How about a Chinese (Norinco) 9MM Tokarev?

canoeguy

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Picked up a blast from the past the other day, a Norinco 213 9MM caliber Tokarev pistol. These were imported in the 1990's before Bill Clinton got irritated at the Chinese and banned their entry to our shores.....

I have always been intrigued by these pistols, being chambered in 9MM is a plus for me as I cast 9MM bullets and have tons of components, cheap shooting for me. The original 7.62 x 25 chambering is a bit loud and over powered for me for field use, 9MM is just right.....

Picked this thing up super cheap, $150 with original box, cleaning rod and a grand total of eight magazines. Less than the cost of a Hi-point! I was pleasantly surprised at the accuracy and reliability of this pistol, works great with FMJ and my pet cast lead hand load. Accuracy is on par with a Glock, about 2-3" standing two hand hold at 20 yards.

I found a nice leather thumb break holster on Ebay for it for $20, so I'm set for the field. I'll carry this one "Israeli Style", hammer down on an empty chamber, safety off, and incorporate chambering a round with the draw. This to get around the added "Import Safety", which works backwards from what it should, very clumsy in operation.

For serious defensive work I'll go with something more modern like a Glock, but as a "Utility Pistol", field/truck/tractor gun it will work nicely.

This gun is fun to shoot! Modest recoil, good accuracy, lots of fun slaying steel with this one. This would even be fun to play IDPA games with at the club level.....

Some pics:

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Steel rabbit shot at 15 yards, five rounds, standing two hand hold. Sights are dead on!

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Talk about a steal, I paid $220 for a MilSurp Romanian Tokarev TTC that only came with one magazine and said magazine was all rusted up inside.

I'll never understand why Chinese Firearms are still banned despite the fact that the whole reason they were banned in the first place (attempting to force China manufacturers to treat their workers more humanely through certification program) failed miserably and pretty much everything else under the sun is imported from China including other deadly weapons.

I'd love to get my hands on a Norinco P762, (basically a SIG clone chambered in 7.62x25 Tokarev) but it wasn't invented until after the ban, so it's completely unobtainable in the United States.
 
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I have one of those Norinco 213 9mm about identical to that. Bought used and cheap at a gunshow many years ago. Mine came with one matching number magazine and another in the white odd non matching mag(that fits and works)

Mine shoots great....has a chrome bore...the mechanism is a bit weird as far as the hammer safety and the added manual safety. I think these were made for the commercial market back before the Chinese gun/ammo ban
 
I had a real one and was happy with the money it brought. I’m for total ban on Chinese weapons. Americans gobble up all their cheap knock offs of anything that stands still long enough to copy. Then cry about it.
 
I had one. A good shooter as well. Put a few hundred rounds through it with no malfunctions. I believe there were 2 types, mine was the type with the metal spacer pinned in the magazine well. Iirc the other type had a 7.62 x25 mag with a spacer in the mag itself.
 
The Tokarev (of any origin and caliber) was one of the very few military pistols I have never owned or fired. They just never interested me, but at that price I would buy one. Some years ago my wife had a friend whose husband died suddenly. He had a 9mm Chinese Tokarev, but she threw it in the garbage before I got to her.
 
I had 2 of the T-54 versions, in 9mm. Practically identical, but I think the ejection port is a bit longer... if I recall correctly, the 213 is tighter and specifically for the 9mm, and you can't put a loaded 7.62 Tok in and out.

I sold one to a friend, and kept the other as it was my first pistol. it's been one of the best shooters I've had. Really underrated, and you got a good deal.

Note on the safety- good move, don't trust it. It's not integral to the design, it was slapped on for import purposes. Not high-grade steel on the safety, I had one of the screws disintegrate on the one I sold, and it jammed up the action. After I cleaned the metal 'sand' out, and tossed the safety entirely, I just bought a grip from grips4u that covers that hole, and it ran fantastic.

If you get past the grip angle, it's a very nice, thin, flat gun.
 
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Bought a conversion gun T54 with 2 mags for 9MM and 2 for 7.62 x 25. To convert you just change the barrels. My mags for the 9MM have the blocking piece in the back as the round is about a 1/4" shorter than the 7.62 x 25.

Agree on the cheap safety.

Found a 9MM only that had an extended mag release and oversize grips. Bought it and moved those pieces onto the convertible, then sold it the next day for what I had into it.

Bought both guns from individuals with tables at the gun show. Don't see many of them any more.
 
I bought one a few years back...don't recall how much but think around $275.00. The darn thing worked really well, was accurate, and had no issues. Obviously not a S&W, but for the money it is a darn good buy. I sold mine maybe 6 months after I got it. Nothing wrong with it; that is, for what it is.
 
Where this Norinco 213 really shines is letting youth shoot it. My 14 year old Nephew is staying with us, getting a lot of range time in on our property. Like any enthusiastic shooter, he can go through a lot of ammo. To slow him down just a bit, I introduced him to hand loading, let him load up 100 9MM cast lead rounds that shoot well through the Tokarev and 9MM carbine I have. He had a blast running them through the Tok and carbine.

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One of my really fun guns to shoot. But I love the "Tok" in it's original BLASTER cartridge, the 7.62X25. This is my Korean War vintage Chi-Com Model 54.:D


 
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I find the ban on Chinese guns very annoying. They build some unusual and innovative guns that pique my interest. The CF-98 is one I'd like to have. Not sure if they are still available in Canada after the recent massacre up there.

QSZ-92 - Wikipedia
 
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