The Zastava M57 pistol was the standard sidearm of the Yugoslav Army from 1957 to the country's collapse, produced by Zastava Arms. A licensed copy of the Soviet TT pistol, it is a single-action semi-automatic pistol chambered in

7.62×25mm Tokarev The 7.62×25mm Tokarev cartridge (designated as the 7.62 × 25 Tokarev by the C.I.P.) is a Russian rimless bottlenecked pistol cartridge widely used in former Soviet states and in China, among other countries. The cartridge has since been replac ...

. Many surplus M57 handguns were imported for sale in other countries and subsequently modified to fit their import requirements, and have become frequent collector's items due to their low price and historical value. As of 2022, Zastava still produces modern reproductions of the M57 with updated safety features - the M57A in its original chambering and the M70A in 9mm Parabellum.

History

Adopted in 1957, the M57 was a license-produced copy of the Soviet Tokarev TT pistol. Yugoslavian army surplus M57s were imported to the United States in large numbers by many companies, such as

Century International Arms Century International Arms is an importer and manufacturer of firearms that is based in the United States. The company was founded in 1961 in St. Albans, Vermont, with offices in Montreal. In 1995, the company headquarters and sales staff moved t ...

and K-VAR/FIME, and have become common collectors items.

Design details

An improved copy of the TT-33 design, most notably including a longer grip and 9-round magazine, and less notably, a larger magazine release button and a captive recoil spring. The larger 9-round magazines of the M57 makes it incompatible with standard 8-round Tokarev magazines. Originally, the pistol has no manual safeties except for a half-cock notch on the hammer. Due to

BATFE The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevent ...

import restrictions, poor-quality frame or trigger safeties were frequently fitted to surplus models imported to the United States.

History

Design details

See also