ME: Man Shoots Burglar with "Vintage" Revolver, 7mm?

A 67-Year-Old disabled Rockland Maine man was tired of being burglarized and his medications stolen.   He described himself as a "walking drugstore".   He purchased what the reporter described as a vintage gun.   Harvey said "I bought a gun. Best thing I ever did."

On August 25, Harvey Lembo was on the phone to police when he shot the burglary suspect.  Pistols are handy when one hand is employed on another critical task.

The suspect broke in; made a wrong move, and was shot.   The story says the gun was a 7mm, and that it was under the Mr. Lembow's pillow.  Presumably, it was a pistol.

I only know of one moderately common 7mm pistol, the Japanese Nambu.  Cartridges for it are collector's items, and quite rare.  7mm pinfires are even rarer.   Maybe it was a 7.62 caliber.  7.62 or 7.65 pistols and ammunition are common.   From thepressherald.com:

Lembo said he had bought the vintage gun on Monday. He had lamented to a friend that he was tired of having his apartment burglarized – five times in six years, he said, the most recent being two weeks ago.

(snip)

Lembo turned and fired, putting a 7 mm slug in the suspect’s shoulder as he fled.

Another story says that the pistol was a 7mm Russian revolver.  From the bangordailynews:

He said he purchased a 7 mm Russian-made revolver Monday but declined to say where he acquired it. He said he bought it because he was concerned he would continue to be the target of criminals looking to steal his prescribed medications.

Now all becomes clear.  The revolver is almost certainly a Russian Nagant.  I have a few.  They are an interesting mechanical device, and large numbers were imported and sold for low prices.  They work, but are a little slow to reload, and the ammo is pricey.

If all you need it for is shooting the occasional burglar, it appears to be enough.

 Nagants from the author's collection.  The one on the lower left is a Swede that was converted to .22 LR for importation into the U.S.  Some of the Russians were converted to 7.65 x 17, and a small number to 7.62 x 25, but most of the Russian revolvers still shoot the original cartridge, the Nagant 7.62 x 38R.  The Fiocci ammunition is likely the best for self defense.

Most of the Nagants imported to the United States were made before and during WWII.  The Russians refurbished them at Soviet arsenals; the ones I have seen were in good condition.  A few were made before WWI.   They all are likely to remain useful and reliable for another hundred years.

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.  Link to Gun Watch