What the heck is this???

[ProLibertate]

My neighbor, who knows I'm a gun nut, brought this revolver over tonight and asked me what it was... He found it in the attic of his garage. It is pretty rare that I am stumped about anything having to do with modern firearms, but I am far from an expert on historical revolvers. So, my question is this: What the hell is this thing?

The only markings anywhere on it are:
-a "T" in a circle on the trigger.
-the serial number: 24169 on the frame in front of the cylinder and on the trigger guard.
-the number "7" below the serial# on the trigger guard.

Any of you guru's out there able to help me out?
Thanks a million in advance!

 

[Scutter01]

It's a Nagant pistol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagant_M1895

 

[jblomenberg16]

Looks an aweful lot like a Nagant Revolver. Is it a 7 shot cylinder roughly .30 caliber?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagant_M1895

 

[! twitty]

It's a Nagant pistol.

Nagant M1895 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Exactly my first thought...

 

[Errkola]

m95 Nagant pistol, maybe Imperial Russian given the sights. What is on the left side plate just above the grip? there should be a arsenal stamping and date.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Wow...quadruple simultaneous replies! Looks like we all called it the same too. Go INGO!

 

[ProLibertate]

Holy Crap that was fast! Thank you folks! Reps all around.
Now I feel like a bit of an idiot though...lol

 

[Errkola]

Don't think that way, unless you are alittle bent you wouldn't have encountered these b4. Now what is stamped on that left plate?

 

[agreen0170]

I wish I could find cool stuff in my attic. All I ever find are mouse dropping!

 

[G_Stines]

I don't see a mark at all.. But I simply blew up the pictures to look. It may be lacking one...

 

[ProLibertate]

Don't think that way, unless you are alittle bent you wouldn't have encountered these b4. Now what is stamped on that left plate?

There is no stamping on the left OR right plate. It is completely void of markings...
The only markings I see anywhere on the weapon are the ones I mentioned in the OP.
I have looked at several pictures of the various M1895 markings, and this one doesn't appear to have had any of the armory stamps at all.
The right side in front of the cylinder does have a sideways "T" marking, but other than that I see nothing that wasn't already mentioned...
I am hell bent and determined to find out more about this weapon now...lol

 

[ProLibertate]

Anybody know if there is a known source to look up the serial numbers on these things to see when it was manufactured?

 

[Errkola]

must've been scrubbed. there is no database as the serials restarted from 0 from year to year. it would be good if you could get a clear picture of the side plate though even if there are no clear markings, might be able to find something that would give an indication of year of manufacture. The arsenal that made this pistol is Tula, as they all are until 1943 or so when the Ishevsk armory made them for a short time.

 

[ProLibertate]

don't need to, it is stamped on the gun

Where? I have listed literally every marking on this weapon... Everything I have read online seems not to apply to this particular Nagant for some reason.

 

[ProLibertate]

it would be good if you could get a clear picture of the side plate though even if there are no markings, might be able to find something that would give an indication of year of manufacture or arsenal.

Stand by for pics. I'll take another one right now. Thanks for your help by the way!

 

[ProLibertate]

 

[Black_Wolf]

That marking is a Hammer in circle Tula Arsenal stamp.

The other one is just a Hammer.

Both Tula stamps.

 

[Errkola]

ok, like you said, nothing there, no apparent import marks, no arsenal banner although it is a tula manufactured gun, no date. Unusual not to have anything on that left sideplate. The front sight would indicate it is a pre '32 gun if I recall correctly. Single or double action? Looks to have blood pitting as well.

 

[G_Stines]

Anybody know if there is a known source to look up the serial numbers on these things to see when it was manufactured?

Well the problem is that each production plant had its own Serial Number system with their proof marks, and since that one is void of proofs... no.

I am going to go with an early early 1900 Russian made, that is based on the front sights, and the T could possibly be the markings from a Tula manufacturer. There is a chance that it a parts/refurbished gun, although it does have matching serials.

The left side stamp was probably scrubbed by the Bolsheviks when they took over in 1917. It was a common practice for them to scrub previous stamps, on rifles as well as pistols. They were probably unable to scrub the T off the trigger without disassembling the revolver, which would have been more trouble than it was worth and would have backed up the line. This also hints to its early age.

Prior to 1938, no Cyrillic character prefixes were used (Another hint). There should also be a serial number on the cylinder face, one character between each chamber. Hopefully this matches the other two.

There should be another on the inside of the sideplate/grips. That should match also.

 

[subtlesixer03]

It could be possible that it is a bring back not a surplus gun. How old are the homes in your area. It could even be from the first great war.