Source: ATF P 5300.11 · Curios or Relics List · Jan 1972 – Apr 20253,573 entries · 4 sections
The C&R RegisterA finding aid to the ATF Curios or Relics List, for Type 03 collectors
C&R · IV · 191

PPSh-41 & Bloc copies

Section IV: still an NFA firearm, also a curio or relic

Official wording

ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION IV · VERBATIM · PDF P. 87 ↗

Russian, PPSH41, cal. 7.62mm, submachineguns and all copies/variations produced in the Communist Bloc countries prior to the mid 1950's.

ATF lists cal. 7.62mm; this is the 7.62×25mm Tokarev cartridge.

What this entry requires

  • ATF REQUIRESMade or imported as stated: “produced in the Communist Bloc countries prior to the mid 1950's”
  • ATF REQUIRESMade 1955 or earlier (ATF’s dates)ATF: “prior to the mid 1950's”
  • INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).

Editorial facts · Our research

Country
Russia (U.S.S.R.)Basis: the ATF wording
Manufacturer
Soviet & Communist Bloc arsenalsBasis: outside reference ²
Type
SMGBasis: the ATF wording
Action
Select-fire / autoBasis: the ATF wording
Caliber
7.62×25mmBasis: the ATF wording
Made
Before mid-1950sBasis: outside reference ¹
Service
Military

Source

Official wording
ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 87 ↗ · ATF original ↗
Entries
1 line
Verbatim check
Checked against the PDF text before every release
Editorial facts
Confidence: High · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
References
  1. 1. Wikipedia, “PPSh-41” ↗, years: designed 1941; Soviet production 1941–1947; Bloc copies such as the Chinese Type 50 and Hungarian 48M (early 1950s)
  2. 2. Wikipedia, “Пистолет-пулемёт Шпагина” ↗, maker: made from July 1941 at the NKV plant in Zagorsk, evacuated to Vyatskiye Polyany (over 2.5 million), and at the Degtyarev plant, Kirov plants (Tokmak, Alma-Ata), GPZ-1, Zvezda, Dalzavod and others; en: licensed Bloc copies (Type 49, Type 50, Radom, Cugir)
Fact tags
  • ATF the ATF wording states it.
  • REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
  • ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
  • NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
Source checked
20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
Corrections
None

Historical context

PPSh-41 & Bloc copies

Image: Wikimedia Commons, “PPSh-41 from soviet.jpg” by Lposka, CC BY-SA 3.0. Retrieved October 2026.

Summary: Wikipedia, “PPSh-41”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

The PPSh-41 is a selective-fire, open-bolt, blowback submachine gun that fires the 7.62×25mm Tokarev round. It was designed by Georgy Shpagin in the Soviet Union to be a cheaper and simplified alternative to the PPD-40.