PPS-43 Russian Submachinegun in 7.62×25 Tokarev

Last year, I posted a video by Paul Harrell, in which he takes a good look at the 7.62×25 Tokarev cartridge in a couple of different guns. This was interesting to me (if it shoots, I like it), but not especially applicable. Lately I’ve been learning more about the PPS-43 submachinegun and my ol’ mental wheels are starting to turn. In the video, Paul uses a semi-auto version made in Radom, Poland, which is what most of us civilians will find available (and affordable).

In the video we’re featuring today, Ian of Forgotten Weapons takes a look at a full-auto Russian PPS-43, which sold three years ago for a whopping $25,875!

This gun was conceived and created in the midst of World War 2 in the city of Leningrad, Russia, which was under siege by the Nazis at the time (1942). Russians needed good reliable guns that could be quickly made and were easy to use, so Alexei Sudayev set to work making a new weapon that could be made in shops unfamiliar with firearms manufacture with less material than the heavy and more-complex PPSh-41.

Field testing was not difficult in a war-torn city, and PPS-42 prototypes went straight from the factory into battle. This exposed some small problems, which were quickly corrected. Before long, the PPS-43 was officially adopted and put into production — although not fully replacing its predecessor, which continued production in factories already set up for it while the new simplified PPS-43 could be made in other facilities to meet wartime demand.

Necessity being the mother of invention, this gun was built almost exclusively of stamped steel parts which can be made simply and cheaply, using considerably less material than previous designs. This carried on to the new magazine as well, which was a double-stack 35-round detachable box magazine.

Impressive in its simplicity, the PPS-43 was a true winner. And as Ian points out, the coolest type to have is one of the original Soviet-made full-auto versions… but since most of us don’t have an extra $25 grand cluttering up our wallets, we will most likely have to settle for the fixed-stock semi-automatic versions from Poland.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this video of the real thing.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.