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 must name the word that he associates with the represented object. For example, “hare” - “wolf”, “rain” - “puddle”. And what kind of association does a person have with the word "revolver"? If the question was raised for a resident of the United States, the answer would be “Smith and Wesson,” and from the inhabitants of the post-Soviet space you can hear only one answer - Nagan. The revolver is a legend of several generations. In all feature films about the First and Second World Wars, about bandits and law enforcement agencies - Nagan is used everywhere. All the schoolchildren, show them the legendary revolver, without hesitation, they will say that this is a gun, they will also be asked to shoot.
It all started with the requirements for the tactical and technical characteristics of a revolver
Historically, at the end of the nineteenth century for the Russian army, local gunsmiths did not produce concealed short-barreled weapons. At that time, the Smith and Wesson revolver was used, which showed itself well in the Russian-Turkish war, but its weight and technical indicators left much to be desired. For a country that is constantly in armed clashes, defending its borders from raids by enemy armies, self-cocking weapons were needed to fire at short range. The Russian military chiefs arranged a grand tender of that time for all European arms designers. The task was not easy, but precisely because of this, the gun (revolver) became the most massive production in the world and overgrown with legends among connoisseurs of weapons. Among them were such:
- The revolver must stop the horse from 35 meters, or from the same distance punch half a dozen inch boards.
- The initial velocity of the bullet should be more than 300 meters per second.
- The mass of the revolver should not exceed a kilogram.
- The gauge should be three lines - 7.62 mm according to new standards.
- The drum capacity should hold more than six standard cartridges at that time.
- Smokeless powder was used, and brass should be used as the liner material.
A huge number of requirements were put forward to the manufacturer, but all of them for the most part described the tactical and technical characteristics of an existing weapon that was used by the military of the Russian army.
The cunning and ingenuity of the Belgian gunsmiths perpetuated their creation for centuries
Belgian gunsmiths Leon and Emil Nagany at that time were already developing such a revolver. However, the caliber of their revolver was 5.45 mm, and in the drum there were only six rounds. The brothers went to the trick - having made two dozen revolvers, they presented them to the Russian Tsar, all ministers and military commanders. The gunsmith tender ended without ever starting. Even several years later, the presented guns by European gunsmiths could not surpass the revolver of the Nagan system.
To fulfill all the requirements of the customer, the designers had to create a new drum for seven rounds and increase the caliber of the bullet, using trunks with three-line rifles. Having fulfilled all the conditions of the contract, the Nagan brothers delivered twenty thousand revolvers of the Russian army and ensured the production of Nagan at the Tula Arms Plant over three years.
Belgian gunsmiths also provided two versions of their creation. By slightly changing the device of the revolver, they made it so that the gun could now be self-cocking, as well as with a manual cocking trigger. This change affected the price of the revolver. So, the ordinary soldier was supposed to cock the finger during the battle, and the officers received self-cocking weapons.
World famous for several years
Having studied the drawing for the Naganov pistol patent, any gunsmith could reproduce it without much effort. After all, the revolver’s revolver device is simpler than any similar competitor. A few years later, in the territories of the USA, South America and Europe, similarly named revolvers began to appear with a reduced caliber of a bullet. However, the whole mechanism was very similar to the Tula revolver - gun. Photos taken by reporters over the century confirm this fact:
- Self-cocking trigger mechanism, which pulled the trigger by pressing the trigger.
- Monolithic, non-separable frame of a revolver.
- The ramrod tube retracts into the drum axis in a combat position.
- The trunk screwed into the frame on a blind landing.
- The entire trigger mechanism is mounted in the frame and closed with a removable cover.
- Smokeless powder is used.
On the other hand, it was thanks to the growing popularity of Nagan all over the world, and accordingly to mass production, that a large leather holster for a revolver appeared. Historical documents indicate that there was no holster in tsarist times. However, if we talk about the production of Nagan in Serbia, then there appeared a holster for it, exactly the same as that used by the Red Army soldiers.
Favorite weapon of bandits and Red Army men
If we turn to history, whether it be a textbook, a film or a documentary video, first of all you can pay attention to the lack of a large assortment of weapons from the warring parties. The Maxim machine gun, the Mosin rifle and the most popular weapon are the gun. A revolver is present among fighters on both sides of the conflict. Any military man will confirm that the fewer types of weapons in a war, the greater the likelihood of finding the necessary ammunition for his weapons in battle. To fight, you need the weapon itself, its supplies and its fault tolerance. And if you take into account that the revolver "Nagant" was cleaned and disassembled in a very short time, this can explain why it was liked by all parties to the conflict.
Until the outbreak of World War II, the only and only drawback of the revolver was the difficulty of pulling the trigger to fire a shot. The exponential ease of shooting at the same time with two hands is false for that time. You can see a similar trick in the movie The Elusive Avengers.
The best weapon for SMERSH
From the beginning of World War II until the Caribbean crisis of 1962, Soviet gunsmiths developed a huge number of pistols and revolvers, which they tried to promote in military circles. Having made one misfire during the test firing at the firing range, the then unknown Tulsky Tokarev caliber of 7.62 mm was stuck in the laboratories of the weapons factory for a long time. However, having appeared by the end of the twentieth century, the TT 7.62 mm pistol became the favorite weapon of criminality, due to its low price, excellent fault tolerance and huge lethal force.
The leadership of the state, GRU scouts, spies and the NKVD got at their disposal the world's best revolver. Gun "Nagant" has undergone many improvements. Along with the usual Nagan in the museum you can find a revolver with a silencer and flame extinguisher for employees SMERSH and GRU. Until now, among the collectors of weapons, the Nagant-carbine, which was intended for the border troops and allowed to fight at long distances, is in demand.
Favorite military weapon in peacetime
At the end of World War II, all the weapons used by soldiers in battles and captured from the enemy were placed in the military warehouses of many Soviet republics. The country was built and developed both spiritually and sports. It was thanks to the development of sports in the USSR that they remembered the Nagant revolver. Reviews of former combatants all reiterated as one that for sports shooting there is no better gun than a gun. Given that in the thirties, the development of the Nagan was already carried out under the caliber of 5.6 mm (with less lethal force) and a limited number of it was released. The caliber of 5.6 mm for Russian gunsmiths was not new, as it was found in the Smith and Wesson revolvers brought in by Russian generals from abroad.
They did not begin to invent anything new, they just changed the trunks and drums. So appeared in the clubs for sports shooting revolvers "Nagant", having a caliber of 5.6 mm. They were joined by three-rulers, converted to a caliber of 5.6 mm, which received factory marking of TOZ, popularly referred to as "small things." High firing accuracy, very low recoil, easy maintenance and a large aiming range are the characteristics thanks to which the gun (revolver) and small-bore rifle can still be found in sports clubs and weapons of the internal troops.
Change the flag on the revolver during launch
It is unknown who came up with the idea of replacing a wave of the flag at the start of the runners with a shot from a revolver, but a Nagan was used as a starting pistol in all competitions. The development of the 30s for a caliber of 5.6 mm came in handy here. The cartridge was completely changed to Zhevo, whose power was enough to play a loud shot. The system using zhevel was converted for the firing of signal missiles, and so the signal gun revolver appeared. Before the collapse of the USSR, it will completely disappear from the market, making people believe that the time of the Nagans is in the past. But a gun can easily compete for a place in a private collection.
If you look at it, over the course of a century, a huge number of modifications of the Nagan have been released, which, having different tactical and technical characteristics, have found their application in different areas. However, the trigger mechanism embedded in the Nagan at the end of the nineteenth century did not change at all.
Traumatic weapons as a step into the masses
Magnificent weapons not only grow into legends, but also gain fans who wish to acquire a famous weapon legally. That was how the traumatic revolver Nagan was created. The caliber of a 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, to reduce lethal force, the barrel of the revolver was significantly shortened, and from a rifle gun the gun moved into the niche of smoothbore pistols. Such a modification of the legendary weapon did not please the fans, but for lack of analogues, they had to be content with what is.
The popularity of Nagan in a traumatic performance is still very high. In addition, the traumatic gun, like the original one, still shoots with bullets due to powder gases, and for fans of military weapons, a gun in this design is more valuable than a gun firing compressed air. The pneumatic revolver “Nagant”, which appeared on time at the same time , nevertheless forces buyers not to forget about the legendary weapons for a second.
Shoot - so shoot
The famous concern Izhmash, which is known worldwide for the production of Kalashnikov assault rifles, has been engaged in the production and modernization of the Nagan revolver since 1942. Indeed, during the Great Patriotic War, the Tula Arms Plant 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 the present, pneumatic weapons have become very popular. The pneumatic revolver "Nagan" quickly found its customers and fans. Outwardly, it is very similar to the original of the late nineteenth century. But upon closer inspection, you can see that a cylinder of compressed gas is built into the handle. The walls of the barrel, in contrast to the original, are very thin, the same signal has the gun revolver in one of the earliest modifications.
Do not forget about collectors
Demand for Nagan, as close as possible to the original, among collectors has never decreased. Now it’s impossible to say exactly why the “Nag-MP-313” signal revolver was launched to the masses without consulting with well-known collectors. Having knocked down the serial number of the product by polishing, marking the Baikal factory on top of its own brand with a laser, the manufacturer deprived the revolver of historical value, discouraging the collector's desire to acquire a gun. Seeing the reaction of the market to new weapons, the concern changed the production technology. So the signal revolver "Nagant R-2" appeared. Leaving the serial number and native marking, the factory placed the logo on the back of the revolver.
After studying negative customer reviews about the bored barrel, the manufacturer refused to change the internal diameters of the barrel muzzle. Damage to the gun for protection against firing by live ammunition was done in two ways - they bored the drum to 10 mm by adding inserts for the ginger, and a large pin was drilled through the frame on the right side and inserted. A pin with a diameter of 8 mm is welded to the barrel and gently sanded around the edge.
But what about Flaubert?
The Flaubert cartridge with a caliber of 4 mm, specifying the acceleration of a bullet by the energy of powder gases, was not evaluated in the post-Soviet space. At first, no one could believe that under the Flaubert cartridge no permits were needed, then a 4 mm caliber was laughed at. But faced with problems of increasing the initial velocity of the bullet in air guns, in which either the cylinder has low pressure or the spring is not rigid enough, buyers drew attention to the novelty. And the appearance of the revolver of the Nagan system under Flaubert’s cartridge contributed to the growth in demand for such a wonderful gun in the arms market.
It was a combat pistol, which did not allow killing or injuring a person, firing bullets at the expense of the energy of powder gases and not requiring permission from authorities. This is just a dream. Great purchase - both for a home collection of weapons, and for outdoor entertainment.
Nagan and modding
Given the trend of the 21st century, you can see that among the owners of weapons, modification of products, both visual and improving tactical and technical characteristics, is popular. First of all, the handle of the gun is subjected to modernization. The material used is carved wood, textolite, organic glass with fake patterns or non-ferrous metal. For good accuracy and accuracy of fire, the guns can be equipped with a folding butt. Such a solution will allow you to shoot not on weight, but with emphasis, like from a rifle, which is very convenient during shooting training.
To improve the performance characteristics, laser, optical or collimator sights are installed, this allows to improve the accuracy of shooting. A silencer is mounted on the barrel, which serves as an excellent counterweight during firing, reducing recoil to zero. And although there are many variations on the subject of revolver modernization, nothing will overshadow the first example of the legendary revolver of the Nagan system of the late nineteenth century.