Cannot take off makarov slide

R

Ransome

New member
Just received my Bulgarian makarov from classic today. It is in great shape but when I tried to disassemble it, the slide would not come off. I took the magazine out, and pulled the trigger guard over to the side. But no matter how hard I pull back and up the slide does not come off. I heard people talking about bulged barrels but mine appears not to be. Any suggestions?
 
It is sometimes is a little stubborn to reinstall... even though you are attempting to disassemble. I don't know if this will help but it might. The technique I use when the slide is difficult to re-assemble is to push DOWN hard as I retract the slide all the way back THEN let the slide shift forward into battery....possibly, if you press down hard as you retract the slide all the way back THEN pull up it may disassemble as intended.
 
I found one Post online from about 9 years ago, where someone had a problem similar to your, the recoil spring was backwards and had caused binding, but they didn't post how they fixed it.
I hope you don't have a bulged barrel, but if you do, I'd contact Classic, their customer service is very friendly and easy to deal with.
 
I really doubt that the barrel is bulged, I even measured it with calipers in different sections. No matter how hard I pull it just will not come off. Its almost like it was meant to never come off, thats how hard it is.
 
Keep in mind that the gun had to go together the same way it comes apart. So unless some foreign object has gotten in there somehow and is jamming something, or unless some part has been damaged somehow since it was assembled the last time it WILL come back apart.

Just in case there's a detail that might help, here's how to disassemble a Mak.

  • Remove the magazine.
  • Rack the slide to clear the chamber and then verify that the chamber is empty.
  • Pull the trigger guard down fully and push it to one side so that the front of it is completely outside the frame.
  • Pull the slide straight back as far as it can possibly go and when it won't go any farther back, lift up on the BACK of the slide. Only the back of the slide lifts up.

Can you tell that the slide comes back farther with the trigger guard in the down/disassembly position than when it is in the fully up position?
I really doubt that the barrel is bulged, I even measured it with calipers in different sections.
Click to expand...
If it is bulged in a place that is preventing disassembly, you would not be able to measure that part of the barrel without taking the gun apart.
 
Jdin8455 said:
I found one Post online from about 9 years ago, where someone had a problem similar to your, the recoil spring was backwards and had caused binding, but they didn't post how they fixed it.
I hope you don't have a bulged barrel, but if you do, I'd contact Classic, their customer service is very friendly and easy to deal with.
Click to expand...
This is a possibility....the constricted end of the spring goes on the barrel first as you reassemble, it should fit a bit tight as it goes on...if the more open end of the spring goes on first, the spring is assembled incorrectly.
 
Suggest you remove the main spring. Then retrace the steps.

Mag out.
Safety off.
Trigger guard down and to the side.
Pull all the way back and lift the back end.

If the barrel is not bulged, then it's the recoil spring installed backwards.

HTH
 
JohnKsa, The slide does not go any farther back when the trigger guard is pulled out. It is the same distance in or out.

If it is a bulged barrel, I wonder if I could even send it back to Classic Firearms, As I have already signed the FFL paperwork.
 
Last edited:
I had a problem like this. It was a bulged barrel. I don't remember how, but I did get the slide off. The bulge was easy to see after that. I did replace the barrel but I had access to a full machine shop. Unless you do, I suggest that you get another gun. The cost to replace the barrel far exceeds the cost of another gun. Mine shoots fine but it was an awful lot of work.
 
Another idea...You can pull the slide all the way back and prop it open somehow then shine a bore light or flashlight down the breech end and look down the muzzle. It should be possible to see a bulge as an off colored ring down the bore. if it is a bulge return the pistol?

Not much else can cause the problem but a bulge. As you have done the proper technique. I am not even sure that a backward recoil spring, although may cause difficulty, is not impossible to overcome...I know in my early days with Makarov's I had to have installed it backwards a time or two :) and eventually got the slide off.
 
I looked down the barrel with a bore sight and saw no bulge, or anything pecuilar. Maybe I should put it in a vice grip and try to get it off.
 
The slide does not go any farther back when the trigger guard is pulled out. It is the same distance in or out.
Click to expand...
That's a problem. With the trigger guard all the way down, the stop that would normally limit slide rearward travel is out of the way. Even if the slide doesn't go far enough back for disassembly, it should to at least SOME distance farther than it did with the trigger guard up.

Does the slide lock open when you pull it back with an empty mag in gun?

I'm leaning towards a bulged barrel.

Shine a dim light down the bore and look in the other end. The bulge will appear as a ring of shadow.
 
You should contact Classic soon, before they're sold out again, that way if there is a chance of replacement, they still have them in stock.
 
At further examination there is a different color ring of metal at the very beginning of the breech. Im talking millimeters in breech/barrel. It is right before the rifling starts so it may be normal. Other than that, the barrel is pristine. I contacted Classic and they said send picture of the problem via email? Well... ok I guess I can just a bit of a hard problem to send via pictures. The slide does lock when I pull it back with a empty mag.
 
Last edited:
Phone?

Most phones will shoot video. Just set it up for low resolution and keep it short. If one picture is worth 1000 words, a video is thousands of pictures.
 
The slide does lock when I pull it back with a empty mag.
Click to expand...

Hmm, isn't that almost as far back as you need to take the slide off?
How much further will the slide go back past the slide lock position? Does it go all the way back as it would in recoil.

From the takedown description, it looks the same as a PPK or my SIg P230 blowback.
Rack the slide all the way to the rear and pull up and then forward. If you can go back to slide lock, aren't you almost there?
 
No it needs to go slightly farther back. I can confirm this by it is essentially stopping at where the slide release is, it moves back a very small amount past the mag catch or slide stop/hold. It almost feels like it was never meant to come off. Once I get to the point where it will not go back any farther, there is absolutely no give.
 
I don't know about Makarovs but my sig P230 only goes back 1/8 inch past the slide stop before it can travel no further.
Once you get to the furtherst back, you cannot lift the slide up? Mayber get a lever and see if that helps.
It's either not going back far enough so you can lift or something is preventing it from lifting.
Maybe someone with a Makarov can confirm how much further you need to be able to move the slide BACK past the slide stop before lifting.
 
Classic emailed me today to go ahead and send it back for an exchange. I was about to have a gunsmith take a look at it, but I suppose this is a guaranteed way of a fix, without the possibility of further damage. Thank you everyone who replied with insight on this issue!
 
Hope you get a replacement quickly! Are they going to refund you your transfer fee from your FFL? Once you get a working one, you'll like it, I love my Mak.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top