Strange magazine problem...

M

mametlynch

Inactive
I have a gun some of you might be familiar with, and some not. It's a Yugoslavian TT-33 variant, called the Zastava M57. There's not much difference between it and the regular Tokarev pistol, except that it holds 9 rds of ammunition instead of 8.

The thing is, these magazines are really hard to find, and I don't want to risk breaking the only one I have.

The trouble is that when I shoot it, the magazine for some reason expands with tiny bubbles in front, right where each bullet goes. A tiny bubble outside for where each bullet is, and actually causes the magazine to get stuck inside the well. With a lot of pulling, I can painfully scrape the magazine out of the well, and hammer the bubbles down so that it will smoothly fit back in.

If anybody could help me figure out what the problem is, I'd really appreciate it.

I used 7.62x25 Romanian surplus ammo the last time I shot it. I clean it with Hoppes #9.
 
Yes, bullet noses can dimple a magazine from inside. When the gun is fired, it recoils, but the cartridges in the magazine (obeying Mister Newton) try to stay where they are and slam into the front of the magazine.

Normally, pistol designers take this into consideration and either make the magazine thick enough, or harden the metal, to keep this from happening. But some magazine makers, especially after market makers, don't really care and their mags will dimple even, as the OP points out, to the extent of keeping the magazine from being inserted/removed. The problem can be exacerbated by use of hotter ammunition than the pistol was designed for.

The only solutions are to either find some lower power ammo or find a better magazine, if that is the factory original.

Jim
 
Thankyou for your replies,

I've actually seen the magazine solution for the M57, and although interesting, I'm not sure I have the tools for that.

I'm actually not particularly interested in firing this pistol very often, it is sort of just a novelty gun, but is there any way I can take the magazine I have to a shop and have it buffed out and re-coated with something to make it stronger?

Thanks.
 
I don't know of any coating that would help.

Assuming it's made of decent steel, you might be able to find someone to heat treat it which could make it more flexible and less likely to dimple. But that's not a feature typically offered by local gunsmiths.
 
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