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Old April 14, 2012, 04:32 PM   #1
essohbe
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7.62 Nagant revolver

Besides the soviet ammo I can shoot .32 S&W in it too can't I?

Better make sure


I know there's the .32acp cylinder replacement and I might grab one but it's kinda "meh" for now...
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Old April 14, 2012, 05:51 PM   #2
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You wont be able to shoot unmodified 32 S&W without changing the cylinder.

I reload for my Nagant using 32-20 brass but the rim is thicker on the 32s, I had to shave about .080 thousands off the base of the rim. Worked fine after that.

Of course witht he 32-20s being shorter you don't get the gas seal, but its not like you need a lot of velocity to poke a hole in a paper target.
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Old April 14, 2012, 11:46 PM   #3
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Our local shop here has 7.62 Nagant ammo, not quite 50 cents a round. 32-20, however, is on order for several weeks now.

I was considering a cylinder conversion, but Nagant ammo seems to be in good supply.
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Old April 15, 2012, 09:28 AM   #4
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32 s&w and 32 s&w long will shoot fine out of an unmodified Nagant revolver. The brass will bulge/split, so it won't be reloadable. If you aren't reeeeealy into reloading, you will not like reloading for a Nagant revolver. Royal PITA.
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Old April 15, 2012, 12:12 PM   #5
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I am trying to get my brain around the idea of cartridges that shoot fine, but the cases come out bulged and split.
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Old April 15, 2012, 01:25 PM   #6
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I've have shot plenty to .32 S&WL in my Nagant without any problem. It isn't that accurate, so I don't use it anymore, not since I have acquired a decent stock of 7.62 Nagant ammo. I found that most of the .32 cases bulged a little, and maybe 25% split. Not really a problem for those pistols. My friend easily reloaded those cases that did not split.
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Old April 15, 2012, 03:20 PM   #7
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I just buy 7.62 nagant ammo that is made to shoot out of it and use the gas seal like its meant to be used. For a couple $ more you can just the real ammo and re-use the brass. The 32 S&W Long is only like $5 cheaper everywhere i saw so not really saving anything
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Old April 15, 2012, 03:47 PM   #8
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Boosted how do you reload Nagant brass? How do you crimp for the gas seal, or do you remove some brass and sacrifice the gas seal? What dies are you using. The only ones I can find are to resize 32-20 brass.

I shoot hotshot/.prvi, Russian military surplus, and reloaded .32 s&w long in my Nagant. The cheapest for me, by far, is the .32. The most potent is the milsurp ammo, which is still cheaper than new hotshot/.prvi ammo.
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Old April 15, 2012, 03:56 PM   #9
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Quote:
Boosted how do you reload Nagant brass?
I have the same questions as I am getting ready to get my loading bench back in operation. There are several threads in the reloading section of the forum about it. Maybe Boosted could go into detail about it there.I don't shoot my 1895 a lot, so whatever ammo I find has worked OK. I just got 140 rounds of the Russian stuff that SOG has for about $5.00 per box of 14. Don't know how it shoots yet. One thing I noticed is that it doesn't have the gas seal "flair,but rather a long taper over the bullet with two "peen" marks opposite each other at what appears to be the bullet base.
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Old April 15, 2012, 03:58 PM   #10
FrederickDav
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I tried .32S&W in my Nagant. It took forever to clean the lead off everything! I even felt the splatter! Not a fun time. Won't do it again. If I can't find the correct round for the weapon- it stays home.
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Old April 15, 2012, 04:30 PM   #11
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Quote:
I tried .32S&W in my Nagant. It took forever to clean the lead off everything! I even felt the splatter! Not a fun time. Won't do it again. If I can't find the correct round for the weapon- it stays home.
I don't experience leading with new or reloaded .32 s&wl. Such a slow moving lead bullet shouldn't do that, but depends on the ammo and lead hardness I guess. If you are actually looking for Nagant ammo, try J&G or SOG for milsurp ammo or AIM Surplus for hotshot or .prvi ammo.
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Old April 15, 2012, 04:57 PM   #12
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Im not reloading these yet and im not sure if im going to. It seems like its alot more of a hastle than what its worth. I just keep my brass incase i change my mind someday or to sell to someone who does reload them. For how little i shoot it, ill just buy commerical ammo or russian ammo if i can find it since it shoots so much better and has alot more penetrating power
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Old April 15, 2012, 08:50 PM   #13
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Quote:
I just keep my brass incase i change my mind someday or to sell to someone who does reload them.
Same here. Recently, a bunch of imported milsurp nagant ammo has been imported and a few places carry spam cans of it. I picked up a can of 1092 rnds of the real Russian milsurp so I will be shooting the nagant a lot more. Cost was about 1/3 less than buying boxes of Hotshot or .prvi, but they are berdan primed and not reloadable by me.
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Old April 15, 2012, 09:52 PM   #14
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Quote:
few places carry spam cans of it.
I have seen that recently, at least i have seen one of them. Where did you get it and what did it end up costing you for a can of it? So its the real russian stuff where the bullet is actually half the way down the case?
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Old April 15, 2012, 10:30 PM   #15
kilimanjaro
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Try SGAmmo.com, seem to remember seeing case lots there last week. If not there, ammoengine.com may help to search.
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Old April 16, 2012, 12:09 AM   #16
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http://www.southernohiogun.com/ammo/...stol-ammo.html

This is the stuff I bought from SOG. $.95/box of 14 rounds, but they also say $4.74 per box when ordering 78 in a sealed can.
Just don't shoot the Nagant enough to buy a that much, and I don't know how well it shoots. When I get a chance to shoot some i might order another couple hundred rounds.

Something to note from my previous post.
Quote:
One thing I noticed is that it doesn't have the gas seal "flair,but rather a long taper over the bullet with two "peen" marks opposite each other at what appears to be the bullet base.
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Old April 17, 2012, 07:23 PM   #17
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i just ordered a couple of the 14 round russian surplus boxes from JGsales which was the cheapest i found them. Ill see how they look and shoot when i get them. They kinda look from the picture as the same as PPU's
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Old April 18, 2012, 06:22 AM   #18
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Quote:
So its the real russian stuff where the bullet is actually half the way down the case?
The stuff with the bullet halfway down the case is Russian target ammo, not military. This military ammo is hotter than the yellow box target stuff, or at least seems to be. I don't have a chrono so I can't prove it.
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Old April 20, 2012, 10:25 AM   #19
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Quote:
Boosted how do you reload Nagant brass?
I'm not Boosted, but I do load Nagant Brass.

I use Nagant Dies sold by Lee. I don't have a carbine sizing die so I lightly lube the cases with RCBS case lube.

I then deprime and size the cases. I use the powder charging and belling die for the Lee set to slightly bell the cases, then insert the primer. I drop the powder though the Lee die.

I then move the case to the seating die, seating the bullet flush with the mouth of the case.

The crimping die then crimps the case after I set it up to match the crimp of factory bullets.

An additional step I use, in insure a tight bullet and smooth chambering, is to use a M1 Carbine Die taper crimping die to put a slight taper crimp on the case. This helps in gripping the bullet.

I also load modified 32-20 cases. The only difference is that I trim about .010 off the back of the rim of the case. I've found that if you barley remove the markings on the back of the rim, its enough for the brass to function in the Nagant Revolver.

I tried Trailboss but I didn't like the accuracy I was getting. I now use 231. I adjust the powder charge to give me the same velocity of the factory ammo.

Here is a target I shot with the above loading procedure fired at 15 yards (45 feet). Single action, I can't hit poop when I shoot that sucker double action with its 437 lbs double action trigger.

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Old April 20, 2012, 11:41 AM   #20
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Finding factory ammo scarce and too spendy a few years back, I got the Lee dies and .32-20 brass. The Nagant load is one of the easiest to load for - once you get past the desire (there's no NEED for it) to try doing the orignal crimp for gas sealing. No other revolver uses gas sealing, the Nagant does not need it either - not for range shooting and plinking. I seat the bullet normally, so as to clear the cylinder front. No need to seat all the way inside the case.
My revolver works fine with .32-20 brass, no shaving of the rims needed. A buddy casts our bullets, but I also bought several hundred Magtech .32 bullets. With some 300 brass cases, I expect the low pressure to enable them to last as long as will be shooting.
Our pet load clocks some 750 FPS, so it's no barn burner.....

Works for me, and it's CHEAP.
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Old April 20, 2012, 01:29 PM   #21
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Well it's a Nagant dadgummit, and I want the gas seal !!! If I wanted a revolver without a gas seal and still have a 437 pound trigger pull, I'd a bought a Webley Mark IV.

Kraigwy, can you elaborate more on this part?
Quote:
The crimping die then crimps the case after I set it up to match the crimp of factory bullets.
Match the crimp of Nagant factory ammo? What kind (Hotshot/prvi funny crimp or the Russian tapered crimp)? Or just a taper or roll crimp that is enough to allow the full length Nagant brass to slip enough into the cylinder to allow a gas seal? Do you have any issues with cracked case mouths because of the severe crimp that Hotshot/prvi/Fiocci puts on the factory ammo? How many reloads can you get from one case and still salvage a gas seal?
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Last edited by noelf2; April 20, 2012 at 02:53 PM.
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Old April 20, 2012, 03:13 PM   #22
kraigwy
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I take a factory load and use it to set the crimp on the Lee Factory Crimp die.

Then when I get the bullet seated flush. I but the round in the Crimp die, which leaves the same crimp as you have on the factory bullet.

That only works with Nagant 7.62X38R brass. I just seat the bullet on 32-20 brass where it fits the cylinder.
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Old April 20, 2012, 05:32 PM   #23
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Maybe my case is an isolated incident, but my experiences with the 7.62 cartridge have been with Fiocchi and evey one that I have fired has split the case mouth, making the cases unusable as is for reloading.

I found that I had to trim the cases past the split to make them suitable for reloading, but, with the shortened case, the gas seal feature is lost.

And, before anyone asks, I have shot these out of several different era Nagants in my collection, including a Polish Radom, with the same results.
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Old April 20, 2012, 06:10 PM   #24
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thats the way i look at it. The gun is a gas seal revolver so why shoot ammo that doesn't use the gas seal. Kinda defeats the purpose of shooting the gun in my eyes.
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Old April 20, 2012, 09:38 PM   #25
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Quote:
Well it's a Nagant dadgummit, and I want the gas seal !!! If I wanted a revolver without a gas seal and still have a 437 pound trigger pull, I'd a bought a Webley Mark IV.
In defense of the Webley, while the trigger on my Mk. IV is certainly not up to that of my S&W's, it's still worlds better than any Nagant I've ever tried.
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