Tokarev pistol trigger problem

[DarthZed]

Hey everyone, I'm hoping someone can give me some input here. I bought a couple of Tokarev pistols last year, a Polish tt33 and a Yugoslavian M57. I disassembled and cleaned the guns when I first got them, and put them in the safe to wait for a trip to the pistol range. When I finally got around to shooting them yesterday, the guns were almost unusable due to a VERY stiff trigger pull. The M57 literally required all my strength to fire. (I kept checking the safety to make sure it was off, since the trigger wouldn't move at all) I would pull, Pull, PULL, PULL!; and the gun would finally fire abruptly with no discernible trigger movement. It was quite frankly impossible to hit the silhouette target at 10m. The Polish gun was also quite stiff (though not as bad as the M57), with no appreciable movement before it also fired.

After checking online, most people seem to indicate that their guns have a trigger pull of 5-6lbs. My M57 must be close to 20, and the Polish tt33 is probably in the 12-15lb range. I've disassembled the guns to clean them, and don't see that I've got anything improperly put together; but obviously something is wonky. Anyone have any idea what I have screwed up?

 

[tdt91]

what type of cleaners or lube did you use?

My guess is they are assembled wrong.

 

[DarthZed]

Ballistol and CLP were the cleaners/lubs I used. I'm certain something is assembled improperly; but I swear I can't figure out what.

 

[ST19AG_WGreymon]

I had a Tokarev M57 with some insane trigger pull. I cleaned it as best I could and it helped a little but I ended up exchanging it. Have you considered disassembling the FCG?

 

[DarthZed]

I hadn't bothered to disassemble the guns to that extent, so I assumed (always dangerous) that the problem wasn't in the FCG. Interesting to hear that someone else has had a similar problem. I just figured I had screwed something up in reassembly.

 

[jaygibson]

You really have to make sure you get all of the grease out of the FCG. I"m lazy so I use gun scrubber after a soak in ballistol. Just a little bit of grease in a spring can make a big difference.

How are they dry firing? Is it different than live?

 

[falconguy]

I have a Yugo and Rommy, never had a problem like that...... yet.

 

[Brychan]

You did remove the grips and the trigger and clean them real well?
I have 2 M57's and the first time at the range one of them was a bit hard to squeeze the trigger, when I got home I torn them all way down again (did not take apart hammer group, the all in one peice, not sure of the proper name) reclean and lubed put back together and the triggers were both fine.

 

[DarthZed]

OK, That's weird. I just tried dry firing the two guns (something I generally don't like to do), and they are much easier than when a round was chambered at the range. Triggers are still a little gritty feeling and don't have a crisp break; but they seem to be operating at about 7-8 pounds of pull. Very tolerable considering what they are.

I need to go to the range again this week and try them again. Strange, they were almost unshootable yesterday. I don't understand what caused that. The change shouldn't be due to anything I've done since then. I didn't even really break the guns down for cleaning when I got home (only 2 rounds through the M57, and half a mag through the tt33). I just locked the slides back and cleaned the barrel and bolt face since I was using corrosive ammo. (I did remove the slides to get a closer look at the internals, but slipped them back on when nothing looked out of place)

Gremlins? Or perhaps the C&R gods are simply having fun with me.

Oh, and I did take the grips off and soak the FCG in mineral spirits when I first got the guns. In any case, the cosmoline on the guns was of the liguid type, like heavy oil; rather than hard gel. So I don't think it could have caused any issues.

 

[SSGDave762]

tokarev trigger issues

while i was in the service i had access to some of these, and what i found was that some of the bearing serfaces were "Rough finished" and wouldn't work until they were deburred.
when you take it apart, check that-hope it helps!

 

[Laddertowr]

You have to remember that the trigger assy also wraps around the mag which the rear spring in the frame lays up against.... I had the same issue.... Pull the trigger assy out and at the back of the box where the mag rides look for extensive wear..... I ordered a new trigger and spring and it took care of the issue.

In the Romanian I also pulled the safety out and filed out more of the flatt area thinking that the nipple on the trigger may have been dragging across the safety as I was pulling the trigger...... No issues with my M-57 but I'd look for the same thing..... If you can drop the hammer with the Mag out easy and it's harder with the mag in then I;d expect worn parts sir... just my 2 cent Im no gunsmith

 

[toolness1]

The M57's have a magazine safety that can interfere with the trigger pull. I ended up removing it on one of mine because it made the trigger pull too horrid to deal with. You might see if that mag safety is catching.

Seems like it wasn't allowing the trigger to travel quite far enough to engage, but it's been quite a while.

 

[Rick3bears]

If you have snap caps or fired brass, load one without mag in and try firing. If still stiff, probably fcg. Try again with mag in. If stiff, probably mag interference. Did you try different mags? Also not all Tok mags are interchangable... My 2 cents.

 

[john_bud]

Put the fcg's into a sealed glass jar with lacquer thinner and acetone for a couple days. Swirl frequently. I'd guess there is still gloop in there. Mine was packed full.

 

[somd_mustangs]

... notice that the last time the OP posted was 3 years ago?
if he hasn't fixed it by now it ain't gonna get fixed

good suggestions though.
Sometimes the only thing to do is just suck it up and take the hammer group apart.
It's not that hard if you're careful (getting it back together can be fun though).
Really the only way to get the grit and crap out of there...

The gun is actually a pretty simple (and clever) design.