Polish Tokarev Pistol

Yesterday I got together with a friend to do some shooting on his property. One of the guns I brought was one I haven't shot in years, a Polish-made Tokarev TTC chambered for 7.62x25.

The Tokarev pistol was originally designed in 1930 in the USSR and then refined in 1933 to simplify manfacture. After WW2 it was made in several other COMBLOC countries including Poland, Romania, Hungary, North Korea, and the PRC. Yugoslavia built the M57, which has a longer grip and holds 1 more round in the mag (9 vs. 8).

Something I never cared for on the Tokarev pistols was the grip angle. With stock grips it feels like you're holing a carpenter's square. However, you can remedy this with grips that provide a bump at the heel. Years ago I installed a set of Marschal grips which wrap around the back of the frame providing such a bump. The grips are made in Hungary.

We only put about 50 rounds through the gun. It was some old Yugoslavian military surplus ball made by Prvi Partizan. 7.62x25 ball is generally an 85 grain FMJ bullet pushed to about 1400 FPS at the muzzle. This will vary depending on barrel length and the particular lot of ammo. The small diameter high velocity bullet is known for its great penetration and flat trajectory.

I highly recommend treating any surplus 7.62x25 ammo as having corrosive primers, and cleaning accordingly. Thus, before I packed it up for the day I ran a few patches with Hoppe's No.9 through the bore to remove most of the residue and saturate anything left with oil, to prevent any corrosion until I cleaned it today.

Prvi Partizan currently sells 7.62 Tok ammo loaded with an 85 grain JHP. If this expands and holds together it would work well for defense. Alternatively, you can handload the cartridge with Hornady XTP bullets.

The 7.62 Tok round has some bark and flash when fired from a pistol but recoil is not bad at all in the TTC, which weighs around 30 - 31 oz.

Tokarev pistols will also safely chamber and fire 7.63x25 Mauser ammo, as made for the C-96 Broomhandle. I only have a couple hundred rounds of 7.62 Tokarev left but I do have probably close to 1,000 rounds of 7.63 Mauser for future range trips.

As originally built the Tokarev's only safety was the half cock notch on the hammer. To meet import point requirements under the Gun Control Act of 1968, importers have added manual safeties. On my gun it's the lever behind the trigger. To engage the safety raise it, to disengage it push it down.

If the gun is placed on half cock the trigger and slide are locked in place. The only way to work the slide at that point is to first fully cock the gun.

The trigger pull on my pistol is probably around 6 to 8 lbs. but pretty crisp. I prefer it to the spongy triggers on most modern, striker-fired semiautos.

My Tokarev came with two 8-round mags, a cleaning rod, and a leather belt holster. Like many old European military holsters, it's pretty much a gun case you can wear on your belt.

Out of curiosity, I stuck the Tok in this commercial US M-3 Tanker holster and found it to fit well.

I think it'll be seeing some more range time soon.

Revolver Day

Today I got to the range and put 200 rounds of .38 Special downrange, all fired double action, from a S&W Model 10-8 3" and a S&W Model 64-3 4".

Each bullseye is 50 shots. The bottom targets were shot at 7 yards, while the top were at 10 yards. The left side were with the Model 10 and the right side the Model 64.

Except for the bottom right target, all ammunition was .38 Special full charge wadcutters, 3.5 grains of Bullseye with a 148 grain wadcutter bullet. The lower right was a 158 grain semiwadcutter over the same powder charge. All my handloads.

I'm pushing most of shots a little to the right, something I'm working on. (Not unusual for left handed shooters.)

Kempf Patent Speedloader

This short popped up on my YouTube feed this morning. It shows the 1930s Kempf Patent Revolver Cartridge Clip Corp. speedloader.

I'd like to see a reproduction of this.

Home Defense Shotgun Setup

As antisemitism continues to rise I want to remind my fellow Jewish Americans that if you aren't armed for self defense, you need to be. See my free book, "Guns for Jews," which is a free book I wrote to help Jewish Americans arm themselves. It's a PDF hosted on my Google Drive.

Ideally, your first gun should be a handgun to along with a concealed carry permit. However, many jurisdictions where Jewish Americans live make it difficult and time consuming to get a handgun and a carry permit. Something you can probably get with less paperwork and delay is a shotgun for home defense.

I've had this Mossberg 500 Mariner 12 gauge shotgun for close to 20 years. It's pretty much a dedicated home defense gun, although I did use it in one or two action matches over 10 years ago. Recently, I've done a few mods to make it more useful for me.

When choosing these modifications, I kept Greg Ellifritz's comments in these posts in mind:

• https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/shotguns-for-home-protection
• https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/home-defense-shotgun-questions-answered

So, after a couple different configurations over the years, I think I've settled on my final set up:

1. Magpul SGA stock, set to my length of pull using spacers. Five extra rounds are kept in a Hill People Gear stock cuff. I also added a QD sling swivel stud to the stock.
2. A Hi Viz clamp on fiber optic front sight, which much more visible and taller than the factory bead. This corrected the high point of impact with the factory bead.
3. Defender Tactical Mini-Pro Lifer and Cartridge Arrestor System, so I can shoot the 1.75" mini shells.
4. CVLIFE 1.25" quickly adjustable rifle sling.
5. CDM Gear ROC-12 accessory rail.
6. Inforce WML 400 lumen weapon light mounted so I can activate it using my right thumb (I'm left handed).

I've been wanting to try out 1.75" mini shells due to their reduced recoil and because you can load more in the tube magazine. Mossberg shotguns are easily modified to run with the mini shells with adapters from either Op Sol or Defender Tactical. The Mossberg 590S comes from the factory already setup to handle mini-shells.

Even if I keep the gun loaded with Federal 2.75" 00 Flitecontrol for now, the mini shell adaptor gives me the ability to use reduced recoil loads when I'm older.

Since I no longer have any small children in the house, the gun is kept in a closet "cruiser ready," i.e., full magazine, empty chamber, bolt locked forward.

Set up this way, the Mossberg will handle any home defense situation I can reasonably think of in my suburban location.

Links:

(Some of these are affiliate links.)

• Inforce weaponlight: https://amzn.to/4unaiN7
• CGM gear light mount rail: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081NTW9TM?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3
• HiViz fiber optic sight: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002INN3G?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3
• CVLife sling: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WRB433Q?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1
• QD sling swivels: https://amzn.to/4loI8gF
• Sling swivel studs: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMTXBT1R?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3&th=1
• Magpul SGA stock for Mossberg 500/590: https://magpul.com/sgastock-mossberg500-590-590a1.html?mp_global_color=118
• Defender Tactical Mini-Pro Lifter and Cartridge Arrestor System: https://defendertactical.com/products/mini-pro
• Hill People Gear Stock Cuff: https://hillpeoplegear.com/Products/By-Activity/Hunting/CategoryID/37/ProductID/43

Food for the Single Six Magnum

Today I loaded up some food for my Ruger Single Six Magnum Vaquero:

• Missouri Bullet Company .313" 115 RNFP cast bullets
• 3.2 grains Hodgdon HP-38 powder
• CCI No.500 primer
• Starline cases

Yeah, my reloading bench is cluttered.

What looks like a copper wash on the bullets is Hi-Tek coating applied in lieu of a traditional bullet lube. The appearance of the loaded rounds remind me of oversized high velocity .22s, or the old Winchester-Western Lubaloy bullets.

Ruger Single Six Magnum Vaquero

Several years ago I got this Ruger Single Six Magnum Vaquero chambered for .32 H&R Magnum.  Because of the color case hardening and the faux ivory grips, I nicknamed it the "Cowboy Pimp Gun."

TBH, I haven't shot it a lot because typical .32 H&R loads with 85 - 100 grain bullets shoot low and I didn't want to file the front sight shorter to raise the point of impact. It also had a really stiff trigger. I recently remedied both of those issues.

To fix the heavy trigger pull I got a spring kit from Wolff Gunsprings, which included a reduced power trigger spring and several hammer springs. I installed the Wolff trigger spring and replaced the factory 23 lb. hammer spring with an 18 lb. spring. This is a major improvement giving the gun a light trigger pull. I don't have a trigger pull gauge so I can't really say what it is now.

To raise the point of impact I loaded up some 120 grain cast RNFP bullets from Matt's Bullets over 3.2 grains of HP-38. They probably run around 800 FPS, but I can go up to 3.7 grains of powder. Because I wanted to ensure that the gun will reliably set off whatever ammo I put in it, I used CCI primers which are harder than other brands.

I brought the gun to the range today and did the Old West Shootist's drill, and was pleased that this load shoots to point of aim at 10 yards, and that it reliably set off the CCI primers.

I love it when a plan comes together. Now that I've got the issues worked out with the gun I expect to shoot it a lot more.

Warsun T7 EDC Light

In the past week I picked up a Warsun T7 pocket sized flat flashlight from Amazon. It's a handy little light for when you need to get some work done and don't need or want something super bright.

It charges via USB-C and has multiple modes, all controlled with a single button.

The case is made from aluminum. One end has an LED while the opposite end has a magnet so you can hang it to provide area illumination, e.g., under the hood of a car.

Here are some pictures showing its size, next to a quarter for reference.

 

Not counting the pocket clip, it's 0.30" thick, 4.4" long, and about 0.95" wide. It slips comfortably in a pocket like a thin pocket knife.

It's plenty bright for walking around in the dark. Today I took advantage of the side light while working to clear a slow drain. It was perfect for illuminating under a bathroom vanity.

I can't comment yet on run time but it should be at least a few hours when used on low. If I have one criticism it's that it relies on one button to cycle through all the modes, and I'd just assume that it didn't have a strobe mode for the side LED. But for $12 on Prime (or $23 for a two pack) I can't complain.

Put Together Some Reduced .30-30 Handloads Today

Today I loaded up 50 rounds of .30-30 (.30 WCF) reduced loads with lead bullets and Unique powder. These will primarily be fired in a late 1940s-vintage Stevens 325-B bolt action.

The bullets were 1990s-vintage Alberts Scheutzen Plinker 154 grain swaged lead from my late father's stash. I used some Federal No.210 large rifle primers I bought back then when I was loading .30-06 for shooting in an M-1 Garand in Service Rifle competition back in the 90s. I haven't loaded much high power rifle since then.

After seating but before crimping:

Aesthetically, I really like the retro look of these loads.

I chose a mild charge of 9.0 grains of Unique, which should drive the bullet to around 1200 - 1300 FPS, but I'll run some over a chronograph to be sure. I've see data for 150 grain lead bullets with up to 11.0 grains of Unique.

I also inventoried my .30 caliber cast bullets. I have a box of Lasercast 170 grain RNFPs. They are designed to use a gas check but those aren't installed. I  have a bag of gas checks which I can add using my Lee sizer, and did that for 20 bullets. I also have some Lee 178 grain RNFP gas checked bullets from MOD Outfitters, sized .310. I should be able to drive the gas checked bullets close to 2,000 FPS. I'll try using Winchester 748 powder or IMR 3031 for that.