Making a better CCW PA-63

thm

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The $89 PA-63 seems to be the ideal gunsmith playground. Not so expensive that you can't afford to make a few mistakes and it has a caliber and size/weight that makes it practical for CCW. It would be the perfect CCW "Denver gun", an inexpensive self-defense pistol that wouldn't make you cry if it was impounded.

Only a few things would need to be changed to make it fit the role perfectly.

Much has been made of the atrocious trigger, but a relatively inexpensive spring retrofit does make it more manageable (ref: http://makarov.com/tech.html see bottom of page). The major problem with this inexpensive pocket pistol is the felt recoil (or as some would say trauma) that is produced when it is fired.

I know that I would practice live-fire with the PA-63 a lot more if it didn't beat up the web of my hand after half a box of ammo.

It seems that the reason why the pistol seems to flip so much more than other pistols in the same weight and caliber is the overly aggressive backstrap curvature.

Note how much the backstrap curves forward at the upper part of the frame.
pa63_1.jpg


Now compare this with other pistols that have less felt recoil.

Walther PPK
ppks_bicolor_2644789.jpg


FEG SMC-918
smc918.jpg


Now the most elegant solution to this problem would be to add more metal and machine it to the desired curvature, however this is a major hassle and new stocks would have to be made. I was thinking that a solution to this problem would be to build a one-piece stock that wraps around the frame. It would look similar to the Makarov stock below except that it would be affixed with two side screws instead of one backstrap screw.
walnut4.jpg


The new stock wouldn't add to the width of the pistol and would only slightly add to the lenth of trigger pull. Wood would be nice as it would allow a smooth draw from concealed carry and could be stained various colors. Furthermore, checkering and stippling could be done with woodworking tools. A shock-absorbent rubber polymer would be OK also, ala Makawrap or PearceGrip, as it would additionally decrease felt recoil. And no goofy thumbrest, thank you!

The only thing I don't like about the PearceGrip stock on my Makarov is that it makes my pistol's butt bigger than J-Lo's. So I put it in the "Take to next gun show" box and replaced it with Red Star original equipment.

Now, is there anybody out there that would be willing to make me (and maybe a few hundred other PA-63 owners) this custom stock solution?

Much thanks to http://makarov.com and http:/www.carl-walther.de for the deep-linked illustrations
 
Great Idea.

I just aquired one and noticed the grip right away without even firing the pistol. I have every intension of having the springs changed out and a reliability package completed. The grip you describe would be a welcome addition as well.
 
ok, ok , ok.....

I've been making replacement grips for the PA-63 in wood for almost a year now (Walnut, available through Makarov.com, fancy exotics by request). These have been based on the stock grip, minus the thumb rest of course....

I've played around with the thinner/thicker/wider variations a bit, and have also been thinking about with the kind of thing you are talking about.

As I envision it, it's a two part grip, split up the middle of the back like the CZ-50/70. The big question in my mind is whether or not to run wood all the way down the grip. To do this would add a good 1/16 to 1/8 inch of wood to the grip width. That may become a problem for someone with smaller hands. The alternative is to run the 'back fill' down about half way and then stop.

Thoughts on this?

The other question is...how much would you pay? would $45 be too high for a pair of these, smooth wood, finished, with a new set of grips screws, in Walnut?

John
 
Sounds Good!

This sounds good to me. I have small hands like you describe. I would like to try the grip both ways before deciding. I was considering an order of the wood grips from makarov.com. I will wait a few weeks to see how this project works out. I don't think 40.00 + or - is a bad price range. Keep me posted on progress!
 
first trial starting now...

I've just finished up a prototype for a new PA-63 grip design, and I need a volunteer to try 'em out. Heres the deal,
I send you the grips.

You put a hundred rounds through your '63 using the grips.

You post range report on this board, and on the Gunboards Makarov Board

http://www.gunboards.com/forums/UltraBoard.cgi?action=Read&BID=42&TID=17170&SID=721544

letting me (and everyone else) know what you think. Unless I got it just right (too much to hope for) you get to recommend changes (finger grooves, wider/thinner, whatever).

You then get the option to either purchase them for $20 as is, or send them back and get a $10 discount on the final version....your choice.

I'll ship them out asap, so be prepared to go to the range this weekend!

The design is intended to extend the grip to the edge of the metal frame, and leave a wider back end that effectively doubles the width of the grip. This should help soak up some of the felt recoil by spreading it out over a wider area of the hand. The grip surface is intentionally lefta bit rough to help improve the grip as well (low cost checkering).

Still going forward with the 'wraparound' version...so stay tuned!

John
 

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