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.
Now compare this with other pistols that have less felt recoil.
Walther PPK
FEG SMC-918
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.
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
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.
Now compare this with other pistols that have less felt recoil.
Walther PPK
FEG SMC-918
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.
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
