My First Handgun (& C&R Purchase)

[Haides]

So I purchased my first handgun, a Romanian Tokarev from SOG, which is also incidentally my first C&R purchase. It arrived yesterday and boy was I happy to see it haha.

It seems to be in pretty good condition, cosmetically.




So this being my first venture into the C&R world, I have a few questions.
What's usually the first order of business when you receive a new C&R addition? Do you need to take it to a gunsmith to make sure everything's okay with it or is that generally not necessary?

So far I've only field stripped it and wiped off most of (what I assume is) the cosmoline, just so that I could at least touch the thing without junk getting on my hands. I'm going to read up on these threads about cosmoline removal...

http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=122600

http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=24216

http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=14908

http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=7703

http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=1548

but I figured I'd just ask here before I get started... How far do you have to take the gun apart to get all of the cosmoline off? Is a simple field strip enough or does the frame and such need to be disassembled as well?

Thanks guys

 

[Machodoc]

Those tend to not be so much full of cosmoline as just thickened oil. Field stripping it and cleaning it well should be fine. You'll get some small amount of seepage the first couple of times that you clean it after shooting, but that's OK.

They are nice guns ... enjoy the impending poverty!

 

[Haides]

Yeah I did wipe plenty of the oil off and will be giving it a proper cleaning soon. Thanks for the info.

I can definitely see how this C&R thing can get dangerously addicting.

 

[TexasBob]

Nice, got my first Tokarev TTC last week from J&G, ammo showed up Monday so I had to go to the range today. It had less kick then I thought but throw brass a good 20 feet. Had to apologize to a guy 5 positions over.

I like the Tokarev design just wish the grip was a bit longer, I got big hands. Saving my money for a Star B 9mm next.

Enjoy your new piece there always room in the safe for more.
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[Abulg1972]

I took mine to the range today for the first time and it has serious feeding issues. The slide won't close all the way on more than half the rounds. It's almost as if the case is too big for the chamber. Scratching my head on this one.


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[Haides]

Nice, got my first Tokarev TTC last week from J&G, ammo showed up Monday so I had to go to the range today. It had less kick then I thought but throw brass a good 20 feet. Had to apologize to a guy 5 positions over.

I like the Tokarev design just wish the grip was a bit longer, I got big hands. Saving my money for a Star B 9mm next.

Enjoy your new piece there always room in the safe for more.
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Yeah the grip feels kinda weird at first, as I definitely don't have small hands either, but after some fondling it feels like I could get used to it. Very "pointable," if that makes sense. Lol

Hoping to have it cleaned and ready for a range trip Thursday or Friday.

 

[SmokeEaterPilot]

Congratulations on your first acquisition. I've heard great things about the Tokerev. The ammo is very similar to the C96 Broom handle I used to have only a lot hotter round. They're LOUD from what I've heard. Heard great things.

As far as cosmoline it's similar to axle grease it melts at a temperature similar to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (I don't remember the specific number) I take small parts like screws and springs and slides and toss them in a baking pan at about 150 for 15 minutes and it wipes off. I've done that on numerous K98s and Mosins never had a problem with damaging the bluing or anything it just wipes right off then oil/grease up when you reassemble.

 

[Melnic]

My tok was so filled with cosmo that I had to break it down pretty darn far.
I did not take the trigger mech apart, pulled it out and soaked it in mineral spirit bath along with all the rest of the parts. Lots of vids out there to watch, do it step by step pausing video. When you get to the trigger and realize its a bent piece of metal your like huh? thats it?

 

[Machodoc]

I took mine to the range today for the first time and it has serious feeding issues. The slide won't close all the way on more than half the rounds. It's almost as if the case is too big for the chamber. Scratching my head on this one.

Your what ... the Star B, or a Tok?

 

[Abulg1972]

The Tok from SOG has issues. My Star B ran like a charm.


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[Machodoc]

The Tok from SOG has issues. My Star B ran like a charm.

OK ... saw that in another thread. Glad you found something about the B to make you feel better. They're fun to shoot.

The range pitched a fit over steel cases?! Bastiges! The only logical reason for them to object about steel cases is because they want to recover and sell your brass. That's tacky as hell.

As for the Tok, that's a big surprise. They're usually uber reliable.

 

[Abulg1972]

OK ... saw that in another thread. Glad you found something about the B to make you feel better. They're fun to shoot.



The range pitched a fit over steel cases?! Bastiges! The only logical reason for them to object about steel cases is because they want to recover and sell your brass. That's tacky as hell.



As for the Tok, that's a big surprise. They're usually uber reliable.

No, they allow steel cased ammo - not steel jacketed or core. The TulAmmo is steel jacketed. Now I have 375 rounds ...


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[Alphabrew]

Very nice. A Romy Tok was also my first C&R purchase. I paid like $280 shipped from classic

 

[Abulg1972]

I'm hoping that maybe I didn't fully resize the brass when I was reloading.


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[Haides]

Do you normally take your newly acquired C&R stuff to a gunsmith to check over or is that usually not necessary?

 

[Haides]

Very nice. A Romy Tok was also my first C&R purchase. I paid like $280 shipped from classic

I paid just over $280 shipped, but I also got a spare mag (automatically included with the gun; looks like new manufacture with a "maid in Taiwan" sticker on the bottom), plus 96rds of surplus ammo with it.

 

[Machodoc]

Do you normally take your newly acquired C&R stuff to a gunsmith to check over or is that usually not necessary?

It depends on the gun, how it's been treated, where it came from, if it's been re-arsenaled, etc.

For one of those Rom Toks, I'd personally clean it, be sure that it cycled rounds OK manually, be sure I had on "eyes and ears", then shoot it. But that's me. Everyone's attorney would advise differently, and I'm neither an attorney, nor a gunsmith. (And I'd bet the attorneys here would also clean, check, and shoot them.)

P.S. - Taiwanese machined and stamped goods are usually excellent.

P.S. P.S. - Here's a "maid in Taiwan" (I love funny typos!)

... but I also got a spare mag (automatically included with the gun; looks like new manufacture with a "maid in Taiwan" sticker on the bottom), plus 96rds of surplus ammo with it.

 

[somd_mustangs]

One thing I always do now is to check that the firing pin moves freely in the tunnel (I use a brass punch to manually push it in) and tip isn't damaged. My TTC came with a bent pin that probably would have jammed and slam-fired if I hadn't replaced it. On closer examination it looked like some sort of home-grown replacement part. The peened nail used instead of the proper split-pin retaining pin through the slide should have been a clue... also I'd pull out the hammer assembly and dunk it in your favorite cleaner. It's a pretty simple, robust gun all told.

As Machodoc says, it really depends on the gun but if I'm planning to shoot it I'll take it down as far as practical and check for cracks, damage, internal condition, bore, blah blah. If it's a 1911 I'll take it down to the bones and put a new recoil spring in it just because.

 

[Abulg1972]

It depends on the gun, how it's been treated, where it came from, if it's been re-arsenaled, etc.



For one of those Rom Toks, I'd personally clean it, be sure that it cycled rounds OK manually, be sure I had on "eyes and ears", then shoot it. But that's me. Everyone's attorney would advise differently, and I'm neither an attorney, nor a gunsmith. (And I'd bet the attorneys here would also clean, check, and shoot them.)



P.S. - Taiwanese machined and stamped goods are usually excellent.



P.S. P.S. - Here's a "maid in Taiwan" (I love funny typos!)

Ha. I'm an attorney and I just clean it, close my eyes and pull the trigger. Probably not the smartest practice but ...


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[Threeband]

With any semi-auto, but especially with a used one, I'd do a function check before firing it, and even then for the first shot load only one round in the magazine. Then load two rounds in the magazine for the second and third shots. If there are no malfunctions and the gun doesn't go full-auto on you, then you should be okay loading up the magazine after that.

It's not a bad idea to repeat the function check on every semi-auto after it's been disassembled and reassembled.





Function Check

(For a gun such as your Tok that locks open on an empty magazine you'll want to remove the magazine.)

First, triple check that the gun is unloaded.

Then point it in the safest direction available and dry fire it, but do not release the trigger.

Without releasing the trigger, cycle the action manually.

The hammer or striker should be cocked, but should not fall.

Now release the trigger. If you release it slowly, you should feel the reset.

Now pull the trigger again. The hammer should fall, dry firing the gun.

Then check the safeties, as shown in the video. The safety on your Tok might not work well, and should not be trusted. I believe the only manual safety on a Tokarev pistol is the half-cock on the hammer, and I wouldn't trust that either. The Tok is the very same gun about which the apocryphal Russian said, "Is gun. Is not safe." But check what safeties you do or don't have. Don't neglect the one from the video where he pushes the slide back an eighth inch or so, which should prevent the gun from (dry) firing.

Do the function check a couple times, and get a feel for your gun's reset. Some guns have a more obvious reset then others. This is the point where the disconnecter resets to allow the trigger to fire the next shot. You'll probably find you can let the trigger out just a tiny bit, but pulling it again won't drop the hammer. Letting it out a little bit more allows the next shot to be fired. That reset point will be a long way before the trigger is completely released, and learning to release the trigger only as far as the reset can really help your accuracy on follow up shots.

The basic function check serves to ensure that your semi-auto won't go full auto on you. I'd still load with one round only on a new gun. Also make sure the firing pin isn't stuck forward. I saw a C&R pistol that arrived with the firing pin thoroughly frozen, protruding from the breech face. If someone had tried to fire it like that, it would have gone full auto. Reaming the caked-in crud from the firing pin channel fixed that CZ 82.