How to lighten the pull of the 1895 Nagant revolver

A simple tip can be done to the mainspring of the revolver that will reduce the double action trigger pull by several pounds. This tip does not involve any cutting or grinding. In no way will your pistol be damaged or modified from military specifications.

The manner in which the mainspring fits into the pistols grip allows unnecessary free movement of the V-shaped spring arms. By not allowing full swing of one arm, the felt trigger pull can be reduced. When done right, the pistol will function in double and single action in a normal manner.

The first step is to remove the pistols grips. I have included photos on just how to do this.
Once you have the pistols grips removed, roll the pistol so that it is laying on its right side with the barrel pointing to your left.

Notice that at about ½ way down the steel pistol grip frame there is a rounded milled raised portion of the inner frame. We are going to use this “nub” to hold our tension reducer.

As stated above, we want to reduce the tension on the locking pawl, cam and hammer, which in turn will reduce the friction of these parts as they move.

You place a number 10 nut under the spring arm going to the cylinder indexing parts.

By using a good pair of needle nose pliers or a hand vice, you will easily be able to compress this spring arm. Do not pry or pull up on this spring arm. This spring is under tension and can cause harm to you if it pulls free.

Place the nut as shown in the photos. You do not want the nut to shift position.

Try a few “test pulls” of the pistols trigger. If the triggers pull is too light or still too stiff, change to a different size nut. I use a common nut to allow the nuts flats to provide a good flat surface that will not roll out of position.
Where you place the nut will be a factor on how the spring arm flexes and the force needed for it to bend.

Each Nagant pistol is unique to itself when it comes to how the frame was ground/milled when manufactured.
These pistols were made during peace and wartime. The dimensions from one year to another will be different. Take your time and try several sizes of nuts until you find which one works for you.

A simple fix that cost two cents. And that’s my two cents. Enjoy.

_________________
Gulf of Tonkin Yacht Club '70-72
GMCM(SW) USN 68-89
1776-2012 USA RIP
President NM MILSURPS

Well i did the the nut trick to my M95 Nagant it worked good. I ended up using a #8 nut.

Mike

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"This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration. Our streets will be safer, our police will be more efficiient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!" - Adolf Hitler

i've been wanting to do this for awhile and have yet to take the time. one question though: how come in step 3 you removed the primary cylinder but in step 4 you didn't remove the secondary cylinder?

I fixed the photo's.

_________________
Gulf of Tonkin Yacht Club '70-72
GMCM(SW) USN 68-89
1776-2012 USA RIP
President NM MILSURPS

When I tried this, the double action didn't work reliably. The cylinder would move forward but it wouldn't always rotate.

_________________
I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.
- Jack Handey

Does it affect single action any?

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Not that I noticed. I mainly tried it in DA as that is where a lighter trigger pull would really come in handy.

_________________
I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.
- Jack Handey

Try a #8 and maybe even a #6 nut and see if that helps...

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As I stated above, you may have to play with the sizes of the nut. This has worked in several pistols I have tried, and one that would not work until the pawls were reshaped.
Since the purpose of the post was not to alter the pistol in any manner, I do not want to alter the spring shape. Doing so will prevent the pistol from cycling normally after removing the nut.

_________________
Gulf of Tonkin Yacht Club '70-72
GMCM(SW) USN 68-89
1776-2012 USA RIP
President NM MILSURPS

This worked fine for me with a little adjustment. First I polished the bearing surfaces where the trigger assembly meets the hammer assembly. I used hard polishing stones for this operation. I then ground down the surface of the mainspring. I did this with a Dremel tool and a very fine sanding drum. Didn't remove much metal. Just the markings that are stamped into the surface of each face of the spring. This is how you smooth up the trigger on a Colt SAA. I then placed the nut in the location mentioned. First attempt disabled the double action. The single action was 3 pounds by my trigger weight gauge. I then ground off the point of the nut which was bearing against the mainspring. Again, using the Dremel and a sanding disc. I polished the rounded surface of the nut here with 2000 grit paper. This removed just enough metal to engage the double action again. Double action is now in the range of an un-tuned model 19 Smith. It's hard to measure due to the extra action of moving the cylinder forward during the trigger pull. But it is worlds better than before. Thanks for a great idea and clear instructions!

Thanks for the tip,I'll have to try this.

_________________
US Army 1978 to 2000 (Retired) Armor,SUPPORT OUR TROOPS.One son medical retired,USN.One son and his wife,USAF,Three son's US Army

works pretty well, I had nuts of .310 to .340 the larger one wouldn't work and the smaller one shows some improvement, I'll have to try .320 to .330 and see if it improves and still functions double action. thanks

Wow, thanks for the tip. My kids love shooting the Nagant but I typically have to manually cock it for them between rounds.

Fascinatingly simple fix that I will have to try as my Nagant seems to have a 392lb trigger pull in DA.
I will let you know how it turns out.
Tom

_________________
"There is luxury in self-reproach. When we blame ourselves, we feel no one else has a right to blame us."
-- Oscar Wilde

I know there hasn't been a reply to this posting in awhile, but I had to share. I was having difficulty compressing the spring enough to get the #10 (I tried as small as a #6) nut into position. So after a few beers (aka mental lubrication), I had a V8 moment. I unscrewed the trigger guard screw, rotated it on its pivot pin, placed #10 nut into position, then used the leverage provided by the trigger guard and rotated it back into position. All but effort less. Hope this helps others who may have had difficulty.