Information requested on a Tokarev

[gdmoody]

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a Chinese Tokarev and I am not sure exactly what I have. The left side of the frame has Norinco above the trigger guard, and the serial number above the left grip.

The markings on top of the slide are the Serial Number and three Chinese symbols between the ejection port and the rear sight. The right side of the slide has 7.62 TOK above the trigger guard and there is an A on the trigger guard. The left side of the slide has “Made in China” under Cal .30 with the 30 Xed out. There is no other markings on the gun at all with the exception of the last 4 digits of the SN on the magazine.

The pistol shoots a 9mm, but the magazine is too long to properly feed the 9mm ammo.

My research has shown me that there are a few different variations of the Tokarev such as TT30, TT33, 213, 213A, Type 54-T, Type 54-1, and probably others. I do not know which of these models my pistol is!

My question is concerning a barrel. I want to buy a 7.62X25 barrel for this Tokarev and was wondering: Do all of the variations mentioned above use the same barrel?

I have attached a picture of the pistol but I can’t seem to get good clear pictures on extreme close-ups so I cannot show the markings.

[Jim K]

A 7.62 barrel should fit OK and work with no change to the gun or magazine.

FWIW, I don't know what ammo you have, but most FMJ 9mm P ammo will work fine in the Tokarev with just a barrel change. The Germans converted thousands of them to 9mm with no problems.

Jim

[gdmoody]

Thanks for the barrel info, Jim. I just wasn't sure if they were all the same.

I have tried several types of 9mm to include my handloads. They all chamber fine if put into the chamber one at a time and they all fire just fine. They will just not feed from the 7.62 magazine. They will jam every time without fail!!

[Jim Hauff]

The OAL length of the 9mm x 19 cartridge is shorter than the 7.62mm x 25 Tokarev cartridge. Using original magazines will work, but a common problem is FTF 9's when the magazine springs and follower are worn - the table tips and the round digs into the feed ramp. I've encountered a few of these. The common fix was to insert a spacer in the rear of the magazine and modified spring and follow to allow positive feeding of the 9mm round.

[Jim K]

I Googled "tokarev magazine 9" and came up with several suppliers of magazines made for the 9mm. You might want to take a look.

Jim

[gdmoody]

Thanks again Jim. I settled on a magazine from Numrich Arms and a "spacer" that fits into the magazine well. I just hope that the Norince Tokarev that I have has all of the same dimensions and that the spacer will fit it okay. That is truly my own fear about buying the stuff (are all tokarevs the same). I am also going to buy a 7.62X25 barrel (and the link & pin) from Sarco, but I will wait a few days on that to see how this other stuff fits this pistol.

I just bought 1200 rounds of 7.62X25 ammo on Friday so I do want to shoot some of it through the Tokarev! I do have a CZ-52 to shoot the ammo just in case I can't get the Tok barrel.

[Jim K]

The Tokarevs are all the same within tolerances, except that those made for import to the US have manual safeties of varying type and quality. All I can say on the 9mm question is that mine (Russian) has had no problems with either ammo. I got the 9mm barrel a long time ago, I don't remember where.

Jim

[Austing]

Any variant of the Tokarev which is by default chambered in 7.62x25, save for possibly the Yugo M57, are able to use the same barrel. Please post how it shoots, as I have heard that many Chinese Type 54 Tokarev pistols jam frequently.

[gdmoody]

I had forgotten about this post.

Update - the magazine and spacer did not work out. The spacer was to be installed by removing the trigger return spring retainer pin, insert the spacer, and replace the retainer pin through the hole in the spacer. Well, the hole in the spacer did not match up with the hole in the frame. As long as you held the spacer in place, the magazine would fit and would properly feed and function. Once you removed the magazine, the spacer would fall out with it. Since duct tape probably wouldn't work, I thought about using super glue to hold it in.

I returned to mag and spacer to Numrich Arms and as of right now, I have not ordered the 7.62 X 26 barrel from Sarco. Now that I have been reminded, I will look into it on Monday.