Makarov Pistols

R

Rezdog

New member
In another posting on this board by RH ("Dumb Question") about cheap/inexpensive handguns, several readers stated that they were very satisfied with Makarov pistols. I have a couple of Bulgarian models which seem utterly reliable and, in spite of their low price, good quality. Does anyone else have any experiences with Makarov pistols, good or bad?
 
That was my first carry pistol. I loved it. It's the only pistol we have that has NEVER jammed, no matter what we put through it ... and believe me, my husband has tried every type of cheap ammo there is to try. When 3 of us go to the range it gets expensive. Some of the other guns we have to breakdown and clean after so many rounds. We never had to do that with the Makarov. Ours was also a Bulgarian .380.

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Refuse to be a "helpless" victim.
Knowing Your Rights WAGC in Indiana
 
You read my post on the other question but it bears repeating. My East German Makarov is a jewel. It is accurate, well made, and doesn't know what a bobble is. I would sooner have it than my German made Walther PP and that is a true compliment! Regards, Richard.

[This message has been edited by Richard (edited July 21, 2000).]
 
I have recently again become involved with Maks. I presently have a Russian Commercial, a Bulgarian (unissued) and a 1961 East German model. All are 9x18. All are very reliable and accurate. At 25yds mine are more accurate than some of my Glocks. For less than $200. they can't be beat. Check makarov.com for more chat and info.
 
I have a Bulgarian "Arsenal" (commercial model). Except for a kind of heavy and gritty double action pull, it's great, I highly recommend the pistol.
 
ditto; on all the above; I have a Bulgarian
and east german, both great, the Bulgie more
accurate, the east german looks better.I am
now looking for a commerical Russian. They
are dollar for dollar the best guns made.I
have $700 pistols dont shoot as well as my
$140 bulgie.

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Rezdog, I have an E. German and love it. Best gun buy this year for the money ;) Got mine from SOG when they first got them. Have put quite a few out the tube without one burp. I can't say a bad thing about it. :D

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We preserve our freedoms by using four boxes: soap,ballot,jury, and cartridge.
Anonymous
 
I picked up one of those Bulgarian unissued surplus Makarovs a few weeks back and it's great. The recoil is, well, 'sharp' but that can be fixed by an aftermarket set of grips.
(For some odd reason, I like the look of the issue grips so I'm sticking with them. This may indeed change as time goe by.) :-)

Accurate, 100% reliable so far. I'd suggest picking one up while they're still available.
I doubt that you'll regret buying one.

regards to all...

Owen
 
I purchased a Russian Mak about four years ago. I found, initially, that it was the most accurate, reliable small pistol I had ever shot. The only problem was the finish, bad trigger and front sight. I considered this Mak a great platform for customization so I sent it to Joe Bunczk (sp?) for his Mak Pak. He performed a number of mods for a very reasonable price. Among many other things, he ground off the front sight and dovetailed in a new S&W type with tritium insert. I then sent the gun to Accurate Plating and Weaponry in Florida for a hard chrome job. I can honestly say that the gun looked as good as it shot when I got it back from AP&W. The only remaining concern was the grips. I installed a set of Pearce rubber grips, but I have always liked the look and feel of walnut. Besides, the Pearce grips are a bit thick for concealed carry. It was then I found Makarov.com on the internet. This is the most valuable site anywhere for Mak owners. Anyway, they were selling a set of walnut one-piece grips (don't know where they got them). The finish was horrible and gummy. Couldn't tell whether they were walnut or pine. I then stripped then, sanded them and countoured the wood into a set of grips that would rival any from Hogue. I then applied a hand-rubbed oil finish.

All this had led to one of the best looking, accurate (one ragged hole with Hornady XTPs at 10 yards) handguns I have ever had the pleasure to shoot. I paid $157 for the gun to begin with and have more than that in the modifications, but I have not found any other guns (including Walther PP or PPK) that even approximates the quality and accuracy of my Mak. I would do it all over again if I had the chance.

[This message has been edited by SG12 (edited July 20, 2000).]
 
I have three Maks; a Russian, A Bulgie, and a EG. Neither the Bul nor the EG would feed HP reliably. A friend has worked on the feed ramp and now the Bul is perfectly reliable with HP. The EG is next. The Russian has always been reliable with all ammunition. I posted some Chrono results on another forum, but will repost here.
I recently did some chronographing of some factory ammunition fired from a Russian Mak.
Federal Classic 90 gr HP - 993fps, Cor Bon 95 gr HP - 1105fps, Hornady 95 gr XTP - 907fps, Speer CCI Blazer 90 gr GDHP - 1040fps, Norinco FMJ - 1011fps, S&B FMJ - 961fps. Handloads using AA#2 3.9gr/90gr Speer GD/S&B cases/CCI primers gave 949fps and the same load with the 95gr Sierra gave 921fps.
They are great guns.
Jerry


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Ecclesiastes 12:13  ¶Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
 
The only thing that I will say is that the only time that I ever drew a pistol to defend my family, and property, it was my Russian .380 Mak. :) I will never get rid of it, ever!!!

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Yeah, I got a permit to carry,it's called the friggin Constitution.---Ted Nugent

"Glock 26: 17 rounds of concealed carry DEATH comming your way from out of nowhere!!! THAT'S FIREPOWER, BABY!!!"
 
My Bulgarian Mak is accurate, 100% reliable, has a great trigger. Sights are not great but it points well. Heavy for the caliber and the capacity (same as a Glock 17) but I like it greatly anyway.
 
Ditto to the positive responses above. I have a Bulgarian makarov by Arsenal. It was $120 new, about four years ago. I put some Pearce grips on it, which are bulky looking, but comfortable. No malfunctions. The more I shoot it, the better it gets!
 
Its pretty easy to clean up the trigger on the Makarovs using a Dremel and a bit of polishing rouge. You have to disassemble the pistol completely but that's not too hard and there's only 23 parts. If you take the slide off and watch as you pull the trigger, the sliding surfaces that need polishing are obvious. It would be a lot harder to make it a match trigger, but you can improve it a lot with a half hour's work.
 
My interest is peaking more and more. Just where do you get Makarovs these days and what is the going price(s). Thanks in advance.

Andy
 
I have a Hungarian model (PA-63) imported by KBI. I have only put 50 rounds through it so far, but the gun shot well and did not jam once. In contrast, my $600 Glock 17 jammed constantly. Go figure.
 
AndyB,
Try www.jgsales.com
Bulgarian maks $119.95

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Yeah, I got a permit to carry,it's called the friggin Constitution.---Ted Nugent

"Glock 26: 17 rounds of concealed carry DEATH comming your way from out of nowhere!!! THAT'S FIREPOWER, BABY!!!"
 
Well, now you guys have got me wanting another Makarov. I sold mine last year and I've regretted it ever since. I've also noticed that while we all may have differing opinions on a lot of the handguns discussed here, nearly all seem to agree that the Makarov is a fine pistol. That in itself is quite a compliment to the little guy. Now I've got a tough decision, school books or a Mak? Maybe we'll take enough notes in class that I won't need any books after all...
 
Dittos to all the raves. I picked up my Russian .380 Mak at a show for $125 on a lark. When I took it to the range, I was totally amazed by its accuracy and reliability. It even fed some pretty wide-mouthed HPs. It's a tough call as to whether I like it or my Glock 19 better. But I will say there's NO better gun in terms of cost-benefit analysis.

BTW, SG12 mentioned the "Mak Pak" customizing. I've often thought of doing this. What's the pricing and turnaround like?

---hemlock0013
 
Even with a Mak there is a chance of buying a lemon. Check out the board at makarov.com and you will see that some Bulgarians have trouble feeding hollowpoints, and some East Germans tend to misfire. My Mak is highly reliable and lots of fun but readers of this board should know that, while Maks in general are very reliable, a few do have problems.
 
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