TOZ-8

Tula Arms Plant · Rifle · Discontinued · 1932

Also known as: Tula TOZ-8, Model 1932 Training Rifle

Overview

The TOZ-8 is a single-shot, bolt-action .22 Long Rifle training rifle designed in 1932 by Soviet gunsmith D. M. Kochetov and produced at the Tula Arms Plant. Inexpensive, simple, and exceptionally reliable, it became the standard marksmanship trainer of the Soviet Union, used in schools and DOSAAF paramilitary organizations for decades. A cover behind the bolt protects the shooter from escaping gas in the event of a case failure. Roughly one million were produced between the early 1930s and the late 1950s, and large numbers survive today as surplus rifles.

Specifications

Weight (empty)3100 g (109.3 oz)
Overall Length1100 mm (43.31")
Barrel Length640 mm (25.20")
Action TypeBolt Action
Firing MechanismStriker Fired
Trigger TypeSingle Action
Magazine Capacity1 rounds
Muzzle Velocity330 m/s (1083 fps)
Muzzle Energy141 J (104 ft·lbf)
Effective Range100 m (109 yd)
Maximum Range1500 m (1640 yd)
Barrel RiflingRight Hand
Number of Grooves4
Frame MaterialSteel
Barrel MaterialSteel
Stock MaterialWood
FinishBlued

Calibers

Features

Variants

Service history

Operators

Production

Estimated total produced: 1,000,000 · Production years: 1932-1959

Manufactured at Tula from the early 1930s through 1941, with production resuming after World War II until the late 1950s; approximately one million produced.

Origin

Country of origin: Soviet Union

Designer: D. M. Kochetov

Discontinued: 1959

Notes

Configured as a single-shot rifle with no magazine; each cartridge is loaded by hand. Served as the basis for several improved derivatives including the magazine-fed TOZ-9 and the single-shot TOZ-12 and TOZ-16.

Background

Generations of Soviet schoolchildren and conscripts learned to shoot on the TOZ-8, making it one of the most widely encountered training rifles in the USSR and a fixture of DOSAAF marksmanship programs.