Home Index Search Handguns Visual Selection British North American Italian German Belguim French Spanish Austrian Russian Czechoslovacian Turkish South African Hungarian Brazilian Israeli Competition Firearms Shotguns References Links Gunsite SAGA PAAA SAAACA Contact E-mail me!

Emile Nagant, Fabrque d’Armes Leon Nagant (to 1910), Fabrique d’Armes et Automobiles Nagant Freres (post 1910) All of Liege Belgium. The Nagant revolvers were invented by Emile and Leon Nagant and were manufactured by them in their plant in Liege, Belgium. They were among the early designers who were able to formulate a strong, solid-frame revolver, using a modified version of the Chamelot/Delvigne lock-work, for their double action principles. Pirlot Freres from Liege, Belgium were the patentees of the design of this mechanism. As revolver makers, the Nagant brothers always stayed in the forefront, years ahead of anything produced in the United States. At the time when Europeans were commonly using their revolvers for military, with rapid-fire, double action possibilities, America was still entrenched with the single action Army Colt. The Nagant 1878 pattern revolver is a double action, solid frame revolver utilizing an exterior hammer and a fixed cylinder with a loading gate, located on the right side of the frame. Ejection was carried out by means of a rod swivelled around the barrel. It was available in several calibres, and rifling for each calibre varied, the most common pattern being 4L in the 9mm, 3R in the 7mm. The pattern 1878 revolver, first made for Belgium in 9mm, formed the basis for the revolvers adopted by Luxemburg, Norwegian, Sweden, Argentina, and Brazil, but Nagant is probably best known for their development of the gas seal revolver that was used by the Russian army from 1995 through World War II. The 1878 series of revolvers, however, should be important to us for they formed the basic lock-work of the later Nagants, only they were not gas seal. It is classified as an antique in the USA. (ref. ‘Firearms past and present’ by Luggs, ‘Pistols and revolvers’ - Maj F Myatt, ‘Illustrated encyclopaedia of firearms’ - I V Hogg, ‘Price guide for collector handguns’ - R H Balderson p312, ‘The G/D modern gun values’ p119, ‘Pistols of the world by Hogg and Weeks’ p171, Dictionary of guns and gunmakers byJohn Walter p116)

99343