Nagant Revolver

Turns out that my first C&R gun will be a novel revolver, the Nagant M1895.  I had been kicking myself for not getting one when they were available a year or two ago, and then several shops, such as AIM Surplus and J&G Sales, got shipments in again.  Sweet!  One of the tricky things is the ammo, 7.62 Nagant, aka 7.62x38R.  The bullet is completely seated in the brass, since the mouth of the cartridge forms a gas seal with the chamber, eliminating loss of gas in the cylinder gap.  Since ammo is in relatively low supply, and is thus expensive (200 rds of ammo costs as much as the gun), reloading is a must.  One site has a few loads for the 7.62 Nagant reformed from .32-20 brass using Lee dies, and .32 ACP for use with the replacement cylinder that Century sells.

Of course Surplus Rifle has some useful pictures on how to remove the cylinder.  Yet another site remarks that .32 S&W Long and .32 H&R Magnums can be fed through the revolver.  That'd be interesting to try out—if I can find those cartridges (and have faith enough to hazard it)!  The site also presents this bit of poetry:

I know, with certainty
that in that lacquered purse of yours
nestled against powder case and mirror
sleeps a black stone; seven deaths

Vladimir Nabokov,
in a poem to his fiancee, Vera Slonim

Brings a tear to the eye.

And THR has a forum post detailing quite a handloading ritual for brass made out of .32-20:

I have joined the ranks of those who use the re-sized .32-20 brass homebrews in my Nagants, albeit after a bit of a ritual. I obtained 200 new Starline .32-20 cases and first sanded ~ 10 thousandths off the headstamp with 320-600 grit Si/C paper on a flat. This permits the thicker rims to work well with a stock breech block in all Nagants. I then turn ~ 24 thousandths off the rim diameter, using a Taig micro-lathe, to permit self-centering of the rounds in the chamber bores when loading. I size the brass through a Lee carbide M1 Carbine size, then bell and drop powder with an M1 Carbine powder funnel, and seat and crimp with a .32-20 Lee die from the special 'Nagant' set made by Lee for Midway & Graf's (It uses .32-20 brass...). I hold the cases with a .32-20 shellplate in my Dillon 550B. With Meister 100gr DEWC .312" lead over 2.3gr TiteGroup, I get better results than with either the yellow boxed Russian target or the $50/box Fiocchi ammo. I have just started experimenting with the Berry's clad 85gr .311" DEWC's.

Well, one would really have to like handloading to go through all that!

Update [2010.12.14]: Since the Lee/Midway dies are for re-forming .32-20 brass, an RCBS shell holder is necessary for using the dies with original 7.62 Nagant brass.