What is the best Tokarev Pistol?

[Old Steve]

I believe it was deliberately made to visually resemble the Browning 1903, Colt 38 long, which was very common in Russia from long ago, as was the Mauser 96. For them, best of both worlds, the Browning locked-breech action can handle higher pressures than the Mauser, or so we are told, and it is much more compact and easy to handle. In 1930 Tokarev was a very senior officer in the main government arsenal, with all the samples and assistants he might desire, and he took enough time to get it right.

[WDfrmTN]

Originally Posted by AdamMO

I love my two Tokarev pistols. I love how cheap they are, I love the triggers, I love how plentiful and cheap the ammo is, I love the power and noise of the round, did I mention that I love my Tokarev?

I think they are the absolute best buy is pistols, you just cant beat them, IMHO.

What do you guys think? Whats your favorite Tokarev pistol? Am I alone with having a love affair with my Tok?

Personally, I prefer the M57 variant from Yugoslavia.

[redwing carson]

Navy Arms made a .38 Super Cov. Kit for these guns. I had one with 3 Covs. 9mm, 38 Super and .30 Tok. The .38 Super worked great my favorite.good luck

RC

[polishshooter]

Yeah Old Steve, I agree with you...I have several times come close to buying a 1903 Colt, or the General Officers Model in .32 ACP but balked at the price, and my new M57 resembles it...but it also resembles a slimmed down 1905 too...

I personally do NOT think it ugly at all, and after stripping it a few times I am impressed with it...while I would not like to work on that trigger assembly even if I could get parts, that setup IS a helluva lot simpler than a 1911...kind of "modular" before "modular" was cool...

And every thing that COUNTS is a pure Browning copy, right down to the cosmetics of the factory aftermarket safety...

The trigger on mine is WAY too creepy for me, but not any where near what I am used to on commie guns...and a HELLUVA lot better than the gate latch on my Yugo SKS...even though DESPITE the crappy trigger that SKS is the most accurate I have ever shot at 100...

I hope to shoot it this weekend, so I hope it at least gives me decent practical accuracy....

Plus I put somewhere between 100-200k rounds through my 1911 in the 1980s alone, probably less than five hundred through any other auto I have owned, I kinda like the controls on this one, they are where I am USED to them being...

But has anybody found a decent source for affordable magazines for it? And what kind of decent practical holster, either a strong side hip or an IWB fits it?


And has anybody played with it enough to get the magazines to fall free when you hit the mag release? I am concerned with playing with it because I think the magazine disconnect that keeps it from firing with the mag not inserted is hanging up on it causing it to hang up...the ONE change to the Browning design I don't like...

I LIKE having the ability to fire the one round in my chamber if I need to if I am in the middle of dropping a mag and pawing for a new one...

Has anybody figured out how to bypass the mag safety yet?

[cappaletti]

IMHO Zastava made the best of the Tokarevs..I have an M57 and am more than pleased with this pistol..heckuva round too!

[justbill]

I too would prefer a M57 if it weren't for the scarcity and resultant price for spare magazines. If I can't have at least five or six magazines, this otherwise very good pistol is off my short list.

[Bigbill]

Only having the CZ52 while i was browsing oneday at one of my local haunts(gun shop) i seen he had two chinese norinco tokarev's with there orginal boxes and papers which still appear to be unshot. One was in 9mm para while the other was in 7,62x25 tok. I walked out with both. Months later while at another one of my haunts he had a russian tok, a polish tok and another chinese tok all in 7,62x25. I couldn't pass these up either. I later ordered a romanian and a yugo tok too. Now i need to get out and fire them. I don't see the toks for sale that often at the gun shops here. Bill

I wish someone would make a 22lr conversion kit for these toks.

[cappaletti]

Originally Posted by justbill

I too would prefer a M57 if it weren't for the scarcity and resultant price for spare magazines. If I can't have at least five or six magazines, this otherwise very good pistol is off my short list.

in response..ccsportingarms.com offers the m57 magazines...I have heard varying reports about their quality, but they have a great return policy! checkem out!!!...

[graehaven]

Originally Posted by Laufer

grcsat:
How can they be uglier than a classic 1911 .45 caliber handgun?

And I'll bet they shot accurately right out of the box, and didn't require a break-in period of a few hundred rounds either...........unlike the 1911.

Sorry, had to do it.

[The Count]

As mentioned in a separate post, all the good and cheap 7.62x25 surplus ammo (loved the bulgarian stuff) is now gone. Zilch, nichts, nada! Really dont feel like paying $12 or more for a box of 50....

[john_bud]

Originally Posted by polishshooter

The trigger on mine is WAY too creepy for me, but not any where near what I am used to on commie guns...

I had that on a tok too, until I took the trigger group out and soaked it in lacquer thinner for a couple days. I thought it was clean, but there was a lot of color coming out When it was really clean, it suddenly had a much better trigger.

[Fast Forward]

I have a Zavasta M-57,,love to shoot the 7.62 ,but I also Invested in a 9MM barrel which drops right in ,,I use the same Mag as with the 7.62 even though the round is shorter and I used to get a Jam every once in a while ,,I polished the feed ramp and the round seems to feed a lot better

[warriflefan]

The new PPSH 43 pistol (tack weld on the buttstock) shoots the tok round. It's a Super cool "pistol". It only looks ugly till you pick one up!

[waynescyclegarage]

I vote for the Yugo M57 because I have one and it is superb. The handle is a little longer and holds an extra round. Mine is precise and accurate and I LUV it.
wayne

[warriflefan]

Classic arms has romanian TTC's right now for $209 with 2 mags. http://classicarms.us/shotguns%20and%20handguns.htm (about halfway down the page)
I think they use a standard tok magazine where the M57 only uses a M57 magazine. J&G has M57's for $229.
http://www.jgsales.com/product_info....oducts_id/6197

[polishshooter]

Somebody who seemed to know a lot about Tokarevs told me it's easy to make M57 mags from the much more available CZ-52 mags...you just have to insert it with something that will rub off and push the mag release against it to mark it, and then cut with a file the slot for the mag release...

He also said the mag will still work in a CZ-52, so you aren't out anything if you own both and screw one up...

[Alpha1-19]

Hello all, new here, enjoying the forum greatly.
I don't see any replies to polishshooter's questions about Tok mags not ejecting freely and bypassing the mag safety. Thought I'd weigh

[Fast Forward]

I own a CZ52 and a Yugo M57,,,I like them both,,, neither one is all that accurate but the CZ52 has a coolness Factor going for it and the M57 has Both a 9mm Barrel as well as the 7.62 so it,s cheap to shoot

[K75RT]

I like them all !!!
Serbian M57

Soviet TT-33

Chicom T-54

Not a Tok but still a 7.62X25; Czech VZ-52

and another

[Lanrezac]

If the North Korean government collapses now that Kim Jong Il is dead, and they unite with South Korea, we could eventually see the North Korean Tokarevs come in. Right now, it is hard to even find pictures of them. (I guess, technically, they are not pure Tokarevs because the North Koreans tinkered with the design even more than the Yugoslavs did...but they are still Tokarev-based, not an entirely new design like the CZ-52)

[gun-nut]

Ok hears a question. Is the norinco T54 cosidered a tokarev? But mine is in the 9mm para.