we get our tax return money I'll order more ammo to have on hand. Hope this revolver is in as nice a shape as the last one I had. I'll post pics when I get it although it may be a couple weeks since AIM is backed up with orders now. Oh well, talk to ya'll later.
Now that ammo is available for a somewhat reasonable price I think they'd make a great Trail Gun for a hiker on a budget. Plenty of power to take game for the pot or to ward off predators. I"m still doing research on trying to figure out more about loading the 7.62x38r cases. I might still give some Starline 32-20 brass a try, I've read that you don't have to mod the gun to get it to work properly. I'd like to find out if I can use just 30 Carbine dies or if I'd need the Lee sizing/decapping die as well. I know RCBS makes the shell holder for the actual cartridge, it's running $21 bucks from Midway USA, ouch! I remember all the fun I had with my last one working up loads and stuff. I like messing around with stuff like this.
I use the lee dies. They work great, and the starline brass works great too. You do have to trim them a bit though.
You can also do a mod to the revolver so you can use 32-20 without having to mod the case. All you do is remove .010" from the Abutment Piece so it'll clear the case rims and you're good to go. I did that with my last one and I'll probably do it with this one so I can just use the Lee 7.62 Nagant die set and standard .312" bullets. If I go the 30 Carbine die route I'd have to use .308" bullets in order to keep the case size small enough to load into the cylinder. I've also read that Starline 32-20 brass has a thinner rim so you don't need to do the mod to the revolver although you can still shoot standard Nagant ammo out of the revolver even after the mod so it'd just be easier to do the mod and be done with it then worry about weather or not the cartridge cases will work or not. I really hope the bore in this gun is nice like the last one I had. I noticed an add in Shotgun News from J&G Sales that said the Nagant revolvers they were selling had "dark bores", I'd like a nice, shinny bore. Might just give AIM a call tomorrow and double check. If the bore isn't nice then I'll cancel the order unless they can check for condition(normally an extra $10 but didn't have that as an option this time), anyway I'll know more about what I'll do tomorrow after I call them.
