In 1908, the Tsarist army placed the C96 on a list of approved sidearms that officers could purchase at their own expense in lieu of carrying the Nagant M1895 revolver.

The Mauser and its cartridge were used on all fronts of the Russian Civil War and in the 1920s, during a period of relatively close cooperation between Soviet Russia and the Weimar Republic, the Red Army purchased batches of the smaller Bolo version as well as ammunition for use by its officers.

In 1929, the Soviet Artillery Committee made a proposal to develop a domestic pistol chambered for the Mauser cartridge.

Early versions of the Vasily Degtyaryov–designed PPD-40 submachine gun were marked for Mauser cartridge caliber 7.62 mm.

(Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives) rulings the 7.62×25mm Tokarev case can handle up to 250.00 MPa (36,259 psi) Pmax piezo pressure.

regulated countries are currently (2017) proof tested at 325.00 MPa (47,137 psi) PE piezo pressure.

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 China may still use it because of the large quantity of stored ammunition available.

[citation needed] In 2018, 7.62×25 ammunition was available for export from Romania, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Russia.

Using this thicker brass may reduce the internal capacity of the cartridge and may cause excessive chamber pressures.

Mauser C96 and C30 "Broomhandle" pistols typically have oversized bores, and .311" bullets may be needed to produce acceptable accuracy.

Some of this ammunition, such as the Wolf Gold and Sellier & Bellot, use boxer primed brass cases that are reloadable.

The Chinese 7.62mm Type P is a special subsonic, heavy, pointed (spitzer) loading of the cartridge, designed specifically for use in suppressed firearms.

[12] One of the strangest weapons attempted for this cartridge was the LAD light machine gun (5.6 kg empty weight, 960 mm length), developed the Soviet designers V.F.

[13] Outside COMECON countries it is not so common; however after the Cold War, many firearms, especially pistols, were exported and the round is still in production.

Aftermarket conversion kits are also available for many firearms including the AR and AK platforms so they may fire the Tokarev round.