Question for Makarov Experts

C

Chewbacca

Inactive
Hello all. Been lurking here a long time but never posted till now. I have a question that I hope some of you Makarov enthusiasts can help me answer.
Been wanting one for some time as they seem like a heck of a deal. Went to the gun show here in Dallas last weekend and found one table that was selling what was advertised as Bulgarian Maks. The dealer had a stack of boxes, and after looking one over I bought it. Price: $139. I took it home and gave it a good cleaning, and once the cosmoline was off it is really a beautiful looking gun.
Here's my question.
Examining it closely, it has a serial number etched into it which consists of a "pi" symbol and an R (both of which are cyrillic letters) followed by four numbers. It has no "Made in Bulgaria" or anywhere else for that matter. And on the frame under the hammer is stamped the circle with a bifurcated triangle inside, which I now know from makarov.com is the Soviet stamp. Beside that stamp is etched "1975." Were any bulgarian Maks like this ever produced? If not, did I manage to get my hands on a Russian surplus mak for only $130?? If so, I need to know so I will have an excuse to put it in a safe place and buy another one for plinking :)
Any help would be appreciated.
 
I think the message board at makarov.com is down as Karl moves to a new server. The bifurcated triangle tells you the Mak is Russian. A Bulgarian Mak would have a 10 surrounded by two concentric circles. You definately have a Russian Mak. The question is, does it have fixed or adjustable sights? The Russian Maks with fixed sights are military surplus and considered more desirable than the police (?) Maks with adjustable sights. Either way you got a good deal. What you paid would be a fair price even for the most common Maks, which I think are Bulgarian Arsenal models. Finally, since you were at a gun show, I hope you picked up some cheap military surplus ammo. I just bought 1050 rounds of Russian ammo for $110 - LVE in the green box. It's time to change my handle to glockarov. Frank
 
Congradulations! You have indeed managed to get your hands on a Russian milsurp pistol for a Bulgarian price. Consider yourself lucky!

Just today, I received notice of a *private* sale going on by a major distributor/dealer who is asking $395.00 for these pistols - which in my mind is highway robbery. However, pricing of $250 - $350 would be considered a good deal to average.

Apparently, some of these guns managed to sneak into the country, mixed in & unmarked inside of the same shipping containers with the Bulgarian milsurps. Your dealer didn't know what he had!

For your information, no milsurps that I am aware of will have the country of manufacture printed on the weapon, however all commercial guns manufactured for sale to the public will. The triangle/circle symbol indicates Russian manufacture, a number "10" inside of a double circle would indicate Bulgarian manufacture.

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"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work"
Thomas Alva Edison
 
Thanks for the replies. I would have posted at makarov.com, but as you said their message board is down.
The pistol does have fixed sights, so I guess that means it was not manufactured for commercial use. Wow! I guess I did get a good deal. Now I have to go out and buy one I can use so I can keep this one in good condition.
 
You'll like your Mak a lot. They're very reliable and cheap to feed. They're also very easy to take apart. The mechanism is beautiful for its simplicity. If you've never worked with a blow back you might have a little trouble getting the slide back on at first. Don't despair. Patiently make sure it's mounted on the frame and slowly get it to mount on the frame rails. After a couple of times it'l become second nature. Make sure you install the recoil spring the same way you removed it. It should fit snugly onto the barrel, if it goes on easily you've got it backward.

Some folks over at makarov.com feel that at Russian milsurps might have been stored along with Bulgie pistols. When the Bulgarians cleaned out their warehouses they didn't bother to differentiate between Russian and Bulgie Maks. Lately more and more Russian milsurps are getting on the market, however. Cole sold a bunch at $139. Interestinly these were used and not unissued pistols. Thanks to Clinton Russian pistols can't come into the country. It seems to me that the Russians are going to backdoor their milsurp Maks through Bulgaria. I wouldn't be surprised if we soon see a flood of Russian milsurp Maks hit the market.

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So many pistols, so little money.
 
I went to my local dealer last week to order a milsurp Bulgarian one last week and he talked me out of it. He stated they were not worth the money. I listened to him because he is a real honest guy and doesn't gouge people with his stock. On the way home I told my wife I didn't know why I listened to him. Now I am thinking of buying one of those used Walther PP .32s SOG has. What do you guys think? I would like to buy both but I have two problems:
1. My safe is full
2. My wife has had it, I have bought nine guns in the last year. (Number 2 carries more weight in the decision)

This gun hobby is a real disease. I was thinking of starting a guns anonymous.
 
I think you dealer doesn't know what he is talking about on this subject. As the saying goes "Only a fool thinks he knows things about things he knows nothing about". They are inexpensive, well made, cheap to feed, and utterly reliable. It will also cost you a lot less than a Walther (that may have some sway on condition 2).
I would venture to say that it is impossible to find a better gun at the price. Probably not even if you added $150 to it. I recently got two of them, delivered w/ transfer for $300. They are truly one of the best bargains in shooting today.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> I just bought 1050 rounds of Russian ammo for $110 - LVE in the green box. It's time to change my handle to glockarov. Frank[/b][/quote]

Great price Frank! LVE is the best of the two types of Russian ammo that I've tried.

The TCW (white box) I ran through a chrono was terrible! Extreme spread was 226 fps!

The LVE extreme spread was 83 fps, and both averaged about 960 fps.

Love my Russian Mak, and I'm looking at a Bulgarian my dealer has for $149 (plus 8.6 percent tax).

Have you tried any handloads? Mine group about half the size of either Russian ammo.

Bill



[This message has been edited by Bill Adair (edited May 12, 2000).]
 
I would have to vote for the Maks as the best gun deal out there. You can take every part out of one in about a minute,(after you do it a time or two) and with a dremel tool, the fine stone from a Lansky sharpening kit,a tube of Tetra gun grease, and a little effort, you can have a really great trigger. I have a couple of the Bulg unissued military ones, and they are very accurate for me. I buy ammo for them by the case, and have yet to have a jam on either gun.

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Good shootin to ya
Plateshooter
 
EXCEPT THE EXTRACTOR!

You can't put that back in (yeah, you can take it out quickly) w/o some real strength in you hands and practice.

If you do, practice w/o the spring and plunger and get the E.G. cleaning rod w/ extractor tool.

Empire Arms, in their defense, usually have very nice stuff, but I certainly wouldn't pay $400 for what is a worse made gun than an East German Mak, unless I truly was a collector. In that case, the crappy ChiComm norinco maks from the PRC are the rarest yet.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by mrat:
I went to my local dealer last week to order a milsurp Bulgarian one last week and he talked me out of it. He stated they were not worth the money. I listened to him because he is a real honest guy and doesn't gouge people with his stock.[/quote]

Makarovs are fine guns and well worth the money. Dealers who will tell you otherwise are either prejudice or ignorant.

I own 2 bulgarian maks and 3 East German maks. Neither of them have given me any trouble. They're utterly reliable, and very accurate.
 
I also think the Mak is a superb value weapon, but as with any gun there are a couple of "watch out fors".

The DA trigger set position is too far forward for my liking but there's nothing you can do about that, also the safety can work loose and fall out, the fix is simple if this happens, see the Mak web site. Most important of all KEEP THE FIRNG PIN AND CHANNEL SPOTLESS. The gun has no firing pin spring so if the channel gets gunked up the pin can stick in the forward position. Slap in a full mag and let the action move forward and BANG, a slamfire. It hasn't happened often, but it can, and that's the point. It is a great little gun, good choice.

Regards,

Mike H
 
The markings ae the same as on my fine
Russian Makarov. If I am not mistaken,the triangle identifies yours as being made by the Tula Arsenal. Maks from this factory are some of the most well built ones. The Russian ones are the best anyway. Enjoy!!! :)

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BOYCOTT SMITH AND WESSON!!!
Defend the Constitution from the foreign threat!!!!
 
Congrats! You purchased a genuine Russian military/militia(police) Makarov. There were no differences between Maks that were and are used by military/police. They both are the same. Only commercial models have fixed sights and tehe are made for civilian use only - they have no govermental use since:
1. government have enough Maks in storage already
2. commercial Maks quality is lower than military models
But do not put it away only because its an original military Mak. Its like a good quality car or a beautiful wife - they look great but they also need to be taken out for a ride, otherways they will go bad... ;-)
Your Mak is concidered on this side of a swamp where I live to be an AK47 of handguns. You have to try real hard to break or wear it out, so just go out and enjoy shooting it !

Stay Safe !
 
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