A Husky Swede with a Difference...

[reverendbeer]

So I saw this on GB...The description sounded cool, and, as usual, I leapt without looking...I don't have it yet, but I can't wait cuz it's cool, so accept these pics from the ad in lieu of real ones...

Eff yeah, M1887 Husqvarna Swedish Nagant!

Well, that cylinder looks a bit strange....

Eff yeah, M1887 Swedish Nagant rechambered for .22lr!

So (after bidding, naturally) the internets told me that the Swede Nagants were rearsenaled by Husqvarna in the '50 prior to excessing and at least one, as many as three, of the US importers kindly sleeved them to .22lr due to a lack of 7.5mm ammo. Naturally, this "ruins" them for collector value, but I don't care...eff yeah .22lr Swedish Nagant!

There's some UH-MAZING ranting on a few of the other forums about these...apparently hardcore collectors go absolutely batshit insane with rage over the fact these have been soiled.

Absolutely NO idea if the $365.50 I paid was a good deal or not, but, again, I don't care! Swedish Nagant! In .22lr!

The visible seam around the barrel sleeve is slightly worrying...

But...but...Nagant in .22lr!!

 

[Half-cocked]

Damn.... A Nagant that you can actually afford to shoot!

They are actually fun and very accurate when fired in single-action mode. I wonder how much gunsmithing is involved in converting one over to .22LR?

Nice find there!

 

[ken792]

Damn that's nice! I'd buy it just to have an antique .22LR revolver.

They probably just silver soldered the sleeves into the barrel and chambers, and then modified the hammer to strike the rim.

 

[Jimbob2.0]

So I saw this on GB...The description sounded cool, and, as usual, I leapt without looking...I don't have it yet, but I can't wait cuz it's cool, so accept these pics from the ad in lieu of real ones...

Eff yeah, M1887 Husqvarna Swedish Nagant!

Well, that cylinder looks a bit strange....

Eff yeah, M1887 Swedish Nagant rechambered for .22lr!

So (after bidding, naturally) the internets told me that the Swede Nagants were rearsenaled by Husqvarna in the '50 prior to excessing and at least one, as many as three, of the US importers kindly sleeved them to .22lr due to a lack of 7.5mm ammo. Naturally, this "ruins" them for collector value, but I don't care...eff yeah .22lr Swedish Nagant!

There's some UH-MAZING ranting on a few of the other forums about these...apparently hardcore collectors go absolutely batshit insane with rage over the fact these have been soiled.

Absolutely NO idea if the $365.50 I paid was a good deal or not, but, again, I don't care! Swedish Nagant! In .22lr!

The visible seam around the barrel sleeve is slightly worrying...

But...but...Nagant in .22lr!!

I have seen one or two of those over the years, they are awesome. Always was sort of on my radar and I would have jumped to at under $4 bills. Was it classified as an antique as many are?

 

[reverendbeer]

Was it classified as an antique as many are?

Nope...regular ol' C&R. I've seen the debates on other forums. But, since I have a C&R, I didn't see any gain in making the argument...

I've read a couple of threads in other forums in which enraged collector(tm) spews fire and brimstone about these and vehemently declaring that these are NOT C&R since they're been modified--completely ignoring the fact that the weapon should 1) be classified as an antique anyway, and 2) the modification was done prior to 1963, which means it'd still be C&R even if it wasn't an antique.

Edit: Though, to be fair, several threads were from the early 2000s, which would have put the mods (dated to around 1954-1958) outside of C&R range for the timeframes of the original posts.

 

[Boom Boom]

I have an antique one with the original bluing. Shot it at the range a few weeks ago. Fun to shoot. Stupid heavy trigger pull even as single action. Don't know why you think 22LR ruins the collector value. It's a low-quantity arsenal conversion and collectible in its own right. $365 is a fair price judging by the photos.

 

[Machodoc]

Oh ... I thought that you meant this Husky Swede with a Difference ....

 

[Half-cocked]

Oh ... I thought that you meant this Husky Swede with a Difference ....

 

[yellowsled]

Very cool. Not sure on value of it though.

 

[reverendbeer]

She is here!

But my shite camera is crap in this light....so, pics must wait until tomorrow when I'll have shiny sun (or even cloudy sun...still better than crap pics from overhead kitchen lights--the auction pics would be better).

Strangeness: the cylinder spins freely no matter what--left and right--but when you pull the trigger, it catches and moves the cylinder to the proper place. I suspect some sort of spring/leaf breakage, cuz this would be a real "OMGWTF" moment in the heat of battle, with everything moving around....cylinder gets jostled and BOOM (or, rather, CLICK) on an already fired cartridge? No, I can't believe that's intentional. Sumpin's broke in there.

However, the finish is better than it looks in the auction pics. Bluing is sketchy along the visible edges (ie. the longi-/lati-tudinal hard lines) and, strangely, the area of the serial (as in the pics) is absolutely gone--maybe a lot of thumb action there? But otherwise, it looks almost new. It hasn't been reblued, so...eff yeah.

My concerns about the barrel sleeve were unfounded. it has the same fit as the chamber sleeves...which is good, BTW. Just sketchy (or really good?) photography, I suppose. Still, better it be better than worse, right?

Pictures soon.

 

[Boom Boom]

Strangeness: the cylinder spins freely no matter what--left and right--but when you pull the trigger, it catches and moves the cylinder to the proper place. I suspect some sort of spring/leaf breakage, cuz this would be a real "OMGWTF" moment in the heat of battle, with everything moving around....cylinder gets jostled and BOOM (or, rather, CLICK) on an already fired cartridge? No, I can't believe that's intentional. Sumpin's broke in there.

The cylinder spin is common. If you swing out the cylinder, you'll probably see that the hand is worn down. It's common for revolvers of its era that have seen use. I have an 8mm French revolver that does it. It's very common on antique revolvers from the 1870s and 1880s. It's not something to worry about as long as the cylinder locks up without excessive wiggle at full cock and the timing is otherwise correct.

 

[reverendbeer]

Pictures soon.

So I grabbed the shite camera and made...pictures that looked worse than the auction pics. Oh well.

The cylinder spin is common. If you swing out the cylinder, you'll probably see that the hand is worn down. It's common for revolvers of its era that have seen use. I have an 8mm French revolver that does it. It's very common on antique revolvers from the 1870s and 1880s. It's not something to worry about as long as the cylinder locks up without excessive wiggle at full cock and the timing is otherwise correct.

Awesome! Everything looks stable and everything moves correctly, so I guess it's good to go!