Tokarev Question

[CutnShootTX]

I was currently looking through a catalog and listed the Russian (Chinese and Korean) designed Tokarev's.
What surprised me was looking at the 7.62 x 25mm ballistics that the Winchester ammo gave for it. 1645 fps and 511 energy. This I found surprising since it is only an 85 grain bullet designed specifically for target shooting.

My question is, does anyone own one of these and what is the accuracy and reliability? I've seen these online and at gunshows running about $300 and like the fact that new ammo is being made for it. Considering purchasing and wanted to know which country of origin is the preferred for manufacturing.

Any other facts or comments are welcomed.

[Te Anau]

I don't own a Tokarev,but I do know that 7.62X25 kicks butt coming out of a CZ-52.

[DubC-Hicks]

I love my Tokarev. I have a 9mm luger and 7.62x25mm barrel for it. The gun has only stove-piped once and that was with dirty 9mm winchester white box. It is very accurate with both calibers. Btw I use surplus 7.62 and it has never jammed. I haven't used new production 7.62mm but I plan to soon. I hope this has helped.

[Yamatr3]

My Tokarev is one of my favorite guns to shoot. I've only put around 200 through mine, but it has been perfect. I can say I was surprised how accurate it was.

[Catfishman]

I wouldn't say my Tokarev is inaccurate, but I'm not happy with my accuracy when shooting it. The grip feels wierd to me and the safety is very clumsy.

Mine jammed the very first time I fired it. But never had another problem again except when my brother fired it. I have only put a couple hundred rounds through it.

I bought the gun for canoeing and four-wheeling. But it's not worth the ear damage to pop varmits and snakes.

On the positive side - the gun seems very solid, powerful and break down and cleaning is easy.

[Cheapshooter]

I have a Romanian Tokarev and really like it. Rugged and dependable. What Eastern Block weapon isn't? Accuracy is acceptable, especially with the rather small sight picture of the fixed sights. Very much a fun gun to shoot. One thing as mentioned by catfishman, WEAR HEARING PROTECTION! The muzzle blast is tremendous. And the muzzle flash spectacular. That's part of the fun though. The flash and blast are with the surplus ammo available, I don't know how the commercial rounds act.
I would not consider it as a defensive gun because of over penetration. The 30 cal. bullet going that fast is just not going to stop, and almost all loadings are fmj. Some of the surplus is even steel core. Also as with any surplus ammunition, most of it will be corrosive. A good cleaning immediately after shooting is a must.
Over all, a great gun for fun at the range, but not especially good for SD.

[Mastiff]

What catalog listed Korean Tokarevs? Inquiring minds want to know!
IMHO, regarding the ones presently being imported (that I know about):
The Yugo Tok comes out on top,
Polish comes next.
Followed by the Romanian.
I bought 2 Norinco 213 Toks back in 1992. I put one in the safe and shot the other. It was my most accurate handgun. It was totally reliable, I never had a FTF or a FTE. I went through 55,000 rounds with that pistol before I gave in to my brothers whining and gave him the pistol.
The Tok is now my favorite handgun. Right now I own 5 of them.

[CutnShootTX]

During late 1940s and 1950s USSR also supplied some of its new allies from Warsaw pact with licenses to manufacture TT, and it was produced in China, Hungary, North Korea, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia, in more or less original forms.

Found this information on this page:
http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg20-e.htm

[Mastiff]

During late 1940s and 1950s USSR also supplied some of its new allies from Warsaw pact with licenses to manufacture TT, and it was produced in China, Hungary, North Korea, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia, in more or less original forms.

My mistake. When you said catalog, I thought you meant a SALES catalog. I have never seen a Korean Tok. If they were being imported I would be on one like a shot.

[kenjs1]

I have one and it was my first pistol - was told the Polish were the ones to get. My TT-33 experienced a broken sear - which oddly enough happened on a friends CZ-52 version also. Mine has been great since- several hundred rounds later. They are a hoot to shoot and you can fire multiple rounds in succession VERY quickly. Recoil is not an issue at all. Extended shooting enjoyment is lessened (for me) due to that rough excuse of a trigger. It is thin and can wear on you. Still, I absolutely love it and often carry it into the woods. It is extremely thin and can be tucked between truck seats or in a belt easily. It strips easily and is built eastern bloc so it can take abuse. Negatives on them - well the CZ is just clunky and no one with small hands is going to like it. HP ammo does not seem to feed well in any of them - least most of them and the three I have been around all bare that out. The sights....well....they call them that. Overall - no, I won't be selling mine anytime soon. Let off a few rounds at dusk for a real fireworks show.

[Cajun Ken]

I have a Chicom Type 54 which is a Tokarev TT-33 made by the Chinese Communists under license from Russia. There was a lot of them in use in Vietnam. I brought it back in 1970. It is solid and dependable and I have not had an issue with it. It is also very accurate, and as others have mentioned, it is very loud.

Speer makes a hollow point 7.62 x 25 round that they say is safe for the TT-33. I have had some on backorder from Reeds Ammo since Nov. That round should make the Tok a very good defensive weapon.

[woad_yurt]

I shot some of them at wood, wet newspapers, etc. They make a pure, unholy mess out of anything they hit. They go deep and really tear up the area. In fact, that was the most hollowpoint destruction I got from any caliber I own. After seeing that, I looked no further for hollowpoints in this caliber.

[slick]

I love mine almost a case has been run through it no jams.The chrony backed up the ballstics.More accurate than my 40XD or my40 Glock much cheaper to.

[cloudcroft]

Reliable feeding is one selling point of a bottleneck cartridge vs. "modern" cartridges. The Soviets wanted a simplified, reliable, robust gun firing a powerful (penetrating) flat-shooting cartridge. They got both with the 7.62x25. And their triggers are excellent.

-- John D.

[chris in va]

It's actually closer to 1350fps out of the handgun barrel from the chrony results I've read about. Someone can come along and confirm though.

I absolutely hated my CZ 52. Kept it for a month and sold it. Horrible gun. I would much rather have a Tokarev.

[BobbyT]

The velocity depends on the round, just like any other. I have both a CZ-52 and a Romanian TTC. Both are in pretty good shape considering the age. Ammo is <10 cents per round.

I've fired hundreds of rounds through both without a single failure to feed/fire/etc. I thought I'd like the CZ better, but it's much bigger and heavier, and the trigger is much rougher.

The TT was surprisingly small. It's also a very simple gun (a "Browning 1911"), and if it weren't for that stupid mag release clip it would be as easy to take apart as a brand new 1911.

My accuracy is ok, but has gotten worse lately. They're the only two pistols I currently own, and I haven't fired a modern one since last year, so I don't know if it's just me or the guns. I've been shooting 5-10 round groups the size of my palm at 25 feet (not yards), and I push the rounds to the inside more with the CZ.

[Cajun Ken]

woad yurt: Where did you find the Wolf Hollow Points?

Thanks

[woad_yurt]

I had a local gunshop get me a couple of boxes once. Other times, I ordered them from Midway or Graf & Sons; they're both out of stock now. They'never been too hard to find but, then again, I rarely buy them. I keep a box or two handy for the sake of just having some handy. I shoot surplus FMJ at the range.

BTW: Wolf hollowpoints have never jammed in my Tok or CZ 52s.

[Cajun Ken]

Thanks!!

BTW: I also shoot the cheap Foreign stuff at the range, and I have never had a single glitch.