I happened upon a TOZ 35M Free Pistol the other day. It was on consignment at a gun store. It turns out one of the sales guys had put it on consignment, so I was able to talk with him about the history. He got it from Century Arms about 6 or 7 years ago and has actually never fired it.
They are called "Free Pistols" because, as I understand, there are no design restrictions on the pistol used in the competition. I think they are Olympic competition pistols, but I'm not sure if they are still in use these days.
It came with a set of right hand medium sized Morini grips. I'm left handed with large hands. Had I known what grips cost, I wouldn't have bought it, but too late now. On the positive side, it did come with a 500 box of RWS 22 target ammunition.
I have thought about one of these target pistols for a very long time. I've always wanted a Hammerli, and I have shot one of these TOZ pistols before, but just once. The trigger is so light it's scary. It's set to around 20 grams, or less than an ounce, and there is no take up or slack whatsoever.
The gun came with the complete case, including the factory grips. Which is a sort of do it yourself craft project. Three large hunks of walnut, They have been roughed out to fit the gun, and from what I've been told, each gun frame is ever so slightly different, so the grips are serial numbered to the gun. I had to buy grips, because the factory grips are roughed out for the right hand style.
The action of the gun is similar to the Martini type falling block actions. There is a lever at the bottom of the grips, if you move that forward, it opens the action and an ejector/extractor pops out the empty and you can insert a new bullet. It's a single shot with no magazine. After you've loaded the gun, to set the trigger, you have to push down on the lever there that is above the trigger.
The trigger is completly adjustable, besides weight, it can move forwards or backwards for length of pull, and the trigger blade itself can move up or down, and swivel from side to side. Here I've adjusted it towards the rear and to the left for my short stubby trigger finger.
Here's the case with all the accessories. It is designed to fit the gun with right hand grips, the left hand grips won't go into the case.
Factory grips for any size hand.
You can see they've been pre drilled for the hardware, just shape to fit.
This is from the owner's manual, which is in English. I think the build date is June 2001, and not January 2006, since in Europe the month and date are reversed when written out.
Large left hand Morini Grips. They really are impressive. I think so at least, my wife wasn't that interested, so I didn't tell her how much they cost, and thank goodness she didn't ask. The grips fit like a glove, and the little shelf for your trigger finger works to put your trigger finger in the same spot each time. There is a dealer in Fort Worth that sells them, I drove over there earlier this week to pick them up.
They are called "Free Pistols" because, as I understand, there are no design restrictions on the pistol used in the competition. I think they are Olympic competition pistols, but I'm not sure if they are still in use these days.
It came with a set of right hand medium sized Morini grips. I'm left handed with large hands. Had I known what grips cost, I wouldn't have bought it, but too late now. On the positive side, it did come with a 500 box of RWS 22 target ammunition.
I have thought about one of these target pistols for a very long time. I've always wanted a Hammerli, and I have shot one of these TOZ pistols before, but just once. The trigger is so light it's scary. It's set to around 20 grams, or less than an ounce, and there is no take up or slack whatsoever.
The gun came with the complete case, including the factory grips. Which is a sort of do it yourself craft project. Three large hunks of walnut, They have been roughed out to fit the gun, and from what I've been told, each gun frame is ever so slightly different, so the grips are serial numbered to the gun. I had to buy grips, because the factory grips are roughed out for the right hand style.
The action of the gun is similar to the Martini type falling block actions. There is a lever at the bottom of the grips, if you move that forward, it opens the action and an ejector/extractor pops out the empty and you can insert a new bullet. It's a single shot with no magazine. After you've loaded the gun, to set the trigger, you have to push down on the lever there that is above the trigger.
The trigger is completly adjustable, besides weight, it can move forwards or backwards for length of pull, and the trigger blade itself can move up or down, and swivel from side to side. Here I've adjusted it towards the rear and to the left for my short stubby trigger finger.
Here's the case with all the accessories. It is designed to fit the gun with right hand grips, the left hand grips won't go into the case.
Factory grips for any size hand.
You can see they've been pre drilled for the hardware, just shape to fit.
This is from the owner's manual, which is in English. I think the build date is June 2001, and not January 2006, since in Europe the month and date are reversed when written out.
Large left hand Morini Grips. They really are impressive. I think so at least, my wife wasn't that interested, so I didn't tell her how much they cost, and thank goodness she didn't ask. The grips fit like a glove, and the little shelf for your trigger finger works to put your trigger finger in the same spot each time. There is a dealer in Fort Worth that sells them, I drove over there earlier this week to pick them up.
