Ruining some expensive soft body armor...oops :P

Although this happened a little while ago; I thought I would write about it and include pictures.  The background for the story starts with a "ballistics lab" for a local law enforcement agency I used to be employed with.  The local rep was here to show off (and peddle) some soft body armor from an undisclosed company.  His cocky attitude just rubbed me the wrong way; but what the hell...I'm on the range and having fun. I'm thinking he was really a nice guy and this was probably just the salesman's pitch, but the prankster part of my mind got the better of me.

So the rep shoots round after round of various ammunition into the said vest and trauma plate trying to get the roughly five agencies to order these vests.  Although interesting, the rep's cocky demeanor and attitude really started to annoy me more and more. How could I ruin his day? Well...I noticed on the table he had a Tokarev.  He brought it to show that the NIJ Level III vest could stop the feared "cop killer" round.  The ammunition he brought was Winchester branded PPU 7.62x25mm FMJ.  Having shot this round into old vests; I know it will penetrate the Level IIA vests we were issued.  Fortunately for me; I had a good stash of Czech surplus 7.62x25mm steel core ammo acquired by the case for about 2 cents per round.

Forgetting to mention that this was "armor piercing" ammunition; I handed a couple of stripper clips over to the rep and asked if his vest would stop the round.  A few rounds flew through the chronograph for the sake of scientific method and off to the vest.  Unlike with lead core FMJ and JHP, the vest did not bounce backwards and cave-in.  Instead, the protective garment didn't appear to flinch and held steadfast with just a small shudder.  I heard the rep say "That doesn't look good."

Upon closer inspection, the bullet had punched right through the soft armor and even out the back of the dummy.  Oops. Did I piss on this guy's campfire just a little too much?  The cockiness fell right out of him and he seemed a little discouraged; yet he wanted to try it again with a special trauma plate that had earlier withstood the impact of a 30 carbine cartridge and near point-blank without even passing through half of the layers in the trauma plate.  Another round slid into the chamber of the Norinco Tokarev and we were off again.  As you will see below, it made little difference and the round still tore through the softarmor and supporting mannequin.

To be fair, the vest stopped every single round thrown at it with the exception of the Czech surplus 7.62x25mm.  As a consequence; however, I'm not entirely sure anyone signed any contracts for soft body armor that day.

Yugoslavian (Zastava) M57 Tokarev

This is a quick blurb about the Yugoslavian M57 Tokarev pistol.  The M57 is like most other Tokarevs in both design and function.  Unlike it's cousins from other Soviet satellite countries, the M57 (in my opinion) improves upon the basic design.  Like all Tokarevs, it is your traditional John Browning inspired design with a few simplifications for faster production such as the way locking lugs are machined and slide release retention to name a couple.

Unlike other Tokarevs; however, the M57 differs with a lengthened grip frame designed to hold an additional round.  Also as shown below, the guide rod and recoil spring assembly are a captive unit (ala Glock).  Another minor improvement is the use of dovetailed front and rear sights.  The original Tokarev uses machined front sight that is integral to the slide.

Due to stupid legislation, firearms imported into the US have to meet certain "safety" criteria and this is where the Yugo excels over its kissing cousin counterparts.  The M57 uses a 1911-style thumb safety that is factory fitted at Zastava.  According to the Zastava website, the safety locks the sear and firing pin.  Upon inspection it only locks the sear contrary to what Zastava says.  Mine is properly fitted and I cannot see how carrying Condition-1 would be any less safe than the same with a 1911 (series 70) platform firearm.  Unfortunately for other recent Tokarev imports, our silly "safety" laws have forced importers to add "safety" devices that are completely impractical to use or in some cases render the firearm inoperable.  Everything from Norinco, Romanian, and Polish imports have "safety devices" added as an afterthought in the most inconvenient places.

As for function, my M57 has yet to have a FTF or FTE and shoots point of aim from 7 to 25 yards.  Manhole covers stand little chance at 100 yards.  Unfortunately the days of cheap surplus 7.62x25mm seem to be coming to an end.  If you have a good source, please share it with me.