DA trigger pull/recoil of Cz 82 or Rus./Bulg. Makarov?

I

Ignition Override

New member
A gent at our club is selling a group of these which were in his brother's estate.

Is the DA/recoil of either type very similar to my ('80) German .380 PPK, or possibly stronger, as with the Polish P-64?
It has been a while since trying a friend's Russian Mak and the memory is mixed with the very heavy DA pull/sharp recoil of the P-64.
 
Last edited:
Recoil should be less with either the CZ 82 or Makarov, and less of a chance for slide bite. As for trigger action, the CZ will most likely be better and probably, the Makarov, too.
 
I don't know how they compare, because I only have the CZ 82 Makarov, but that has a silky smooth DA/SA. Just very little more power than .380.
Even first shot (fully loaded) is a little different than last one, because 12 round in the mag. difference.

Edit. also light DA/SA pull.
 
Thanks very much.
Both the Cz 82 and Mak are being considered as an alternative carry gun for my Sig 232.

The German .380 PPK has very nice bluing (summer sweat could tarnish) and FTFeed issues with various fmj types-once every 50-150 rds.- awaiting possible improvement with weaker Wolff 14,15,16,17# recoil springs, now being shipped.
 
Last edited:
I've never shot a Makarov but I did have a CZ-82. Being primarily a "1911 guy" I'm usually unhappy with DA triggers, and I don't remember thinking bad thoughts about the CZ. Recoil was comparatively negligible -- the double stack grip fits the hand very well and IMHO it was a comfortable pistol to shoot.
 
Small problem?
Just checked Wikipedia and they said nothing about a decocking function on the Cz-82.

Without it, it would be unsafe to carry with a chambered round and the hammer down, as with most handguns, concerning the status of
being "drop safe"?:confused:
Possibly they have a safety lever which functions as a decocker? The PPK has this.

Wiki indicated that the actual Makarov has this function.
 
Last edited:
Don't know about anyone else's but my CZ 82 has got one of the best double action trigger pulls I have ever shot. Beats the H-E double L out of the Mak.
 
I have the CZ-83, which is mechanically identical to the 82 but chambered for .380. The DA trigger is outstanding - it's heavy (11.5 pounds on mine), but super smooth and with very minimal pre-travel.

Recoil is modest - the steel frame helps greatly, though the factory grips are a bit thick for me.
 
friend's Russian Mak and the memory is mixed with the very heavy DA
Click to expand...

With the Makarov, I have found that the percieved trigger quality varies from one to another.

Just checked Wikipedia and they said nothing about a decocking function.
Click to expand...

The Makarov decocks, the CZ-82 does not.

Without it, it would be unsafe to carry with a chambered round and the hammer down, as with most handguns, concerning the status of
being "drop safe"?
Click to expand...

I believe (been a number of years) the Makarov passed California's drop test.
 
Mine has a very good trigger. I couldn't have shot this otherwise. :)


Makarov%20Target_zpsruq0aanu.jpg
 
I've never shot a Makarov, but I own a CZ 82. Because the CZ 82 is going to be a milsurp pistol it will almost certainly have been shot extensively. As such, the trigger should be exquisitely smooth.

The steel-framed pistol is heavy for a compact (19% heavier than a PPK, 27% heavier than a P-64), so the recoil of the 9 Makarov in the CZ 82 is quite) manageable (ballistically, the 9 Makarov is barely hotter than the .380 Auto). It's 12+1 capacity is far superior to that of the P-64 or PPK.
 
Thanks for the views.
As a lefty, one reason I wanted the Sig 232 was the decocking function, along with reliability, the features and its size.

It might be awkward for a Lefty to own the Cz-82 as a carry gun which requires the safety with a chambered round, or one could try to remember to leave the chamber empty and rack the slide. Not adviseable....

The seller also has a pair of Maks (not E. German), plus a Russian Mak in .380 Auto. Spare parts for that .380 might be very scarce.
 
It might be awkward for a Lefty to own the Cz-82 as a carry gun which requires the safety with a chambered round, or one could try to remember to leave the chamber empty and rack the slide. Not adviseable...
Click to expand...

Neither the CZ-82 nor the Makarov has a firing pin safety. (The Mak has passed California's drop safety tests some years back without it. I don't know about the CZ-82.)

The CZ-82 has an ambidextrous safety and mag release, but no decocker. If you have a chambered round and don't want to decock, THAT is when you use the safety.

With the CZ-82, when the safety has been used and is engaged, you can't pull the trigger. If you engaged the safety with the hammer cocked, releasing the safety allows you to use a lighter Single Action trigger.

With the Makarov, using the safety lever decocks the and you CAN pull the trigger, but it's the longer, heavier Double Action trigger. (The safeties work quite differently; the safety for the Mak is really a decocker.) As noted above, neither gun has a firing pin safety, so using the safety lever for either gun dos nothing to prevent an "inertial" discharge if the gun is struck or dropped -- but it may be a non-issue with the Makarov.

I've owned both. (My Makarov was an East German Makarov made in Suhl, considered one of the better Makarovs.) I found the CZ a bit more pleasant to shoot, and liked the fact that it had 50% more rounds (and extra 4!) The Mak is an elegantly simple design, sophisticated in it's own way. The CZ-82 is a bit more complex, but functionally a more sophisticated weapon.

The CZ-82 is available ONLY in 9x18 (9mm Makarov), but the CZ-83, basically the same gun as the CZ-82 was made for commercial release, and can be found in 32 acp, .380 and 9x18 makarov. The Makarov was only made in 9x18. The few Bulgarian Maks I've seen seemed to be pretty nice.

Both are excellent guns and considered among the best of their type.
 
Last edited:
I have a Russian Commercial Makarov in .380 ACP. It is a B-West import (now defunct) and is in factory, satin nickel finish. When Maks were coming into the U.S. in large number you could also get a .380 ACP barrel to convert your Mak if you wanted. So there are some .380 Maks out there. Not a ton of them, but they can be found if you look.
 
"Roger that" Walt. Thanks.
That description reflects much of what has been on Wiki for a while, along with the forums at Makarov.com etc.
Some people replace the hammer spring in the Mak, and find the DA pull more pleasant.

But are these lighter (hammer) springs ever linked to a reduction in reliability or safety?
 
rightside said:
The CZ does have a hammer block safety which serves the same function as a firing pin block. pretty damn unique(and safe) setup.
Click to expand...

Not the same.

While a hammer block safety does keep the hammer from hitting the firing pin, it doesn't keep the firing pin from going forward from inertial force if the gun is dropped from a sufficient height or slammed (with the hammer locked back or otherwise blocked) with enough force.
 
Ignition Override said:
That description reflects much of what has been on Wiki for a while, along with the forums at Makarov.com etc.
Some people replace the hammer spring in the Mak, and find the DA pull more pleasant.

But are these lighter (hammer) springs ever linked to a reduction in reliability or safety?
Click to expand...

The Makarov "safety" isn't really a safety -- it's a decocker that shifts the gun's operating mode from cocked SA to uncocked DA.

I can't think of a safety issue that might occur after changing the springs.

The only likely RELIABILITY issue, if you go to lighter springs, is a hammer that doesn't hit with enough force to ignite the primer. Chances are that won't happen -- if you're buying from a reputable source. But, if it does, you'll know it the first time you go to the range (if you try your carry ammo -- and you should), and you'll have a pretty good idea of the steps needed to fix THAT problem.

Hammer down, both guns start with a DA trigger. I never understood the value of a safety that worked with the hammer down...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top