Tokarev and P-64 issues

[parsimonious_instead]

I'm not as concerned with the "bite" of the P-64 as I've mitigated that with better hand placement and a glove.

The Tokarev's somewhat unreliability is more of a concern for me.
When I have some time, I'll disassemble and clean it thoroughly.

I just called an internet vendor regarding Tokarev ammo - most of it apparently has cracked necks. The rep on the phone told me it's not an issue, but it doesn't sound all that appetizing considering that it seems to be a high-powered round...

 

[Olympus]

I shoot S&B and Brown Bear in mine. Both brands run smoothly.

 

[WardenWolf]

I prefer Silver Bear to Brown Bear, as it uses zinc coating instead of lacquer. You get fewer cleaning issues that way, and it's still cheap enough. I mostly shoot S&B, though, because the local indoor range doesn't allow bimetallic jackets. PRVI Partizan is good, too, when you can get it. I put it on par with S&B.

 

[Olympus]

If I was cranking out 500+ rounds out at one time, I'd probably shoot the Silver Bear too. But you're a tougher man than I am if you can shoot 500 rounds at once with the P-64. For shooting 100 to 150 rounds at a time, the Brown Bear has never been a problem for me. A good cleaning when you get home will get rid of any laquer build up and you'll be raring to go again the next time. I've easily put over 1000 rounds of Brown Bear through mine and I've never had a single malfunction.

 

[parsimonious_instead]

Olympus: no claim of being a tough dude, or anything. I rarely shoot more than 150 rounds of anything other than .22lr anyway when I'm at the range. I just found that with the glove and better hand placement, the allocation that I usually shoot is quite easy to handle.
My "biting" issue with the P-64 occurred on my first time using the gun, so there was all of this inexperience and lack of a glove accompanying it.



My other concern was about the cracked neck issue in surplus Tokarev ammo. I can't really pass up the $120 with shipping for a tin of 1260 rounds. The vendor, of course, assures me that this isn't a safety issue, but what do you guys think?

 

[Lakeshore]

"I just called an internet vendor regarding Tokarev ammo - most of it apparently has cracked necks. The rep on the phone told me it's not an issue, but it doesn't sound all that appetizing considering that it seems to be a high-powered round"

The phone rep was right. The imported surplus Tokarev (7.62X25) rounds are notorious for splitting at the neck. It's the way they're crimped. You won't be reloading those casings, but otherwise don't worry about it.

 

[Dionysusigma]

NOTE: I am not a mechanical engineer. I am not a reloader.

However, it seems that the most critical point for a case to be cracked would be near the base, where the chamber meets the bolt. The neck is probably fully supported by the barrel, and as such is probably in no danger of causing a failure. There's a reason why magnum belted cartridges have the belt near the base...

 

[Maj Dad]

I put a Hogue Handall Jr slip-on grip on my P64 & it makes it much friendlier to shoot. I also shoot the 94 & 109 gr ammo (bought a pile of it before the feeding frenzy started) and the 94 is definitely easier on recoil. The 109 is fine in the full-size Mak.

 

[Waterfowler]

Yeah I wouldn't worry about the cracked case necks. Pretty much all the Tok ammo I shoot is like this and my Romanian Tok wolfs it down like Mrs. Obama on hot fudge sundays and french fries.

 

[parsimonious_instead]

I ordered the ammo (cracked necks and all), and cleaned the cosmoline off with hot, soapy water.
Applied Hoppes to the inside of the barrel, then patched it thru with some oil.

However, the cocking effort still seems really inconsistent - I think it's the hammer assembly itself that's at issue - perhaps there's still some cosmoline lurking in there, or is it possible it's a spring?

Is it possibly to just get a new hammer assembly online? What is a good online source of Tokarev parts?

 

[Shadow 7D]

Sarco
Numrichs (Egunparts.com)

Ebay and Gunbroker both are good for parts

Before you dump the hammer assembly, take the time to read up on it, it's a pretty simple piece of clockwork (spring powered machine)

 

[parsimonious_instead]

Shadow:

Thank you so much for the advice. I bought a Tok "Service Pack" from Wolff Springs, and with the replacement of the recoil and hammer spring the pistol cycles perfectly - no manual thumbcocking at all since I performed the operation.

Now... I did go ahead and purchase a new hammer group, in case I, uh, messed up the spring changeout or if I did it correctly, but to no avail.

So, now I have an extra hammer group - not the worst thing in the world
to have anyway.

And man, what a pleasure that gun is to shoot now!

 

[Nasty]

Memo For Record

- Regarding several of the above posts, it must be noted that so far as the following:

"Nasty cosmoline"
"Nasty grease"
"Nasty stuff"
"Nasty storage grease"

- *I* am not responsible for any of these substances and any resemblance is purely coincidental.

- Furthermore, if the subject of "Nasty ammunition" is presented, I am also held harmless.

 

[parsimonious_instead]

I also bought magazine springs from Wolff. My two Tok mags went from only holding five rounds to easily holding eight.