This series of pictures shows how the Nagant's cartridge extractor works.  It is a slow process and must have been quite difficult to do in combat.  The picture below shows a round being loaded into the cylinder.  A process that must be done one round at a time.

To empty the weapon of spent cartridges, one must open the rear latch that holds the rounds in place.  This is shown on the upper right picture.

Then the rod underneath the barrel must be pulled forward and aligned with the chambers of the cylinder.  Each cartridge is then pushed out by using the rod to force them out the back of the cylinder, as seen in the picture on the middle right. 

We have also noticed some differenced in the rods of the Nagant pistol.  Two examples of this can be seen at the right.  One was found on our Izhevsk pistol, while the other was on our Tula example.  It is an excellent example of Soviet production variances.

The gas seal system which made the Nagant so unique is shown here in operation.

The picture on the upper right shows the weapon in its natural state.

While the picture on the bottom right shows what happens when the trigger is pulled:  the hammer draws back, and the cylinder is pushed forward.  When the hammer falls, the edge of the cartridge forms the rest of the seal.

This system gives the bullet a marginal increase in velocity since it doesn't lose gas pressure  like other revolvers.  It also makes the trigger pull uncomfortable.