Which one of these to buy for a collector and/or shooter? Romanian TTC or Yugo M57? Does collector vs shooter change the answer at all? Both are cheap for now.
M57 magazines are expensive and hard to find compared to TTC magazines. It's not worth it for the extra +1 capacity.
The M57 has several updates that IMHO make it more of a PITA to maintain and those related unique parts aren't always easy to find.
I did not realize until I started shopping around that the newer imports had a safety added as an afterthought to appease import restrictions. The one on the M57 is not as awful as the one on the TTC. That puts me off a bit.
Not all M57 safeties are created equal Mine looks like a high school shop class reject. Based on the detent drilled through the finish, it probably was replaced with a "hand-crafted" one at some point. It's horrible, hard to operate and painful on the old mano. The M57 also has a magazine safety that can be problematic.
Some Toks were fitted with a trigger-based safety like the Glock. Those would be the best to have since they don't booger up the frame.
Not all M57 safeties are created equal Mine looks like a high school shop class reject. Based on the detent drilled through the finish, it probably was replaced with a "hand-crafted" one at some point. It's horrible, hard to operate and painful on the old mano. The M57 also has a magazine safety that can be problematic.
Some Toks were fitted with a trigger-based safety like the Glock. Those would be the best to have since they don't booger up the frame.
Huh? So many out there for $20 a pop for the M57. I’ve literally never had an issue finding them. The new Zasatava. Mags work as well as the old ones. Gunmagwarehouse carries the new ones. DK Firearms carries new and sometimes old ones.
https://gunmagwarehouse.com/zastava-m57-tokarev-7-62x25mm-9-round-factory-magazine.html There you go, $21.99 a piece. I think they also sell them through eBay for about $1 more, but with free shipping.
Tokarev magazines are only surplus to the best of my knowledge. No one is making new ones.
Your link is OOS. DK has new ones for $25 but in my experience they are hit or miss for quality; i bought 2 and the catch was cut at the wrong spot on one.
It seems that something shifted it the past year, surplus Tokarev magazines used to be everywhere, and new production magazines from Taiwan were $10 and readily available. I'm guessing the panic dried up the surplus.