Differences in TT-33 ( Tokarev) Models

On some Tok models, a manual safety was added so the pistol would receive enough "points" from the BATFE to qualify as a "sporting" weapon. The Yugoslavian Toks have nice looking safeties at the rear of the frame (like a 1911). The Romanian Toks have a knobby lever above the mag release.

Those levers are not original. As DaBull says, they were installed by the importers to meet BATFE requirements for a manual safety. Some work well, others do not and should NOT be trusted. Each importer had his own version designed and installed, so they vary.

The original Russian pistol and the East Bloc and Chinese military copies were never made with any kind of manual safety. Chinese guns made for the commercial market have good safeties.

Jim

Rule 1. Tokarev pistols do not have safeties.
Rule 2. When engaging the safety on a Tokarev pistol, observe Rule 1.

Well, Waldo, you are wrong. See #2 and #3 above.

Jim

-Still wouldn't rely on the safety. And I've most of the models mentioned above.

Yes. The Tokarev was never intended to have a manual safety. If you find one (Chinese, Romanian, Yugoslavian, Polish) with an import mark, it should have been modified with a manual safety to satisfy import requirements. If you find a war trophy/battlefield pick-up Tokarev without import marks, it will not have a safety. These are rare, but they exist. You can find pics of them online if you look around a bit: http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/download/file.php?id=32355&mode=view

If you are shopping for a Tokarev, I recommend getting a Yugo on sale from SOG for $190...about the cost of a Romanian which is also commonly available at the moment. The Yugos are well made and has a longer grip which is more comfortable to western hands. The downside is spare mags are hard to find, but some have had success modifying CZ52 mags. http://www.southernohiogun.com/0on-sale/yugo-md57-tt-tokarev-pistol-w-hol-ex-m.html

Double Post.

Reverse side:

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx116/MVolkJ1975/Milsurps/M571.jpg

http://img810.imageshack.us/i/dsc5762.jpg/

I have a like new Yugo T33 from the 60s that was gotten from a spook in West Germany in 1972,it has been in a safe mostly since then and I never found a spare mag or needed one. I have shot it abot 250 times in 40 years, the last time with Sellior and Belloit ammo a couple years ago. It is scary accurate and load and blasty,but not much recoil. I also have a rare FEG RK59 9mm mak from the same source. It is one tiny light and HEAVY recoiling SOB. ONE box of ammo thru that blaster was enough. These guns were my Com Block collection.

The Zastava M57 (Yugo Tokarev) also differs from the other Tokarevs in that the magazines are not compatible.
Zastava M57 = 9 round magazine
TT33 Tokarev = 8 round magazine

My expertise does not extend to the internals of the safety mechanism so I'll let somebody else take that question. I haven't made up my mind yet about the Yugo safety, but yes, it appears you could carry cocked and locked.

I do not trust the Romanian safety at all. If I just put some pressure on it while its on, even when there is no apparent movement, the trigger will fire. So, I would not carry it cocked and locked for fear movement in the holster and a bump to the trigger could set it off.

As Quiet said, the Yugo is the only Tok out there with the longer grip and therefore a longer, 9 round mag.

The Yugo M57 has a longer grip and an extra round capacity, but Zastava also made a 9mm version of the same pistol. They have both a magazine disconnect and a thumb safety, and they work well.

The TT-33 is a simple gun, without most of the features of today's pistols. As others have said, the lever above the the mag release on a Romanian Tokarev is the safety, however there really is nothing safe about it. The only function that safety has is to block the trigger. The TT-33 is not a good carry gun because it is just not very safe to carry with one in the chamber. The firing pin is spring loaded and has no safety mechanism. You can push the firing pin from the hammer side and see it protrude from the bolt face.

I'd trust the trigger block safety on my Romanian Tokarev. I've done lots of testing with it, and I'm confident the gun will not fire unintentionally. There is absolutely no play in the trigger with the safety engaged and its forward position means it cannot be disengaged until the gun has cleared the holster. As long as the holster holds it securely, there's absolutely no chance of it becoming accidentally disengaged.

The Tokarev has a half-cock locking notch which adds an additional degree of safety. One member here had a Tokarev malfunction (primarily due to bad springs, I suspect) where the hammer wasn't staying cocked after firing. It merely dropped to half-cock; the half-cock system on a Tokarev works well at preventing the hammer from dropping on the primer in the event the primary cocking lugs fail. The firing pin spring is also fairly strong. In other words, the pistol is fairly drop-safe.

For military Tokarevs, only the Hungarian Tokagypt /T58/ (mistaken for Egyptian in origin) has an original safety lever. But to be honest the Tokagypt is not a "real military pistol" - it was not addopted by the Egyptian military, only designed for them.

Boris

P.S. There is no Bulgarian TT pistol.

I'd trust the trigger block safety on my Romanian Tokarev. I've done lots of testing with it, and I'm confident the gun will not fire unintentionally. There is absolutely no play in the trigger with the safety engaged and its forward position means it cannot be disengaged until the gun has cleared the holster. As long as the holster holds it securely, there's absolutely no chance of it becoming accidentally disengaged.

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Did you have your Romanian's safety fixed based on the recall? If so, what did they do to it?

My Yugo 9mm Zastava TT33 has a slide mounted safety that not only blocks the trigger it also has a firing pin block, and magazine safety. 9 round magizine. I have no problem carrying it 'cocked and locked' it was imported by Freedom arms in the late 80's.

DaBull said:

Did you have your Romanian's safety fixed based on the recall? If so, what did they do to it?

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Only the Tokarevs imported and modified by a particular company were subject to the recall. I can't recall which one, but AIM Surplus was the primary distributor of these badly modified Tokarevs. Mine was imported by Century and is perfectly fine. I got mine off Gunbroker about a year before this bad batch of Tokarevs came in.

Has anyone experienced a safety failure (ND) on any of these Toks?

Not I! But then, I don't carry Tokarevs, and I don't use the add on safety during normal administrative gun handling at the range. It just doesn't seem like a very good idea though.