A question about a 1917 artillery with sheepskin
 

Holster pictured below is on Joe Salters site. Its the holster I've never seen before!!~~Eric

Artillery holsters were also made in pebbled skin, (presumably pig) as well as a "corduroy" leather.

Perfectly legit holster. I have several of them.

George is this the same~
 

with my Russian?

Your Nagant's holster is a synthetic, pebbled to LOOK like leather, but actually made of a rubberized textile. The only real leather on your holster are the tool and belt loops, the pouch, the trim and the closure strap.

Damn those Russians, TKS

I do not know anything about your synthetic one, but, I'm almost certain that the first one is authentic, I've seen others absolutely genuine that were quite similar, although I'm not sure it's pigskin, as pigskin should be thicker. IMHO

What kind of ammo does it fire? Is any still available? Lenin's secret police 'The Cheka' later the KGB I'm sure carried these these! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheka

Your Nagant has an unusual design, which pushes the cylinder forward to form a gas seal with the barrel's forcing cone. This makes it possible to somewhat effectively suppress this pistol. The original ammunition is a 7.62x38 crimped round, with the entire bullet seated inside the brass case. This crimped design also works toward sealing off the escape of gasses through the gap between cylinder and barrel. I believe an alternative round is the .32 Long, but original ammo is available:

http://ammoseek.com/ammo/7.62x38-nagant-revolver

pigskin is pigskin and you can see little holes on the other side of the leather. pebbled is just a texture added by some mechanical pressing method to give the finished leather some surface other than smooth.

.32 Long can be used but you run the risk of a sloppy cartridge to cylinder fit resulting in split and bulged cases. I have read accounts of taking clear scotch tape and putting it around the cases to take up some of the loose fit and help the splitting of the cases. .32 ACP conversion cylinders are sometimes available but most require fitting to the gun.

Heres 2 the one on the right seems a man made print!

Ben, are you discussing the Artillery or Nagant holster? If it is the Nagant, I can assure that this is a textile, not real leather.

Doug I have to agree. One thing its not leather. I minored in Russian studies and the condition in Russia during the date of this pistol is 1924 was a country ripe in revolution. The Czar Nicholas was execute along with the entire royal family. The Cheka the soviet police was ruthless abolishing all private ownership. Great shortages of everything. I'm sure Leather was rare and the citizens were hungry. Other alternatives were used had to be used. The movie Dr Drzhivago says it all!!!. It feels like some kind of rubber replacement which would make more sence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_II_of_Russia The secret police http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheka

Doug
Never thought about a suppressor on a Nagant. Makes sense with that forward moving cylinder.:rolleyes:
I have heard about using 32 S & W long in a Nagant. These days, it might be easier to find real Nagant ammo then the 32 ammo.:eek:
Bob

Here's a short video....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvF4yurWSc0