Zastava Mod. 57, the Yugo Tokarev

Zastava M.57 and M.70 

I have been a fan of the look of Tokarevs for a long time, having handled them but never actually shot them. The closest thing that I have shot is a Zastava model 70 which I own, which is a kind of miniaturized .32acp Tokarev that shoots amazingly accurate, despite a lousy trigger.

Getting one has been on my wishlist for a while, but when I unexpectedly came across a GB auction for one of the rarer Yugo M57 version at a paltry $160 in "very good" condition with a missing left grip... well.... I just had to...

Picture from the GB auction

When I actually got it, I was frankly surprised. With the exception of the missing grip and a few scratches near the slide-stop pin retainer, the pistol looked barely used. After the initial inspection and disassembly, I was pretty pleased over the condition. It has a beautiful blue finish, some rough machining marks and awkward sights, but overall much nicer than my .32acp M70. Its all steel construction makes it heavy compared to modern tupperware guns, but it is quite slim and well balanced. It just feels good in your hand. The kind of gun you take to fondle while sit and watch a nice war movie...while your wife watches you and nods her head disapprovingly...  The only poor things that did catch my eye were the horrible trigger pull and the loose slide... it rattled like a maraca!

After an intensive but eventually futile online search for trigger job tips and the left grip, I found that:

1. There are no left grips anywhere, or original grip sets at all for that matter
2. Marschal sells nice but expensive grips.
3. If I want a spare mag I might as well buy another pistol.
4. A complete Wolff spring overhaul is available, and may help the trigger pull
5. Removal of the mag safety might help the trigger pull

I decided to hold off spending any money on the gun until I tried it out. A wise choice in hindsight...
My first trip to the range was a complete disappointment. 3 different 7.62x25mm surplus ammo types (Russian, Chinese, and Yugo) all yielded the same result. I could barely hit paper at 15 yards. It was altogether inconsistent, 18" groups shall we say? That's not even a group, its a joke!

I went home and immediately grabbed a pair of pliers and ripped out the magazine safety. Easy enough, and an instant improvement of the trigger pull, maybe from 12lbs to 10lbs but it definitely feels less gritty.

I then took off the slide, chucked it into a vice and gave it a squeeze 1/2 turn past hand tightening, aided by some unscientific whacks with a rubber mallet to the adjustment screw. Couldn't have worked better if I had paid someone to do it, the slide now glides smoothly but tight. No rattling here!

M.57 and CZ-52

Stay tuned, range report coming up!