Skarpa Patroner m/87 (Swedish Nagant)

     Notes: This is a version of the Nagant revolver (see Russian revolvers) manufactured especially for Sweden near the turn of the 20^th Century.  The original issue “Swedish Nagant” (as the revolver is most often known) was originally issued only to officers (and therefore known as the m/1887 Officers Revolver), but it was later more widely issued and later renamed.  It originally fired a blackpowder version of the 7.5mm Swedish Nagant cartridge (a round designed specifically for this weapon, and a variant of the Norwegian Nagant cartridge), but near 1900 the cartridge was converted into a smokeless powder round (unfortunately, without any real difference in performance).  The revolver itself is similar to the Russian Nagant 1895 revolver, operated with a complicated gas-seal system which was supposed to increase performance by sealing the gap between the cylinder and barrel, but this in fact has little or no effect upon performance.  The Swedish Nagants were double-action revolvers, and the Swedes made two modifications to the weapon: the cylinder cannot rotate unless the hammer is cocked, and the hammer cannot be cocked unless the trigger is pulled slightly to the rear.  (With these modifications, the weapon was known as the m/87-93.)

     In 1893, the Norwegians also adopted the Swedish Nagant.  They purchased the initial lot from Sweden, then produced the rest in their own factory.  They were issued to all branches of Norway’s armed forces and to the national police, with some of them remaining in service until 1940.  The Serbs also purchased thousands of Swedish Nagants, equipped with an Abadie-style loading gate which prevents the weapon from being discharged unless the loading gate is closed.  The Swedish Nagants used by Sweden herself were largely replaced in military service by 1903, but many of these revolvers were purchased by the Swedish National Shooting Organization, the Frivilliga Skytteroreelson (a police organization) and the Verkskyddet, which was a paramilitary organization responsible for security at industrial sites.  These Nagants were rechambered for .32 ACP, and some served as late as the 1950s.  The Swedish Nagants are now considered prized collectors’ items, with the 7.5mm models being considered more valuable.