Zastava M70A (TOkarev Clone) Trigger reach

The tokarev pistol is very slim . Trigger reach is short. Try handling one at your local gunshop esp those who sell surplus pistols.

You need to try them each in hand, side by side.

With the hammer cocked, measuring from the front of the trigger to the rear of the grip safety, my 1911 measures about 3/32" shorter than my M70A measures from the front of the trigger to the rear of the backstrap.

But - the Zastava 9x19mm Tokarev pistol grip feels quite a bit smaller.

I also have smaller hands. Springfield's XD series fits me well, as does their XDS series, which also has the benefit of adjustable grips. Glock's Gen 4 also has adjustable grips. I haven't looked at them yet, so I can't speak to their grip size, but it's worth looking at. Finally, I don't know if all 1911's have the same grip size, but we have a Springfield Mil Spec, and it's also comfortable for me.

There are lots of "pocket nines" out there now. Most of them are too small for my very large hands, but they sound just right for you.

The thin wood grips available for 1911's can make a substantial difference.

zeke said:

The thin wood grips available for 1911's can make a substantial difference.

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^this.

Thin grips make a major difference.

Yes, look at the slim grips.

I like the safety on the Zastzva M70, even though I don't normally like slide safeties.
It's well designed. It's compact, unobtrusive, and works easily.
Like all Toks, it needs sights along the line of Novaks. The factory sights are pretty bad about snagging.

About your lack of trigger reset, it could be a spring problem, or it could be burrs causing the problem. Maybe something else, I'm not remembering.

Hi dashootist,

I am very interesting in getting a Zastava. Would you say it's shooting low due to the grip angle, or the sights ? Can you just file the front sight down a little to fix this ? How is the grouping ?

I have the M88a Zastava, basically the compact version, and mine was shooting 3" low at 25'. I filed down the front sight and touched it up with Oxpho Blue and all is good. Trigger reach is very short but the pull is high, around 10lbs. Still, I am easily able to get very accruate groups. I xpect the full size Tokarev would be even better. There are mods for the trigger to lighten and smooth and they are not difficult. I just got a Polish TT33 Tokarev from Classic Firearms, but in 7.62x25. Trigger on this one is great but I have not shot it yet as I don't have my NJ permits yet.
9 fingers


PS - dashootist, the Zastavas are very nicely finished on the outside but are very rough inside. You would help yourself by taking it apart as much as you are comfortable doing and using some 600 or 1,000 paper, or use stones if you ahve them, and going over all of the rough edges. Clean it really well, maybe soak it overnight in Breakfree CLP or whatever you like, and then starting fresh. My M88a has gotten much smoother since my initial work and shooting 100 rounds or so. I am surprised your trigger is light. Is the magazine disconnect still in place?

The M70A is very easy to detail strip all the way down for a clean up, as long as you leave the fire control group as an assembly. Given how nice the outside looks, I was surprised at how rough the inside was finished.

Before you grab your front sight file, be sure to try different types of 9x19mm ammo. Your pistol may not like 115 grain, but be spot on shooting 124 grain bullets, for example. Some of my nine millimeter pistols just love Winchester White Box cheap target ammo, while others give me 15 yard 'groups' that look like a shotgun spread.

My Zastava M70A feels very good in hand and it is quite comfortable shooting lots of rounds at a range session. It is robust and reliable, and I use it as my platform for first trying out new 9mm reloads. See if different ammo comes closer to POA.

Good luck and happy shooting. Post some pictures if you can.

Be aware that "1911" style pistols come with a variety of trigger options. One may easily vary the length of the trigger.

GI type grips keep the 1911 styles fairly thin compared to the 9 sillymeter double stacks out there.

The only thing that frightens me about the M70A is......well I used to own a Yugo......

-kBob

kBob said:

The only thing that frightens me about the M70A is......well I used to own a Yugo......

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I wouldn't let that concern you. Cars/guns, apples/oranges.

Off Topic: I think the Yugo was a commie copy of a Fiat. If that particular Fiat was a bad design, Zastava should have copied the Honda Civic. If the Fiat design was OK, a well made copy would have been good for an inexpensive car.

dashootist - there are a couple things you can try to get your gun shooting to point of aim.
First, try different ammunition. Usually, a heavier and slower bullet will impact higher than a light, fast bullet. You might be able solve the problem just by doing that.

If that doesn't work, you can get yourself a bastard file and a piece of leather or denim. Make a small cut in the cloth or leather and put that around the sight. Use it to protect the slide, then carefully take a few passes off the sight at a time with the file until you get it hitting point of aim. File a couple passes, shoot a few shots, unload the gun, check the target... etc.

It sounds a little scarey, but once you've done it, it's not a big deal. I've done it with probably half a dozen handguns (mostly revolvers). Doesn't take much to bring the point of impact up quite a bit.