This rifle features a very powerful recoil that puts even the very experienced hunter in trouble. It is a very handy and precise over-under, but its power makes it difficult to use effectively.
Tul'sky Oružejnyj Zavod is today one of the most important Russian arms factories, based in Tula, 165 km south of Moscow. In the beginning it was known as the Arsenal of Tula, today known as TOZ or as "Tula Arms Plant". This arms factory was founded on February 15, 1712 by Tsar Peter the Great, with the aim of producing military rifles of remarkable workmanship that helped to change the history of the nineteenth century.
The factory, after starting production with the technologies of the time, began to use the technical innovations that were spreading at the end of the eighteenth century, producing about 22.000 Dragon pistols and rifles, all intended for the Tsar's light infantry.
What made the weapons of Tula very popular were some production techniques used by Russian gunsmiths, such as cutting steel with the diamond point, which gave extreme precision in the incisions and cuts of the barrels. The fame of the TOZ went beyond the Russian steppe, even reaching the European continent.
The most famous gunsmiths who worked in the Tula headquarters were Ivan Pushkin, Ilya Lyalin, the latter creator of the flintlock of the double barrel breech-loading rifle, and Ivan Polin, the designer of one of the first models of multi-loading.
Renovated in the 19th century, the zavod oruzheiny Tulsky became one of the best plants in Europe. 1879 was the year of the well-known Berdan rifle, the best for sliding the bolt, which was put into production. From this memento, considering the success of the weapons produced by the Tula armory, small arms and hunting weapons are also designed and produced. The technology developed in Damascus steel with the participation of a talented designer like Mosin, were the winning combination of TOZ: in 1891, after completing the tests of two systems - the Mosin system and the system of the Belgian designer L. Hagan, - only the Mosin rifle was adopted by the Russian army.
In 1902 the plant was completely mechanized, thus starting an in-line production of hunting rifles with the Hammerless model and later with the Ivashentsev system rifle. In the 20th the factory put into production the hunting model "P", the model NK-8.2 rifled rifle designed by Kochetov, the TOZ-1 and TOZ-2 small caliber rifles, single-loading rifles TOZ-7 and TOZ -8 and TOZ -10, the latter intended for sport shooting.
Over the years, TOZ began production to heavily arm the army and air force of the newly formed Soviet Union, up to the 60s, when it was granted the production of the historic AK-47 Kalashnikov.
However, these are also the years in which this company decides to enter the civilian weapons market with greater strength and conviction with the 87-TOZ, an automatic loading shotgun designed by NI Babanin, with a mass production being launched.
After this brief but necessary presentation of the TOZ, let's now move on to the shotgun we will describe today: the TOZ 34 over-under, available in 12, 20 and 28 gauges.
This is a rifle designed for hunters with a lot of experience. The lightness and compactness of this over-and-under offer very comfortable handling; moreover, the high quality of each component is connected to an original, simple and inimitable design. The TOZ has 711 mm long barrels for the 12 and 20 gauge versions, and 660 mm long for the 28 gauge version.
All versions, regardless of caliber, have a weight of 3,3 kg. The 12 and 20 gauge versions have an overall length of 1 160 mm, while the 28 gauge version is 1 110 mm.
The TOZ-34 is incredibly accurate and installs the automatic cartridge extraction system, has a very powerful recoil and is double trigger.
The stock and the woods are in precious walnut, oil-polished. The TOZ 34 is aesthetically available in ordinary, ornamental, individual and souvenir versions. The latter is the “luxury” version, with more expedients and refined engravings on the casing. It must be said that the aesthetics of this shotgun have not been taken care of much, since the souvenir version can be compared to the basic versions of Italian shotguns.
The TOZ 34 is a Russian-made rifle, well known in Eastern Europe. In Italy it is very difficult to meet him, considering the big brands of our house.