M1895 Bore Slugging. Slug the bore of your Nagant revolver.

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How to
Slug the Bore
of a
Nagant Model 1895 Gas Seal Revolver

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I'm the husband of the owner of this website and I would be pleased to share with you some information that took me years to figure out for myself.

There are two major reasons why you will certainly need to slug the bore of your old M1895 revolver...Safety & Accuracy! Since the bore diameter may vary a little bit with this old surplus gun, you'll need to do this before you fire the first round down the barrel (or purchase a box of bullets for reloading purposes). Once you know the exact "groove" diameter of the bore, you can purchase the "correct" ammunition (none of which is currently available since it's all grossly undersized) or reload accordingly.

Basically, if you fire an oversized bullet through a smaller bore, you could blow yourself and your gun to pieces. Oversized bullets cause excessive chamber pressure, shaved lead, ruptured cases, and worse! When in doubt...Slug!

The standard bore/groove diameter for the Nagant M1895 gas seal revolver seems to be .312" ± .001". Some barrels may go as high as .315" but it seems that the Soviets discarded barrels over this diameter since I've never seen one larger than this. The smallest I've measured is .31125" while most hover very close to .312".

Commercial revolver bullets for this caliber may be purchased from http://www.midwayusa.com in the following diameters: .308", .309", 311", .312", .313", and .314". For optimum accuracy when reloading non-gas seal ammunition, use a bullet diameter that closely matches the bore/groove diameter of your gun. However, when shooting "correct" 7.62 Nagant Gas Seal ammunition, the bullet diameter must not exceed .309" due to the case covering the bullet as it traverses the narrow exit point of the cylinder bore.

Just so you know, the inside your barrel is called the bore. Your bore is rifled with spiraling lands & grooves that spin & stabilize the bullet in flight. The "Lands" are the high points...just like an island or land that arises from an ocean. The "Grooves" are the low points...this is what you'll be measuring. When you slug a barrel (see instructions below) this creates an opposite mold whereby the high points on the slug are where the grooves of your rifling use to be.

Step-by-Step Instructions

    * Purchase a box of soft lead muzzle-loading balls that are slightly larger in diameter than your bore. 36 caliber is probably best.
     * Field Strip your revolver so that the Cylinder is removed.
     * Prepare a wooden support jig to support the breech end of your barrel.
          » This should be a wooden block that fits where the cylinder use to be and is supported on the other end by a vise.
     * Place your revolver within this jig so that the barrel breech rests on the wooden support jig.
     * Place a soft lead ball on the muzzle of the barrel.
          » Pistol barrels are designed to be cleaned from the muzzle but there is still a chance of damaging the crown during this process.
     * Using a hammer (a leather mallet is safest), tap the ball repeatedly, forcing it inside the barrel.
          » Once the ball is inserted, there will be leftover lead that can be torn off at the muzzle.
     * Using a doweled wooden rod, tap the slug through the entire length of the barrel. Do not distort the slug when it exits the breech.
     * Using a micrometer, measure the "lands" (the highest ridges on the slug).
          » Take several measurements on each of the 4 lands. This is as much of an art as it is a science.
          » After a little practice, you'll know when a measurement was faulty and when it was done correctly.
          » With practice, you'll be able to measure within .00025".
     * This is your correct Bore/Groove diameter...record this information for future use.