Hey guys, I recently acquired a Russian IJ-70 Mak with the rear adjustable sight, original owner's manual says it was made in 1994. My Dad has had one just like it for 15+ years and it has never jammed, regardless of ammo used. I took mine out for the first time over the weekend and it was flawless through 100 rounds of FMJ, but wouldn't feed Hornady Critical Defense or the FTX. Does anyone have any recommendations of what I should try next? or what may be the problem? I'm leaning toward the mags being the issue but I have 4 of them and they all had FTF issues. Any help is greatly appreciated.
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Hollow points for a .380 Makarov
- Thread starter Stang40
- Start date
Hollow point is likely hanging up on the edge of the feed ramp. Remember, this pistol was really designed for the 9mm Mak round which is 1mm longer than the .380. The .380 versions usually still work good but you may get better functionality with FMJ bullets.
One thing you can do is to polish the leading edge of the feed ramp. You don't want to actually remove metal (unless there is a noticeable burr), just make sure that edge is nice and smooth.
One thing you can do is to polish the leading edge of the feed ramp. You don't want to actually remove metal (unless there is a noticeable burr), just make sure that edge is nice and smooth.
Tucker 1371
New member
If it will function in your Mak then the Hornady XTP bullet has done very well in gel tests, my fiancée carries a G42 loaded with Precision One XTPs.
ShootingtheBull410 did a very thorough and detailed study of .380 defensive ammo, here's the link. http://shootingthebull.net/blog/final-results-of-the-380-acp-ammo-quest/
ShootingtheBull410 did a very thorough and detailed study of .380 defensive ammo, here's the link. http://shootingthebull.net/blog/final-results-of-the-380-acp-ammo-quest/
I would just carry ball. Years ago though, we shot a friend's Russian, Chinese and East German Maks with CorBon hollow point ammunition. I was surprised, but all three pistols functioned 100% with the CorBon JHPs. It you want to use hollow points, you're just going to have to test your particular gun to determine what, if any, type hollow point ammo functions reliably. It has been my experience with auto pistols in general that JHPs whose shape most closely approximates ball ammo tends to be reliable in most. The truncated cone shaped bullets used by some manufacturers may tend to be less reliable in some pistols....ymmv
Cheapshooter
New member
Speer Gold Dot is a little more rou ded, and may work well. Ballistic gel test show good performance from them in a 380 as well.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B_MmREJxM_E
Also, if you can find them in the LE version they come in a 50 round box, and are a little less costly.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B_MmREJxM_E
Also, if you can find them in the LE version they come in a 50 round box, and are a little less costly.
Thanks, I saw the shooting the bull video about the XTP's, so I got Hornady's American Gunner which are loaded with them, but no go. I'm not going to carry it, but just like having everything loaded with JHPs. I'll try polishing the feed ramp too. I love this gun though, the most accurate I've ever owned.
No worries about over penetration with FMJ though?
No worries about over penetration with FMJ though?
I use "turtle-wax" polishing compound and a dremel on low speed with the cotton polishing attachment. other than that, you could try using your dad's magazine and seeing if maybe his follower is angled different, but I doubt our mags are faulty, you also may have to just try some different HP's if polishing doesn't work. nothing wrong with a dremel if you keep it slow and keep the pressure down, like brusing your teeth with a sonicare