Post
by timmy » Mon Sep 12, 2011 12:57 am
The earlier Soviet and Polish TT 33s I've seen are often finished very well. But the Chinese one I have (actually, a 213) is pretty crude. Many TT 33s are crude, which makes them reliable, but not conducive to high marks in the accuracy department.
However, consider: Many people here in the USA, especially those who served in the armed forces when the 1911 was the service arm, complain about the 1911's accuracy, as well. I've often heard such people say: "It won't hit the broadside of a barn" or "It's more accurate and effective to just throw the chunk of iron." I think that there are two reasons for this: First, people with small hands (read: the majority of the public) often have a hard time mastering the 1911, and the loose tolerances of wartime manufacture, or wear of service weapons, makes them loose, as well.
My Dad, who was in the US Army before WW2 and served through that war, was on his regimental target team. Their methods for "accurizing" (they didn't call it that back then) were these: The armorer would strip a bunch of 1911s down and select fit the assorted parts to assemble a tight pistol for target work. Sometimes, Dad said, they would put the slide in a big vice to squeeze it for a tighter fit. It was especially important to get a bushing that was a tight fit to the barrel. (The later Series 70 with the collet bushing largely eliminates this problem.) The other parts went back together for general issue. I suspect that, if one used the same process of select fitting a TT 33 from the parts of many pistols, a reasonably accurate gun might result. One thing that the TT 33 design can't duplicate, however, is the trigger/sear/hammer of the 1911. The short, fat mainspring in a TT 33 mostly resides in a hole in the hammer, and is fiendishly stiff. The whole firing assembly, while good for quick repairs and offering reliable feeding through integral feed lips for quick field repairs, is simply not a design that is as optimal for good shooting as the 1911 system.
Regarding the inherent accuracy of the cartridge itself (7.62x25 versus .45 ACP), I could accept that the .45 ACP is inherently more accurate, but in general shooting, I doubt there would be much difference, based on design. There could be large accuracy differences, based on where the ammunition was made, however.
“Fanaticism consists of redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim.”
saying in the British Royal Navy