The 7,62x25 Tokarev cartridge is in principle an improved Soviet version of the 7,63x25mm Mauser. They are very similar: a firearm chambered for the TT 33 can fire the 7,63mm Mauser cartridge(not technically correct).

The Soviets produced a wide array of loadings for this cartridge for use in submachine guns. These include armor-piercing, tracer, and incendiary rounds. This cartridge has excellent penetration and can easily defeat lighter ballistic vests (class I, IIA and II) as well as some kevlar helmets, such as the American PASGT helmet. Although most firearms chambered in this caliber were declared obsolete and removed from military inventories, some Police and Special Forces units in Russia, Pakistan and (mainly) in China still use it because of the large quantity of stored ammunition still available.

There is a common misconception that 7,62 Tokarev surplus ammunition in the United States uses copper-coated mild steel bullets, and that this increases the chance of dangerous ricochets when fired at hard targets and can damage bullet-traps often used on shooting ranges. While steel-core ammunition in 7,62x25 Tokarev is available internationally, in the United States the importation of 7,62x25 Tokarev cartridges loaded with copper-coated steel bullets is illegal; federal law defines these as armor-piercing pistol ammunition. The so-called steel bullets sold in the United States are generally lead-core bullets with copper-washed steel jackets, and these present no greater risk of ricochet than a standard copper-jacketed projectile.

Reloadable cartridge cases can be produced by resizing and trimming 9mm Winchester Magnum brass, or alternately by reforming 5,56mmX45 NATO. RCBS sells a case trimming/reaming die to assist with the latter process. The cartridge case is inserted into the open-topped die, which produces a shoulder in the correct position, and one saws off the portion of the case projecting through the top. Afterward, one uses a the reamer - which fits a tap handle - to ream out the new case neck to an acceptable thickness. This is necessary because a high-powered rifle cartridge has just been cut back to where the brass is relatively thick - this must be thinned if excessive chamber presssures are to be avoided in the pistol. Use .308" bullets for reloading for the Tokarev TT 33 and Czech CZ-52. Mauser C96 and C-30 "Broomhandle" pistols typically have oversized bores, and .311" bullets may be needed to produce acceptable accuracy. Hornady makes an 85-grain .311" "XTP" bullet that works well in these pistols.