The battle of three affordable 9mms

[Hooptie]

For those of you who suggested looking at the Toks over those pistols listed, I thank you. I have 150 rounds en route to me, along with 100 more for the nagant.

I picked this up today at a small shop down the road from me actually:


The trigger is actually wonderful, the upright grip is pretty comfy. Its weighted wonderfully and to be honest, outside of some sanding marks by the front blade, the finish work is REALLY nice. Its a 1953 dated Tok TTC, so its Romanian. I cannot wait to shoot it, it sites well, though I think I'm going to sand the back of the blade and polish it or paint it white.

Only downside? Cosmoline. Its cleaned and oiled in the picture, but what a freaking mess!

 

[gun guy]

Star has been around quite awhile, depending on the model and price It is a good option. As always, my vote goes to Taurus. Kel Tec is a coin toss, you will either get a good one, or you won't. Let us know how it turns out.
good luck

 

[finz50]

Kel-Tec

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Go with KT!

 

[Mike J]

Congrats on the purchase Hooptie. A friend of mine has a Norinco Tok 213 chambered in 9 x 19. I actually kind of like it & was thinking of suggesting one before I saw you had found a pistol.
I was going to suggest you go to www.ktog.org & lurk for a while before buying a kel tec.
I had a Star in 9mm Largo back in the '90's. It was a nice pistol. I wound up trading it off.
I was also going to second the Ruger P-series suggestion they are reliable guns that can be found used at very reasonable prices. Lately I have even been seeing lightly used SR9c's for about $350. There are a ton of options out there.

 

[Shadow 7D]

The M88 is a Tokarev, it is a shorten version with a slightly modified frame to take a 9mm mag, it is reliable, and while EAA may be excrement, Zastava has been making arms for longer than many American companies have. They make a nice tok in 9mm, that unfortunately doesn't cross with the rest of the family.
BTW, any mini mauser you buy, look on the receiver, you may be surprised to see zastava.

 

[Snowdog]

If time allows, maybe you can give us a range report after you get the chance to put some rounds through your Romanian Tokarev.

The 7.62x25 is a blast to shoot... really, there is a significant "blast" as this is a fairly stout round. They may turn heads at indoor ranges, at least they do at my range. I think you'll be quite well served by your purchase. It's also fun knowing that you own a part of history.

Now all you have to do is compete with the rest of us Tokarev owners for Wolf JHP when they finally return to the shelves. I understand the explosive expansion is perfect for defense, an 85gr JHP at 1500 FPS if I recall correctly.

 

[bigmike45]

I have both the P11 & PF9. I only have one complaint & it's that they are not fun range guns, but that's not why I bought them either. As concealed carry weapon go, they fit the requirement quite nicely. They are well made, accurate & shoot anything I load in the mags.

 

[Redneck with a 40]

I'd go for a Ruger SR9c, they run about $425.

 

[Hooptie]

I'll absolutely get pictures of my first time out with it next weekend. If its not accurate, I'd venture to guess it more me than the gun. I'm a long gun guy myself, so we'll see how my point of aim/target picture ability is these days.

 

[Shadow 7D]

I have a few, an a M88, the M88 is a classy gun, if you like tokarevs, otherwise it's like a Studebaker or a VW bug, a car, liked by some, not others. I isn't as lite, small or with a much capacity as other modern 9's. The P11 isn't that bad to shoot, the M88 is nice, see it's heavy and really soaks up recoil, but has the usual TT33 sights.... and I have no experience with the star, but I've been looking for one.

 

[noylj]

I liked the M88. Looks aren't great, but the gun functions just fine. Personally, I would look for a used S&W metal frame, say a 5906?

 

[Skylerbone]

A new Ruger P series, $300 at Bud's online. An SR can be had for $400.

Have a garage sale and you'll likely make up the difference in price AND clear out some junk. You will have a larger (yes harder to conceal) more reliable pistol that you can teach your wife to shoot with.

In theory, a small, cheap pistol seems ideal but reality says that putting 300+ rounds through it for break in will eat up the difference in a hurry. I wouldn't advise anyone to carry a pistol that hasn't fired several hundred rounds to check function but are you ready to do that with a Kel Tek? People tend to not shoot what feels bad which leaves them with an untested, not fun, no resale value lint magnet.

You are more likely to spend range time with the Ruger and, if the wife picks up a shooting habit, more gun money in the future. After 8 years of marriage and 3 kids my wife finally agreed to shoot with me 2 months ago. She now has her own pistol and goes on every range trip with me.

Best of luck on your decision and stay safe.

 

[MikePGS]

Nevermind, I should have read the whole thing