Any difference between Romanian Tokarev vs Yugoslavian?
- Thread starter Viper99
- Start date
The Yugo m-57 uses a different magazine than the standard TT. 9rounds for the Yugo, 8 for the Russian, Chinese, Romanian,ect,ect. In other words, the Yugo uses an exclusive magazine. Real TT's or mdl57's don't have safety's. How sloppily the importer added the required safety varies. They are all military pistols that have been there, done that. They all work.
Right.
The Yugo Tokarev is a new current production firearm. It has a magazine disconnect safety, and it leaves the factory with a reasonably well designed manual safety. It also takes a proprietary 9 round magazine. There are also some other slight differences in the recoil spring assembly and slide.
The Romanian pistol is used military surplus, so there will be some degree of wear and darkening of the bore from corrosive ammo. It should be compatible with all military surplus Tokarev parts. The safety will have been tacked on by the importer solely for import purposes, so it may not work well and you may have to remove it.
I'm not sure about collectability.
The Yugo Tokarev is a new current production firearm. It has a magazine disconnect safety, and it leaves the factory with a reasonably well designed manual safety. It also takes a proprietary 9 round magazine. There are also some other slight differences in the recoil spring assembly and slide.
The Romanian pistol is used military surplus, so there will be some degree of wear and darkening of the bore from corrosive ammo. It should be compatible with all military surplus Tokarev parts. The safety will have been tacked on by the importer solely for import purposes, so it may not work well and you may have to remove it.
I'm not sure about collectability.
If they are both in the same caliber, I would elect the one without any safety so long as you have no plans to carry it. If one is available in 9mm, I'd prefer that as the caliber is more accessible. I have a Norinco 54-1 that a previous owner has removed the safety of in the original caliber. I think it's cool and I've always wanted one, but being in x25 means it rarely sees the range. If you just want a classic Tokarev, get the Romanian.
Yes and no...
They are producing newer variations of that same pistol, including one in 9mm. However, there are older surplus pistols out there.
I love my M57. Extra round and longer grip was big, being that I have larger hands. Standard Tokarevs never were comfortable for me. The Yugoslavians took Russian designs and improved them for their own use. It is a basic Tokarev design, but they did tweak it a bit.
The frame mounted safety was installed for importation, but I feel it is the best safety that was put on these handguns (opposed to the ones above the magazine release). The gun, as imported, is pretty close to a 1911 in function. Magazine disconnect was standard on the M57, not an importation addition.
Desirability is a hard thing to answer. Usually, Yugoslav firearms are less desirable than other Soviet bloc countries. But with sanctions on importations, I think they started to become accepted again. Between a Yugoslavian and Romanian Tokarev, you'll have more issue getting magazines for the M57. Other than that, both are good to go. If you are asking me for a recommendation... Yugoslavian. And that is not because my ex is Romanian.
I have TTs from China, Romania, and Russia, and an older surplus M57. The Yugo M57 is my go-to Tokarev when I want to blast some 7.62x25. The added safeties can sometimes require a bit of tweeking to ensure reliability. I have also heard that the new-production M57s have some unique parts that can be near impossible to find.