AHC: Make the M1895 Nagant Revolver Popular

Delta Force

Banned
The M1895 Nagant revolver has two interesting features for a revolver, especially one of its vintage. The first is that it holds seven rounds of ammunition, while until a few decades ago most revolvers held five or six rounds. The second is that the revolver achieves a gas seal and can use a suppressor when firing 7.62 x 38 mm R ammunition, which it was designed for.

With these two features, is there a way that the M1895 could become a popular firearm in film or video games? Is there a setting where these two capabilities might be of interest? Perhaps there could be a dramatic showdown in which the Nagant's extra bullet plays a major role? Perhaps a spy agency decides that the extra bullet and suppression capabilities are useful to have in something as reliable as a revolver?
 
The M1895 Nagant revolver has two interesting features for a revolver, especially one of its vintage. The first is that it holds seven rounds of ammunition, while until a few decades ago most revolvers held five or six rounds. The second is that the revolver achieves a gas seal and can use a suppressor when firing 7.62 x 38 mm R ammunition, which it was designed for.

With these two features, is there a way that the M1895 could become a popular firearm in film or video games? Is there a setting where these two capabilities might be of interest? Perhaps there could be a dramatic showdown in which the Nagant's extra bullet plays a major role? Perhaps a spy agency decides that the extra bullet and suppression capabilities are useful to have in something as reliable as a revolver?

Perhaps have a situation similar to that of the Mosin Nagant Rifle - which was made in large numbers in the USA but never delivered due to the Russian Revolution.

Like the rifle have the revolver become a 'cheap' but effective weapon on the civilian market in large numbers and so due to its 'cheapness' and robustness remains a very common revolver in civilian hands

Have modified silenced examples used by Commandos and Resistance forces in WW2

OTL the US sent tens of thousands of surplus weapons to the UK in the months after the fall of France / op dynamo - everything from US Made P14 Rifles to 75mm Artillery pieces.

So how does it become famous?

Rather than trying to use a Sten gun and then a grenade as OTL to kill Reinhard Heydrich in Operation Anthropoid have Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš use modified silenced Nagant revolvers to first shoot the Driver and then the SS General as he stands in the car trying to draw his sidearm.

Have the last round the one that fatally wounds him!

The moment is immortalised in all of the movies made about the operation and the tragic aftermath.

Special Forces use the weapon to take out sentry's etc in early war missions before the issue of the Silenced Sten gun and De Lisi carbine but it is still carried as a backup silenced weapon by those same forces till after the war.

Again it becomes immortalised in factual, Fictional and the 'then' propergander/Pathe style reports of the day.
 
A few of them were exported to the Philippines during the Philippine-American War and revolutionary General Antonio Luna used them...

...just manage to get some of them arriving at Mexico during the revolution and ending up used by Zapata and Pancho Villa...
 
Perhaps have an even greater amount be exported to the US following the collapse of the USSR. They're actually rather well liked in my local gunshops, mostly because a new one for a while was maybe 150 bucks. Ammo is pricier but it can be found.

Now in the Soviet reenacting groups I know of having one puts you on the fast track to getting to play officer, but that's a rather biased group
 
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