Chinese 7.62x25 - Any Info?

IUHoosier429

IUHoosier429

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Snagged 1,510 rounds of ammo today for my Tokarevs - 1,260 of it is this surplus Chinese stuff from 1963. Pretty good deal I think - $350 for it all, which included 250 rounds of brass S&B.

Toks are relatively new to me, and this is the first surplus x25 ammo I've owned or plan to shoot. And I do plan to shoot it, unless you guys think I shouldn't. Anyone have any hands-on experience with this stuff? Good, bad; shoot, save? Any other surplus or commercial varieties you like or think I should be on the lookout for?

Tok ammo isn't exactly growing on trees anymore, especially so for surplus, so any input is most appreciated.

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I have not personally shot any Chinese Tok ammo. But anecdotally, I've always heard it was good ammo. The only warning I remember was to just assume that it is all corrosive. And with a 1963 production date, I'd just about bet that it is. Other than that, shoot, clean, enjoy!
 
Excellent ammo. Have shot a ton of it. As has been said, it is corrosive, so clean accordingly.
 
I only shot a little, but it ran fine. Even the old Combloc stuff I had with crack neck brass ran fine.
 
myst173 said:
You've opened it, might as well shoot it.
Click to expand...

I've had "sealed" Chinese surplus in the past that was improperly done so, and I was greeted with unsalvageable ammo instead of the telltale "whoosh" of trapped air when cracking open the spam can.

Don't want that to happen again. Besides ... this stuff will have a better life sealed up in a proper metal .50-cal ammo can whether I shoot it or not.
 
I guess that's a risk, but I've never seen a spam can that had it's seal broken that didn't flex in and out when you pressed on it like a lid on a jar of canned goods that's broken seal. You don't get that pop but if you can push in the bottom or the top and it comes back into place it's got a leak and at that point is suspect usually you can hear the air push out and suck back in. Really though tokky food is notorious for split cases, hard as nails primers, wildly varying powder charges, etc. I think they had pre-schoolers run the ammo lines for that stuff as one of their classes every afternoon. So, you're gonna have a certain amount of rounds you'll end up discarding no matter what more than likely.

Lot of people collect the cans though for a rainy day, for display with their guns, etc. I've actually seen people who're shooting the stuff open cans from the back and then selling off the empty cans to people who just want to have them sitting around their mancave/gunroom.
 
@myst173 I have to admit, I have a bunch of spam cans for both reasons. Most will more than likely remain sealed until long after I'm dead (which is never lost on me during moves, because those crates are absolutely back breaking and hernia popping to schlep around).

As a milsurp fan and ammo hoarder, there's nothing as uniquely satisfying as popping open an old spam can. That used to be a run-of-the-mill activity for volume AK and Mosin shooters 10 years ago, but these days it is a rare and somewhat exciting experience ... at least for me. And the tops are way more intriguing than a Winchester white box of ammo.
 
I shot a bunch of this years ago. It will spark on steel. I shot it on the company indoor range and it was quite the light show!
 
Yesterday I had my first shots with a CZ 52 (circled), SMC-918 (lower right), and a PA-63 (lower left). All at 10 yards.

Pistols rarely make it to the range with me, but these things were fun to figure out and shoot. Slide bite is real, folks! That 9mm Makarov ammo is quite snappy - first time shooting this caliber as well. I was impressed with the Chinese Tok ammo - the stuff screams. First shot I pulled way low (outside of the circle) but the rest grouped pretty decently. The CZ 52 is not very ergonomic, but the trigger and reset both were surprisingly pleasant. I will be the first to say I'm not a great handgun shooter, but I will definitely grab some different targets next time. A black target in a dark indoor range with these old eastern bloc notch sights is not optimal.

Managed to score some more 7.62x25 and 9x18 ammo in the meantime, and look forward to playing around and practicing with these old guns a bit more.

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You gonna love those Com-bloc handguns.
They are very addictive. You will soon own a CZ 82, just wait and see. And a Tokorev.
And you better grab one of them Romanian Circle 10 Maks before they disappear.
See what I mean.
 
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