Makarovs? Good? Bad? Ugly? Any knowledge?

I love my EG Mak, beautifully machined and finished as well as accurate. My Russian and two Bulgarian pistols are not as nice as the EG but for a military pistol leave little to complain about.
As far as the cartridge the Mak's shoot it with little recoil and a lot of accuracy, what's not to like? I do not carry the pistols as my Sig P 238 and P 938 (or Kimber Micro or G42) do the job more efficiently. The Mak's are a bit large and heavy for me to try to hide on my frame and still keep my pants up so they travel in a range bag with little complaint.
I for one am quite confident with my .380 powered pistols are adequate for personal defense.
 
Yes the EG Makarovs are the best. Got mine for $100 seven years or so ago.

It's a ok defensive round and the gun itself one of the best DA/SA autos. Fly in the ointment is the heal clip mag release.

While I prefer Glocks the Mak will do.

Deaf
 
stonewall50:
Even though I've never had any formal handgun (or rifle) tng., to be quite frank, my four Makarovs have been 100% reliable. I'm 60 years old, as the gun bug "bit" late in life, back in '07.
OTS (Medina Annex) in '78 only required a few rds. of .38 wadcutter, as with the ANG in the early 1980s.

My only wish might be to improve the DA triigger pull on the Russian Izhevsk (in .380), and the Bulgarian. The other two are East German.
We all realize that none of these guns will go down in price. If the superficiality of a nice finish had been important, many of us never would have bough a Polish P-83 (9x18). But they are equally reliable/rugged.

Reliability and concealability seem to be two of the higher priorities when "carrying" a handgun, do they not?
 
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I've shot a lot of guns over the years some I've loved others not so much but I've never been more throughly impressed by any gun than how impressed I am with my Bulgarian Makarov, when you take into account all factors such as accuracy, reliability, power, looks, concealibilty, simplicity, and price. Especially reliability and price. I don't think there's a better general purpose range gun, carry gun, or home defender in its class and at its price of 200-300 dollars. Nothing could touch it. Compact and double action. I've put over 1000 rounds through mine and not one single malfunction of any kind. It's accurate at 25 yards, and you can unload it rapid fire at 10 yards and never hit outside the 7 ring. Recoil is mild and it's just a blast to shoot. Takedown is easy and every time I take it apart I'm amazed by how simple and well engineered it is. With so few moving parts there's almost nothing that could fail and with the straight blowback action, if the bullet goes off you bet its gonna cycle. The thin sleek design and round edges fit great for front pocket carry also. I alternate between it and my Colt Mustang pocketlite. The only drawbacks to the Makarov are its a bit heavy for carry being all steel, the round is less powerful than a 9 Luger (although it ballistically outperforms the .380 and a lot of Makarov loads match or outperform .38 special rounds) buffalo bore makes some great Mak ammo. Capacity is acceptable with 8+1, but not the greatest.
The trigger is also isn't going to win any awards but I don't mind it, and you could always find upgrades or take it to a gunsmith if you wanted. All in all the Makarov is a tough as nails battle proven and built by world renowned armories like Bulgarian Arsenal and Russian Izhevsk among others. It's a gun that for the price wipes the floor with any high point or kel tec piece of garbage that would be competing with it. I highly suggest getting one and with any milsurp gun that you may be considering for actual home defense or carry please spend the extra few dollars to get one in excellent condition.

Hope that helps. I may be a little biased but I love the Makarov and have good reason to.
 
Ok, so maybe comparing it to a good 1911 is not fair.....

I wouldn't take it, or the high power, over a Sig 226 either....in 9mm....
 
Ok, so maybe comparing it to a good 1911 is not fair.....

I wouldn't take it, or the high power, over a Sig 226 either....in 9mm....
Click to expand...


What relevance does the Hi-power, 1911 or Sig 226 have to this pistol? A new hi-power is $900 and a new Sig 226 is $900, the WC 1911 you mention is $3000+. They are also full size handguns.

What model of Makarov did you have?
 
Ignition Override:

I guess I would call it the "AK" of pistols. All around great weapon, extremely dependable, proven effective and for the price you can't beat it.
 
The DDR-made Makarov I've examined and fired was a well-made pistol and functioned without issue.

If you can find a Russian or Warsaw Pact copy at a good price, I don't see you going wrong.

If you want a 9mm Parabellum, get a Hungarian FEG.
 
From a practical standpoint, I'm pretty sure a Wilson Combat 9mm 1911 isn't ten times the gun a Makarov is.

I would MUCH rather have 10 Bulgarian Maks or a couple Maks and a huge amount of ammo than one Wilson Combat.
 
Mak

I have had a commercial Russian made Makarov for quite a few years. I have fired cases of inexpensive Tula, Barnaul, Brown Bear ammo through it.
It has been accurate and reliable. It has never had an ftf.
As to power.....I would not want to get shot by it. One can argue and cite statistics from now to doomsday.....this cartridge, that cartridge.
The Mak works.....bottom line.
 
IMHO, the Makarov is a well-designed, accurate and simple to operate pistol, based on a 9x18mm round that is a bit more powerful than a .380 (9x17), but less than the 9mm Luger, 9x19mm round. There's not a wide selection of defensive rounds available like the 380 or the 9mm Luger, but it's getting better. It's proven to be a very reliable pistol and some of the recent imports are coming thru in almost "new" condition.

That being said, it's an all-steel pistol which is heavy for the caliber involved, and honestly is almost as large as a typical Officers Model 1911 in 45ACP. It makes a good knock-about handgun and is still relatively inexpensive. I would carry one for self-defense if that's all I had, but there are much better choices today.
 
The Mak is a solid, accurate, easy to work on pistol, never seen one yet that was not accurate. The EG is the most refined model in terms of bluing, smooth action. Parts are not as available as they were in previous years but can still be found. The mak. and an AK would put you in the well armed group IMO.
 
I have had a Russian commercial one in 380acp for over 25 years. It has never malfunctioned. It is a simple, rugged, reliable service pistol. I only paid $149 for it brand-new. I have more than gotten my money's worth. It will certainly outlast me.
 
the Makarov is very Spartan in design. while not quite Rubenesque, it is quite robust for its caliber. you can do far worse in the defensive pistol market.
 
While the 9mm Mak doesn't have the same stopping power as the powerful 7.62x25mm Tokarev it replaced, it was still considered good enough for the entire USSR to adopt, and that's in FMJ loadings. I think that says enough about it's usefulness against personnel.
 
I have 4 military Maks, Two EGs and two Bulgarians...do you think the Soviets would design a pistol for their military that wasn't adequate for self defense?
 
I have a couple in my collection. They are antiquated and inexpensive used imports. They do work and even better with a wolf spring kit,
 
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