by B.B. Pelletier
Pyramyd Air’s 3rd annual airgun garage sale is on June 5 from 10 am to 3 pm. There will be discontinued, blemished and used guns, scopes and other accessories — plus dented tins of pellets. John Goff from Crosman will be flipping burgers, and Pyramyd Air’s technicians will be on hand to help with any questions you might have. Come early for the best selection!
Correction: There’s an error in part 3 of the 655K blog, where we state that it has blowback. It does not! We’ve corrected the blog. There was a miscommunication, as we state quite clearly in the part 1 that it the gun doesn’t have blowblack. Sorry!
I told you in part 1 that the TT33 was so unique and remarkable that it was going to take two reports just to cover the basic gun. This is the second report. First, I’d like to show you something from the firearm.
The Tokarev, which is what this is called, is a novel pistol that borrows from John Browning’s 1911 but also incorporates its own unique design. The action lifts out of the receiver as a module.
Not all parts were used
When they built the BB pistol, not all the Tokarev firearm parts were necessary. Since no metallic cartridges were used, the extractor and ejector were never required. With typical Russian economy, they simply left them off the gun. So, when you take your TT33 out of the box, don’t be shocked to find some parts missing from your gun.
Another area we’ll look at is the BB and CO2 magazine. It’s similar to other BB gun magazines that also contain the CO2 cartridge. But there’s one surprising difference.
So, what’s this big surprise? Look carefully at the top of the BB magazine, and you’ll see dovetail slots. When you insert the magazine, those slots interface with the rear of the barrel, aligning the BBs in the magazine with the BB barrel.
The barrel installation is an extremely clever step and worthy of any advanced airgun collector’s attention if fine design is of interest.
Gas sealing by a special seal
To seal the rear of the BB gun barrel against the BB gun magazine, which contains the firing valve, the engineers designed a very special o-ring. It has a flange that spreads and digs into a groove cut in the rear of the barrel. This isn’t something you can buy at a hardware store.
Sights
The sights were modified by milling down both front and rear sights to match the BB trajectory at close range. When we test for accuracy, we’ll see how close they got it.
That ends our general tour, and I think you’ll have to agree that the TT33 or Tokarev pistol is unique. If you’re a serious BB pistol collector, this is one to get. Next, we’ll look at velocity.
Very thorough review! Glad to have you back. This gun seems very unique and worth any serious collectors hard earned cash.
-Ryan
Good nighit Ryan(o yes you dont sleep 🙂 )-morning Ryan there and everybody else,gotta question for all of you – do you have diana 34 CLASSIC in american market becouse i did not find it on PYRAMID AIR ,you know classic has a wooden stock (shaped like a panther)and those plastic sights (that i hate but what can i do:)well i know i have scoped it) isn t that contradiction for classic, i would expect IRON sights !?
Croatia-Serbia,
Yep, but it’s just labeled the RWS 34 sans ‘Classic’.
The close-ups show iron sights all the way around.
Bobby N-yes but here in europe only(i think???) we have 34 CLASSIC (mine is in 22 cal) that looks just like meistershutze 34(only avabile in 17 cal) that is what i have,SIGHTS ARE JUST LIKE IN 34 PANTHER for me that is small minus
BB,
You’ve got me on pins and needles for the performance reports! I’m always interested in a report on this gun. I’d like to have this one and an unmodified one as well. I’d put them next to my FN1910.
Have you gotten out of the hospital yet?
KA
KidAgain,
B.B. is still in the hospital. It’s been over 2 months. The nurses on the floor have been rallying in favor of finishing his recovery at home. Being in bed all day, waiting for time to pass and for things to heal is something that can be accomplished at home. He’s still not able to eat food because of a very tiny hole in the wall of his pancreatic duct (we’re waiting for it to heal/close). Food would make that hole larger, so he’s being fed intravenously. That can be accomplished at home, too. Now, we have to convince the doctors. Yet, neither one of us wants him to come home if it will jeopardize the recovery process. However, he’s getting stronger and stronger each day, as he’s a walking fanatic and takes several circuits of the floor every day. He needs no support and walks at a surprising good clip.
When I talk to him about anything, he gets tired. However, whenever we talk about guns or I show him images of guns or I tell him about a blog comment that needs his input, he goes from being tired and uninterested to incredibly alert and talkative.
The thing that I find astounding is that he can’t remember long-term what the doctors have told him during their daily visits, so he calls me immediately after they leave to update me while things are semi-fresh in his brain. However, when he’s dictating the blogs to me over the phone, his mind is 100% engaged and spot-on. I realize that this is selective based on his likes and dislikes, but his ability to dictate a blog from beginning to end without one written note to guide him through the process is extraordinary. His mind is so organized when it comes to writing and guns that it defies explanation.
After 28 years of marriage, it’s remarkable that I could still be amazed by something he’s done 🙂
Edith
Edith,
Thanks for the rundown on Tom. This has been quite an ordeal, much more than has been let known here, I am sure. He sounds like me with the medical stuff and you like my wife Joanne. She gets it and files the info in the forever file while I “skip hear” what the Dr’s say.
You’re hypersonic in a world of (ah heck, what’s the word for just prior to the sound barrier? Transitional??) Gonna look up yesterdays blog on that one!
I sincerely hope that one day our paths will cross and I will have the honor of meeting the both of you. 😀
KA
Morning B.B.,
You’ve sold me on this one. Going to visit PA and see about ordering one now and getting in line.
Mr B.
BB and Edith,
Those photo’s are really good I must say.
They capture the adaptive design of the pistol perfectly and from the angles I would study the pistol if it was in my hand.
Terrific!
Croatia-Serbia:
Once I get a scope fitted you can have my old iron sights 🙂
Robert from Arcade:
Yep,I found the site.
There are more options than I thought possible.
Thank you.
Dave i am eager to know your progress 😉 let me know man !!!! 😉
DaveUK,
Tom’s friend Mac took these images. I agree that they’re terrific. Mac was really enamored with the TT33. When Tom saw Mac’s images and his notes on the unique features of the gun, he got excited all over again (he’d already shot the gun before he went into the hospital, so he knew it was a winner way back in March :-))
Edith
Edith:
Apart from the shooting of course, I think what makes Firearms and Air guns so appealing is the construction.
Mac really captured the essence of the TT33 in those photo’s no doubt about it.
Great stuff Mac.
DaveUK
Dave in UK:
Glad you found it and good luck! I saw your reply to CSD about pocket money, and I can relate. BTW, I have often glued sightbases and scope bases onto receivers on firearms, made sure they were straight and level, and then used a short drill bit to spot the first hole using the sight base as a guide. Then I drilled and tapped the rest of the holes, one at a time, with one of those drill press stands made for a 3/8″ portable drill. I used a set of vee- blocks on a home made jig to hold the action. This was before I owned a good drill press and lathe. I was inspired to learn how to do this from a book written by P.O. Ackley called “Home Gun Care and Repair” (ISBN:0-8117-2028-4(pap.) Stackpole Book Company). So you don’t need a lot of fancy stuff to tinker on your own guns, especially if they are not fancy ones.
Edith,
The cocking effort spec is missing for the Weihrauch HW77 rifle. Can you restore it?
Thanks,
AlanL
AlanL,
I’ve asked Pyramyd Air’s tech support to measure the cocking efforts and the trigger pulls of the HW77 and the HW77K. I’ve filled in the other specs for the HW77K (and activated them) and corrected the velocities, which were incorrect (too low, per Weihrauch).
Thanks for letting me know stuff was missing!
Edith
Croatia-Serbia,
PA does carry the Diana 34. Look under Manufacturers and RWS or type in Diana 34 in their search engine. If that doesn’t work for you, let me know.
Mr B.
Edith,
All specs for the Weihrauch HW77K are missing. Can you add them?
Thanks,
AlanL
OK to make you guys esier croatia-serbia is now just C-S . Mr B i am wondering about Diana classic,does it have same power- basically is it a same gun as panther(except wood stock)???
C-S,
Yes the RWS 34 classic (wood stock) is still available. I’ve compared all the RWS 34 guns. see the comparison of the various specifications. The .177 shoots 1,000 fps, the .22 shoots 800 fps. No matter which 34 you get, they all have the same velocity.
B.B. tested the 34P and really liked it. Click here to read his 4-part blog about it.
Edith
Thank you Edith !
DB,
Last week I opened my mouth and said “The Marauder is THE GUN TO HAVE. I would sell my truck and quit working for the purchase of a Carbine Marauder”. Your suggestion on the pistol with a carbine stock is brilliant! Though the price tag will probably require me to do just what I jokingly said… sell my truck! This project looks like over $700. As bad as I want to do it, it’s out of the budget for now.
On the airgun wishlist: Nitro XL, Marauder rifle, thanks to you the Marauder pistol & a carbine stock, Air Venturi Bronco, 6x32AO Bug Buster Scope, Hawke Sport Optics Eclipse 6-24x50AO Rifle Scope, IZH MP-655K, Benjamin Hand Pump, just to name a few items!
KA
Kidagain,
I have a 6x Bugbuster. Keep in mind the scope has a rather thick cross-hair. It is an excellent short scope but not well suited for my 10m shooting. It blocks out the bull. It will work well for pest control and plinking, however, and for those smaller rifles and pistols where anything larger would be impractical.
-CJr
CJr,
Thanks for the input on the Bugbuster. The thick reticle with 6x power and AO, my question for the manufacturer is WHY? If used for pest control I would think the scope as it is would be quick for sighting, but what about the varied distances w/o having to adjust objective? Say from 20yds then out to 50yds?
KA
KA,
Good question on the Bugbuster. I thought we all thought that the thinner the reticule the better. Must be some kind of application I’m missing. Maybe thicker is better in low light? Or, maybe it’s just cheaper to make. As far as AO adjustment, there are many scopes that don’t have that. Depends on what you want it for.
-CJr
Welcome to my world lol 😀
I’m also dreaming of the marauder pistol it does (will) come with a stock extension to shoulder mount the gun so you won’t really need a different stock.
Have u seen the “wish list” feature on the mainsite? It’s in the top right corner between “track order” and “compare” I keep adding stuff to it and when I look at the final ammount I go buy a lottery ticket ;).
Oh and you forgot the talon SS and TX200 from your wish list.
J-F,
Ha! You’ve been reading my wish list! How do you do that? Those are a couple of things that are on it that I didn’t mention, along with the Evanix Hunting Master and 3 more scopes!
KA
Mr B (OR VINCE 🙂 )I WAS THINKING ON PANTHER 34 (mea culpa 🙂 ),i asked becouse there is so mush 34-s panther,classic,meitershultche…..DO THEY HAVE same power???
Just confirmed it with Umarex tech support – all model 34 variants share the same powerplant and thus should be comparable in velocity with any given pellet.
Vince,
That’s how Pyramyd AIR lists them…same velocity. Yet, I wonder how you can get the same velocity from a 19″ barrel as
from a 15.75″ barrel. The shorter barrels should have noticeably lower velocities.
The two 34 models that have shorter barrels are the
RWS 34P Pro Compact and the
RWS 34 Meisterschutze Pro Compact.
Edith
Edith, it could easily be that by the time the pellet gets a certain distance down the barrel the compressed air has expanded enough that there’s not enough pressure to really accelerate the pellet any further once you get partway down the barrel. The initial charge of compressed air is rather small, and the prssure drops rapidly as the pellet starts to move.
At least that’s what Tom says!!!
I posted this on yesterday’s blog where i belonged, but will put it here so it’s seen. Has to do with teaching kids to shoot and teaching gun safety.. ….
There is a huge difference between teaching a child gun safety and teaching a child how to shoot. Eddie Eagle, AFAIK, doesn’t teach kids to shoot; the program teaches them not to touch a gun and to call an adult. And even if EE teaches shooting, I still disagree that 7 is an appropriate age.
I had real problems when my daughter was in junior high because the guy next door not only had guns in the house, he was extremely careless with them. Son & daughter would pull them out of night stand or closet and brandish, etc. Not cool. Finally my daughter was told it wasn’t safe to play with her next door neighbor’s daughter inside their house. Inside ours was fine, of course. My air guns were locked up.
Pete,
You’re right about Gun Safety and Gun Shooting being different. My kids were taught that a gun is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS a loaded weapon until cleared. 7 was too young for them to grasp the concept, but was a great age to start pounding safety into them. 10yrs old is when I started them shooting. My kids are now 26 – 36 years old and all good shots and safe around guns.
KA
Ack, I replied to your comment in yesterday’s post. Well, I’m too lazy to reply to this one as well.
You know, there’s really no need for a double-post now that most everyone uses RSS to read the blog comments. They’ll get the replies that way, and it keeps the conversation all in one spot for archival puposes. Yet another reason that I really enjoy the new format.
Replying to BobbyNations’ thoughtful comment which was:
{Sorry to hear about your situation with your neighbor. Are you saying that your son and daughter would handle his guns, or that your neighbor’s children would pull them out while your son and daughter were playing over there? Either way, I totally agree with your course of action regarding not letting your children play at their house. Your neighbor (and his children) sounds like someone who could have used a good course of instruction from old EE.}
I am saying that my neighbor’s not-very-smart daughter and mentally unstable son would pull out their father’s guns and show them off while my kids were in the house and the neighbors weren’t even in the room; sometimes not in the house. My daughter knew not to touch a gun and simply to leave if one showed up. That isn’t enough self-protection, however, if the playmate decides to play with a real gun, so I decided my kids couldn’t enter that house, period. I don’t think I had much choice, even if I made everybody mad at me for a while.
Pete,
Wise call, IMHO. People get over being mad.
I know what you meant and I think most here did too. Not sure if anyone got made either. I sure didn’t.
KA
Duh, the People INVOLVED getting mad… got it!
My daughter was unhappy at losing a play place (understandable; she was under 10); their kids didn’t understand the fuss, and I got a Second Amendment lecture from the neighbor himself. Duh!
Well my daughter has qualified on the Beretta, and uses it as her sidearm in Kabul (she’s back there again). And can handle an M-16.
BN,
wait, RSS?, There’s another way to look at the replies without scroling back through the previous ones? Man, I need to be brought up to date on that one!
KA
yes same power in 22 cal-DAVE- how you are doing with your gun 🙂 ???
C-S:
Oh,this will be a slow burn project I am afraid.
To buy and fit the base,plus getting a scope and mounts that are good but a reasonable price and then the finishing touch.
A silencer.
I got more pocket money when I was a kid than I do now 🙁 so as always money is the key.
I did have a look at the rear sight today and noticed that where the retaining pin holds the sight it was slightly bent.
I fixed that and also removed the sprung sliding adjuster to lower the sight by a few mm.
I only shoot this rifle at about 50′ so don’t need much elevation.
My neighbours are having a BBQ so I can’t shoot outside at the moment to test it.
Sorry I can’t answer your question C-S but patience is a virtue and I am sure all will be revealed soon 🙂
DaveUK
Pete…I have friends who can’t understand why I’ve spent a couple of hundred dollars on a good gunsafe…to store airguns.
But it’s all about the kids. I trust them as far as one can trust a 7 and 9 year old…but
As well to set them up that if they go on to powder burners gun safety is ingrained from the get go.
I love looking down the bore and seeing the curves of the rifling. The first time I did that many years ago with an Anschutz rifle with its mirror-like bore was transformative.
Mr. B, groan, is the oiling really that complicated? I’m sticking with Ballistol for now while my bank account recovers. The leather, I would guess, is genuine cowhide. The purpose of the oil? To do what oil does best which I believe is to keep the leather from drying out and cracking. BG_Farmer, the slightly supple condition sounds like a good standard.
To get myself into the mood with the Ruger Single Six, I’ve been watching clips from Clint Eastwood’s spaghetti Westerns. Some of that stuff is so crazy. At the end of Fistful of Dollars, he snap shoots from the hip and cuts apart a rope that is suspending this guy. Then, he grabs an empty revolver, loads a single round, then spins the cylinder at high speed so that the round ends up in line with the barrel and ready to fire. It’s fun to watch though.
PeteZ, yes, I know from my B30 that a big, nose heavy gun helps the accuracy, and I’m getting used to it. One reason, I don’t adjust the trigger is that the brochure says only a gunsmith should do it, and I’m not going to trust the crazy man who wanted to take pliers to my bolt. The manual also says that the trigger is adjusted by the factory for optimum safety at the light weight, so I don’t want to mess with that. And I am paying for the Olympic experience after all. Actually, after a few misfires, I haven’t really had any. And I notice that I’ve had a few with the B30 and the Daisy 747 because of the pressure required by their much heavier triggers.
Regarding gun safety, the martial arts really helps and maybe the techniques could be used to teach kids about guns. The thinking is that weapons should almost be treated as people–very dangerous people. I don’t necessarily buy that. But the important point is to pay attention to every detail of handling them. The weapon is never thrown down or tossed aside or handled with anything but the greatest care even if it is just a wooden sword. If you watch the master swordsman, there is infinite care in every detail of handling the swords. With this background, (along with a healthy dose of fear) it was easy for me to handle guns safely.
Matt61
I must be blind. I went through all of the Ansch. instruction manuals on the Web looking for trigger adjustments. I didn’t see any cautions about only a gunsmith working on the trigger. For the usual first/second stage weight and travel sorts of adjustments there was a lot of DIY information. Maybe I wasn’t looking at the right model. As long as you don’t play with the sear, I think you can make the basic adjustments in safety.
pete
Matt61,
You must have missed my response to leather conditioning awhile back. Gave you a lengthy response. Here’s the condensed version.
Mr B is correct. Depends on what you want to do with the leather as to what you apply. Ballistol is not what I would use. Won’t hurt the leather but it’s mineral oil (fish oil).
For a Knife scabbard/holster you don’t want to make the leather too supple since you want to maintain the stiffness for ease of drawing your tool.
The best way to maintain leather is to condition it when new since the pores of the leather have not been fouled/are not dirty yet and can take a conditioner fully. If the leather is dirty, then clean the pores with saddle soap (follow the directions) or with lexol cleaner. Once the pores are free of debris you have many options.
For scabbards/holsters I prefer to condition with lexol (not the cleaner but the conditioner) and let stand for a couple days. Saddle soap in moderation is good too. Once this has soaked in, you need to apply a “protectant” for the elements, i.e., wind, rain, snow, etc. My preference is “snow seal” for leather. You should apply a liberal amount to the leather, after conditioning, then put the scabbard/holster in an oven turned on low/warm. Give it 30-45 minutes to liquify and pull the item out. Before it cools completely, wipe off the excess with a clean rag.
kevin
Will pellgun oil hurt a benjamin discovery?
Anonymous,
Pellgunoil should not be used on PCP guns because it is petroleum-based. Click here
to read the warning on Pyramyd Air’s website.
What part of the Discovery were you planning to oil?
Edith
Not if you don’t use it. 🙂
AlanL,
I spent a couple days last week shooting a early 80’s hw77 in .177. Hasn’t been tampered with (no tuning, hasn’t been opened up). It was very, very hold sensitive. I hate breech loaders. The cocking effort, although I didn’t measure it, was to me on par with a r9. Minimal effort for the power. The owner had done some work to the trigger and I liked it. I’m not a magnum springer guy so I would never own a hw77.
The cocking effort was the best thing about the gun. There isn’t a true antibear trap designed into the hw77 so hold onto the underlever.
kevin
With the interest in IZH-Baikal guns, I just went to their site. They have two new guns shown, the MP-573 “sporting PCP rifle” which looks very much like a modern aluminum-stocked 10 meter gun and is also available in a “universal” type stock. http://www.baikalinc.ru/en/company/306.html
And a Summer Biathlon PCP gun, the MP-571K, which looks really interesting as well: http://www.baikalinc.ru/en/company/3.html
Both are new since the last time I looked, maybe 2-3 months ago.
Any chance that PA might pick up either? If these shoot as well as the IZH-46M and have a price/quality relationship anything like the SSP pistol, they should be very interesting to shooters in the US, especially for those who want to get into the 10-meter game or the summer biathlon game without dropping $3K on a competitive gun. BB, Edith, could you pass this on to the staff? Thanks!
-pete
Pete,
Forget about it. Just forget about it 🙂
I’ve tried to buy one of them, or other model MP-532T here in Russia. Useless. Trust me, I know how to obtain things 🙂
These rifles were made one-off, maybe 10 or 15 of them mostly for display purposes or purpose-built for sporting teams. It’s an age-old cheap trick – to show unique as a serial thing.
They are all almost hand-made and hand-tuned, so they work like a mouse – point and click to get a hole where you want. However IzhMech has no intention nor possibilities for their mass-production, that’s what I’ve heard from one of the guys from there. Low demand makes them useless and the way they are complicated makes their production too costy in means of personnel and equipment. “Murka” rules the world 🙁 🙁 🙁
duskwight
Aw, shucks! They sure looked nice.
Pete,
Since those guns aren’t available, consider the Air Arms guns:
S400 Biathlon
and S400 MPR series
Edith
Im super excited. I just ordered FIVE tins of H&N Coppa Point, .22 cal. I am going to have 1000 copper plated beauties to look at and touch. I can’t wait! Thank you Canada, and DaveUK!
-Ryan
I was searching the web last night and came across this German webstore that has a Tokarev TT33 Co2 replica of similar quality to the IZH Baikal mp656k…the model name is T656 and the manufacturer is MWM Gillman.
This T656 has a different magazine & Co2 system than the Baikal TT33 and it is rated for 7.5 joules of muzzle energy!
The price is listed as 599 Euros…
It would be great to see Baikal guns imported into North America again, because I don’t recall the MP656k being that expensive.
My airgun collection has been missing a Soviet era duty Pistol, and I didn’t buy the Baikal TT33 when they were available, so now I have settled for the Gletcher TT-NBB, which was the only model I could find anywhere and I just ordered the last one in stock from a Western Canadian surplus webstore..
I hope that shooting the Gletcher TT-NBB doesn’t just make me yearn for the IZH Baikal MP656K.
https://www.russ-guns-de.net/en/detail/index/sArticle/550