Beretta 93R & Tokarev TT33 full-auto.

[Fr. Frank]

I was shooting my replica 1860 Colt .36 cap-n-ball pistol at the range yesterday, and a guy comes in carrying several handguns. After a while, he takes out what looks very like a Beretta model 92 9mm, and a Polish Radom-built Tokarev T48 (improved TT33) in 7.62x25. Both were deceptive.

The Tokarev TT33 was select-fire. In place of the regular safety lever above the handgrip on the left side is actually a select-fire switch, changing it from semi to full automatic. He also had 30 rd. extended magazines for it. With a regular magazine, if you hold the trigger, the gun makes a 1 second burping sound and all 8 rds are gone. I was unable to get it to fire less than 3 rds at a time by stroking the trigger in full-auto mode. The owner says it cycles at about 800 rds per minute, but frequently jams by failure to completely eject spent cartridges. He said that Radom made less than 3,000 of these full-auto versions, and the only other manufacturer to convert the TT33 to full auto was Hungary's FEG gunmaker, for Egyptian military and police use. They made less than 500 full-auto versions, called the Tokagypt Model TU-90A, and it was made in 9x19mm, not the standard 7.62x25 Tokarev/Mauser cartridge. He further claimed that conversion from semi to full auto on an existing TT33 or derivative can accomplished by modifying 2 internal parts, and can be done with hand files in about an hour. Which is interesting, but as the penalty for making a class 3 firearm is 15 years Fed time, but I think I'll pass.


My brother has a pair of Hungarian Tokarevs T58's, each with 3 different barrels: 7.6x25mm, 9mm Luger, and .38 SuperAuto. They were imported by Navy Arms in VA. Fairly accurate for military issue, but not for precision target shooting. Good self-defense weapons.

The top pistol in the pic is a Chinese made Tokarev T54-1, the bottom is a Polish Radom T-48, both are minor improvements of the original TT33.


But, WOW. The Beretta 93R has a removable fold-down front handgrip, and carries 15 rds. hidden in it's mag. It is capable of semi-auto, or 3 rd full-auto bursts. With the built-in compensator, muzzle climb is reduced enough to put 3 rds in a 12" circle at 25 ft. I learned, however, that you don't try to shoot full-auto without using the front handgrip. Your first shot will be on target, the second about 2 ft above that, and the third headed up at a 45 degree angle.
Here's a pic and a movie.


Beretta 93R movie