T03-8M Russian made .22lr

[straybullet]

Just bought an obscure(for me) .22 bolt action with a bull barrel, have no idea the branding, any help? It has the stamping ''T03-8M Made in USSR''

 

[seuadr]

toz-8m..looks like a russian cadet training rifle. There is info about them being made by a manufacturer called (go figure) TOZ, and references to the "brand" being Baikal.. not much info about either that i could dig up with a cursory search.

looks like Tula Arms uses TOZ as a manufacture stamp.. here is some interesting info about TOZ in general..

During Soviet times, firearms exported from the Soviet Union came under two brands : BAIKAL and VOSTOK

Typically, the shotguns made by the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant (Izmekh) and the Tula Arms plant (Toz) came under the brand BAIKAL.

While the rifles produced by the Izhmash plant were labelled as VOSTOK.

After the break-up of the Soviet Union and the transition of Russia into a more market oriented economy, The Izhmekh factory adopted the brand name BAIKAL.

The Tula Arms Plant uses the brand TOZ.

Izhmash uses it's own name. The VOSTOK brand is no longer used.

As Humpty mentioned, they are all owned by the Russian government.

The websites are :

Izhmash : www.izhmash.ru The US importer is www.raacfirearms.com

Izhmekh : www.baikalinc.ru The US importer is EAA and the distributor is Remington

Tula Arms Plant : www.tulatoz.ru The US importer is www.ssmedwi.com

Another Russian manufacturer of civilian firearms is www.molot.biz . It's VEPR branded rifles are available in the USA (not available in Canada). It also makes shotguns that have not been exported yet to North America.

The producer of top high grade Russian shotguns is Tskib Soo. that company has been acquired by a well known military weapons makers (missiles, machine guns etc.). That company name is KBP. The wesite is www.shipunov.com . You can find the high grade civilian firearms somewhere in their website. During Soviet times, their guns were also exported as VOSTOK.

Read more: http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=99589#ixzz1L3gKXxyi
- Courtesy of shotgun talk, username TOZMAN

 

[Cal-gun Fan]

Pix?

 

[straybullet]

Great, that helped alot Seuadr, I'll clean it up and take a pic tomorrow looks like it was stored for a good while.

 

[seuadr]

no problem. looks like a cool little rimfire, with some interesting history behind it.. good score!

 

[hatchetbearer]

I have one, it's tack driving accurate, mine has an adjustable trigger that can break as low as 8oz, I use it as a single shot, as the magazine is garbage, and new ones need to be hand fit to the gun. the "catch" on mine does little more than provide friction to keep it from falling out, and i can still pull it out with no effort by hand. That said, with it's accuracy its worth every penny of the $85 i paid for it.

Winchester rebranded these as the wildcat a few years back, but took away alot of the goodies, (Adj Trigger, sights, Cheaper stock)

If the magazine didnt suck, id bet it against any CZ or if scoped, an Anschutz.

 

[killertom]

Being that I see a lot of these where I live, I can give you some information. The production of Toz-8 rifles started in Tula before WW2, and continued until sometime in the '60s. They were used as military trainers, and for youth marksmanship training. As such, huge numbers can still be found in Eastern Europe. Great rifle, they are very accurate and dependable.

 

[straybullet]

Very accurate indeed, took it out yesterday and really enjoyed it. Thanks for all the info!I am reblueing and refinishing the stock this weekend.

 

[thimy]

I have one myself
I found it in my grandfathers attic
I would love to shoot it but I have no ammo :banghead:
does anybody know how to get it?
btw I from belguim

 

[Dr.Rob]

Well first off get a cleaning kit and clean and oil it.


You've got surface rust and dirt and grime all over it.

PM sent with a link to a manual in Russian.

 

[JHK94]

I have the very similar TOZ 17, which, like mentioned before about the 8, is remarkably accurate. Unlike the other poster, though, mine may have the worst trigger of any gun I own.

But it was dirt cheap, and really fun.

 

[thimy]

thanks for the info, but I dont think I will shoot it anytimes soon
lets start with a good cleaning
I did some research and its not legal to own or buy ammo without a licence :s
unfortunately we have very strict gunlaws in belguim

 

[gotboostvr]

The winchester Wildcat was a TOZ-78, which is a wicked good shooter still.