Problem M-57 Purchase Worked Out!

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  • GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    I have been looking at Century Arms site for quit a while, in particular the pistols that are in "very good" condition but may be missing a minor part or just not working correctly.

    After acquiring an M-57 last Summer without a frame safety and in excellent condition, I was really thinking another would be a good investment but have not been able to find them.

    Century had some as described above so I decided to take a chance and was pleasantly surprised when my order arrived yesterday. At $180, the price was fair if it did not need too much. It was very well packed and appeared to be complete. The hammer was back when it came out of the box and after removing the tie wrap from the chamber, I pulled the trigger which did absolutely nothing. Problem identified!

    Realizing that these have a magazine safety, I dropped the magazine, racked the slide, reinserted the magazine, and this time it worked perfectly. The gun was quickly disassembled for cleaning and shortly thereafter, the other box with an original trigger and spare magazine arrived.

    I am unsure as to why the gun was not functioning when Century had it, but after cleaning and lubricating it, I am quite pleased. The condition is very good with most of the internal parts appearing to be almost new. The safety trigger had a problem after pulling it a few times. The roll pin walked out. Since the trigger was being replaced, no big deal. There is a little wear on the finish near the muzzle end of the slide and a couple of small wear marks on it. The barrel is bright and shiny with some areas that may just dirt that need to be shot out. I did not use any bore paste yet, and won't if shooting it clears the areas of concern.

    The magazine safety which works perfectly, was easily disabled using a small piece of tie wrap that can be removed to restore function, if desired. The hammer, sear, disconnector, and trigger surfaces have been polished which has resulted in a very smooth 5 pound trigger pull with a clean break.

    The new shooter will be going to Cindy's with me this weekend for it's first range outing and good things are expected.

    Curious to know about what others have experienced when taking a chance on a gun described as "not working" or "may be missing parts". I find myself considering a similar purchase on another pistol and am now wondering if this purchase was a stroke of luck, or fairly common. This is not to be confused with guns sold with a complete description of what is needed.
     
    Glad to hear it! I've had my eye on the M57 but I actually applied for my C&R for the first time last week.

    Unfortunately it looks like all the very good condition ones will be dried up by the time the license comes back which is disappointing. I didn't want to settle for a romanian one made one due to the awkward safeties and the shorter grip.
     

    Sirex

    Powered by natural gas
    Oct 30, 2010
    10,380
    Westminster, MD
    Cool. I like the M57s. When I got mine years ago, I picked up a 9mm barrel, bushing and mag off eBay. Mine was caked in cosmoline. Took forever to clean out.
     

    IronEye

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 10, 2018
    790
    Howard County
    DK Firearms (an Industry Partner here) has Polish and Yugoslavian Tokarevs for sale. They also have the Romanian models but you said you weren't interested in those. I picked up a very nice Yugo M57 a few months ago using my C&R license. Very easy transaction.
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    I have been looking at their Polish TTs. From the reviews I have seen, their frame safeties actually work where the others are more problematic. Still not a fan of the frame safeties, but considering it because of the overall quality of the Polish made guns.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    I have been looking at their Polish TTs. From the reviews I have seen, their frame safeties actually work where the others are more problematic. Still not a fan of the frame safeties, but considering it because of the overall quality of the Polish made guns.

    The frame safeties in the M57 also works. Of course I’d prefer none.
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    Had a good outing @ Cindy's with the M-57. About midway through the third magazine of Yugoslavian surplus, the gun jammed and the mag fell out! A quick inspection revealed that the spread between the tip of the mag button was too narrow to retain the catch, allowing it to come apart. I should have fixed this when I put it back together but decided to see how it functioned, first. It came apart very easily when I initially disassembled the gun.

    It put 70 rounds downrange and ran smoothly once the mag catch was fixed. Shoots a little low and to the right. On the next outing, the rear sight will likely be adjusted so the POI is in the center of the paper.

    Overall, the gun performed beautifully and I am very pleased with the purchase.

    Still curious to know what others have experienced on similar purchases.
     

    Cruacious

    C&R Farmer
    Apr 29, 2015
    1,596
    Elkton
    Had a good outing @ Cindy's with the M-57. About midway through the third magazine of Yugoslavian surplus, the gun jammed and the mag fell out! A quick inspection revealed that the spread between the tip of the mag button was too narrow to retain the catch, allowing it to come apart. I should have fixed this when I put it back together but decided to see how it functioned, first. It came apart very easily when I initially disassembled the gun.

    It put 70 rounds downrange and ran smoothly once the mag catch was fixed. Shoots a little low and to the right. On the next outing, the rear sight will likely be adjusted so the POI is in the center of the paper.

    Overall, the gun performed beautifully and I am very pleased with the purchase.

    Still curious to know what others have experienced on similar purchases.

    I picked up one of these secondhand and have found the sights are off low left for mine (need to adjust) and it had issues with the aftermarket import safety I removed. VERY stiff mag release which I need to learn to adjust. Trigger is a little stiff but I prefer that over the earlier issue with the sear not engaging. Going to grease it next takedown. Overall: I love this pistol!
     

    IronEye

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 10, 2018
    790
    Howard County
    I have a "hand select" Yugo M57 that i purchased recently from DK.

    Gun is in very good condition and functions 100% with the first two boxes of ammo that i ran through it. I used PPU JHP ammo.

    Trigger is extremely heavy.

    Frame/thumb safety works ok. It snicks off like a 1911 but it not easy to reapply. It seems to function properly.

    I've only run about 100 rounds through it so far. I replaced the captured spring assembly with a new spring/plug/guide rod from a Polish TT.

    Ejected brass might exceed the velocity of the bullet ;) But seriously I found it about 30 feet behind my shooting position. There is significant firing pin smear on the primer. Next time i take it to the range I will try a Wolff recoil spring to see if that addresses that problem.

    I found some extra new made Zastava magazines for about $25 each.

    Ammo is a bit pricey. About $18 per box of 50.

    Fun gun. It was about $240 including the shipping.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    I have a "hand select" Yugo M57 that i purchased recently from DK.

    Gun is in very good condition and functions 100% with the first two boxes of ammo that i ran through it. I used PPU JHP ammo.

    Trigger is extremely heavy.

    Frame/thumb safety works ok. It snicks off like a 1911 but it not easy to reapply. It seems to function properly.

    I've only run about 100 rounds through it so far. I replaced the captured spring assembly with a new spring/plug/guide rod from a Polish TT.

    Ejected brass might exceed the velocity of the bullet ;) But seriously I found it about 30 feet behind my shooting position. There is significant firing pin smear on the primer. Next time i take it to the range I will try a Wolff recoil spring to see if that addresses that problem.

    I found some extra new made Zastava magazines for about $25 each.

    Ammo is a bit pricey. About $18 per box of 50.

    Fun gun. It was about $240 including the shipping.

    You might improve the firing pin smear, but you won’t change how it ejects much. Mine tosses it about 30-40ft to my 5 o’clock. No smear on mine. Which is better than my P64, which hurls it straight to the side about 30-40ft. Much more likely to hit someone on the firing line.
     
    DK Firearms (an Industry Partner here) has Polish and Yugoslavian Tokarevs for sale. They also have the Romanian models but you said you weren't interested in those. I picked up a very nice Yugo M57 a few months ago using my C&R license. Very easy transaction.

    Aye, that was who I was going to go with. Their handpicked selection still says very good to good condition, however I have heard horror stories of other sites that rate guns much more highly than they should be. Also didn't know they were so close in the neighborhood, that's pretty neat.

    In either case, my CC was charged on Jan 7th, so its been a little over 2 weeks and nothing in the mail yet. I know some folks are reporting around 3 weeks turnaround lately so we'll see, hopefully stock hasn't dried up by then. I'll settle for a nice romanian one, its just I want to spring for a yugo if at all possible because of the longer grip.
     

    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,338
    Catonsville
    Curious to know about what others have experienced when taking a chance on a gun described as "not working" or "may be missing parts". I find myself considering a similar purchase on another pistol and am now wondering if this purchase was a stroke of luck, or fairly common. This is not to be confused with guns sold with a complete description of what is needed.

    In the past I've purchased "gunsmith specials" from Century and most of the time the fix was very simple and cheap. Other times they were bought as organ donors for specific projects. The best of these were three British No4 MKI* rifles that were missing their extractor springs. Bought at that time for $75 each and paid around $2.50 for the spring. So for four Jacksons and the cost of shipping you got a good condition Enfield. If you love to tinker and are handy they're catnip.
     

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