Polish Tokarev

[Dave Markowitz]

On Saturday I swapped off a safe queen and came home with a Polish TTC Tokarev made in 1952. It's in VG+ shape with nice bluing and only a few dings. It came with a holster, cleaning rod, lanyard, and one spare magazine.



On the left you can see the safety that had to be added to meet US import regs:







It's chambered for 7.62x25. I currently have a few boxes of Yugo surplus, which has given me a few misfires in my CZ-52. I did a little looking around and see that new production ammo from Sellier & Bellot and Prvi Partizan is available, along with some Romanian surplus in spam cans. I've shot the S&B and it's good stuff. Likewise, PP makes good ammo that I've shot in several other calibers. Has anyone tried the Romanian surplus (I'm aware it's corrosive and that's no big deal to me)?

Range report to follow ...

 

[romma]

What's funny about the Tokarev is a couple of years ago, things were Makarov crazy and no none would touch a Tok... Now the Mak craze has settled now that cheap prices have dried up, and the the Tok is becoming the rage...

So my question is,,, Is the Tokarev any good?

 

[Dave Markowitz]

The Tokarev is a very good pistol. They are generally well made, solid, and reliable. It was one of two standard handguns for the Red Army during WW2, the other being the Nagant revolver. After the War many other Combloc nations built them as well.

The Tok is based on Browning's designs, with a couple of really neat features:

1. The feed lips for the cartridges are not part of the magazine. They are machined into neat feature #2 ...

2. ... which is a subframe containing the lockwork. With the slide of the gun you can lift out the subframe, which holds the hammer, sear, and disconnector in one unit, simplifying cleaning.

 

[Dave Baird]

Congrats on a nice looking Polish Tok! I just got one from Dalvar Inc. a couple months ago and love it! Mine is a 1949 (C&R) and in almost new refubed condition with all matching parts. I put a set of Wolfe springs in it www.gunsprings.com and haven't had a problem yet!! I like the Yugo ammo and haven't had a problem with it except some split cases in my CZ52.

Toks are a fun gun. If you have small hands like me, you can't beat the grip. and as far as punch, you can't beat the 7.62x25 !!!!! I had a CZ52 first, but prefer the Browning design I guess, and got a Tokarev. I just love mine.

Dave

 

[DMK]

Nice Tokarev DM. I picked one up from J&G a few months back. I love the feel and the design, but I hadn't found the time to shoot it yet.

BTW, there's a guy that goes by the handle of "fullriede" on Gunbroker that sells original Polish grip panels. If you want to make it all original that is. Your replacement panels look pretty nice.

The Tok is based on Browning's designs, with a couple of really neat features:

When you field strip it, it's amazing how close it is to the 1911 (well probably closer to the Colt 1903 actually).

Now the Mak craze has settled now that cheap prices have dried up, and the the Tok is becoming the rage...

The lion's share of the Makarovs have been scooped up, now there's a big shipment of Tokarevs just in so it's a little bit of a feeding frenzy. Same thing happened with CZ-82s. CZ-83s have been around for years and there was little interest in them. Now CZ-82s are one of the hottest things going.

 

[wally]

Any newly imported C&R classified handgun creates a feeding frenzy

Not all the Toks are so classified, but I suspect that is what is driving the resurgence.

--wally.