[made2cut]

Okay so maybe it is 45 years old but it's new to me :D . It's a 1961 East German that I picked up on AuctionArms for $270. I was a little worried about the condition but thankfully it turned out to be as nice as it was described. I took it apart last night to oil it up and everything looks great. I bought a set of grips from Top Gun Supply which dressed up the old commie pistol nicely. I can't wait to shoot it next week!

[alamo]

Very nice. Good price too.

[foob]

Congrats man. I love how it is so easy to detail strip.

[made2cut]

Thanks guys. I really didn't know that much about Makarov's but I started reading some threads here a couple of months ago about how much everybody liked them. After a bit of research I knew I had to have one :evil:. These things could get addictive :eek: :D .

[Cocked & Locked]

I still don't understand why I've never owned one of those :confused:

Your's is really nice being of East German vintage provenance...that is some great looking wood!

[denfoote]

Who's the importer??
In looking at your gun, it seems to me that the serial number was hand engraved by a dyslexic 4 year old!!
All my EG Maks have the number neatly stamped!!!

[taz-2005]

I picked one up today as well.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e29/taz-2005/Mak2.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e29/taz-2005/Mak1.jpg

[Teakwood]

Here are some helpful links
http://www.makarov.com/makfaq.html
http://www.makarov.com/makbasics.html
http://www.makarov.com/tech.html

[foob]

I got a makarov, and just ordered a p7m8. I'll let you guys know which one I like more.

[jibjab]

The thing that bugs me about the Mak is the mag. release, is there a after market main spring with a larger release catch ?

[steelhead]

Those grips are awesome!!!!

[weregunner]

Made2cut,Good for you.Marvelous looking piece of hardware and welcome to the Mak fraternity.That price is great.At other sites in the internet it lookes like the E.G.s were running at $320 on up.Give us a range report, please?Have lot of fun with it.

[Geronimo45]

Yes... the Makarovs are getting to be about the price of a CZ 83. The word is out, apparently. Very nice buy!

[made2cut]

Denfoote - the importer was CAI. I agree, the ingraving must have been done on a Monday morning ;)

I was pleased on the price too. There was only one other bid on this one. Lucky for me I guess it kind of slipped under the radar.

[Top Gun Supply]

Looks good made2cut! Good deal on the E. German.

[robert garner]

Top Gun Supply is out of all flavors! BUT they have a handy "write me when the get back in" on the order page Thanks
robert

[made2cut]

Need a little advice on my Mak guys. I took it out to the range last night and experienced a problem with the safety moving from the fire position slightly. This happened at least once in every mag. When I would go to shoot the next shot the hammer would fall and at the same time the lever would spring back to the "fire" position but no bang. I could then reset the trigger and fire again double action. I did replace the recoil spring with a Wolff standard 17 lb. Is it possible that the new spring was causing the slide to move faster when returning to battery forcing the safety to move? I'm going to try it tomorrow with the original spring (which was about 1/2 in shorter). I looked at everything I could and nothing seems too worn that might be causing the problem. When moving the lever manually it seems to have a pretty good detent. Any ideas? :confused:

[Rodgerp]

Long term solution:
Safeties are cheap at makarov.com

Short term solution attempt:
remove safety, take a pick or similar tool and pry (gently) up on detent spring.

Hope this helps

Rodger

[made2cut]

I just wanted to follow up on my safety issue. I did try prying up the spring which helped some but didn't fix the problem completely. I got a new safety with detent spring from Makarov.com and took it back to the range last night. I didn't have any problems while shooting 100 rds. The new safety isn't made as nicely as the original EG but it does work properly which is the important thing :)
Thanks to Rodger for his suggestions.

[Anna's Dad]

I have an East German Mac--very well made weapon. I'm thinking hard about another I just saw for $299.99 at a local shop. I'd bet I could get them down to $275 but your $270 is going to be hard to beat! :)

[camacho]

Congrats! I have been thinking about getting one but I am not sure which one are the good ones. I have read that the German, Bulgarian, and Russian ones are pretty good but avoid the Polish. Any thoughts on that? In the Gun Shows I regularly see Polish ones for $150-175.

[Slinger]

camacho,

A Mak purist will tell you that a Polish "Mak" is not a real Mak. True they take the same ammo, 9x18mm, but that is about were the similarities end. The Polish pistol can be found at lots of gun shows for less than a real Mak.

I found my Bulgarian mak at a local show for $200. It is a beautiful like brand new piece. The Bulgarians tend to be the least expensive of the bunch that you mentioned.

[camacho]

For some strange reason in this neck of the woods (or sands I should say) at the gun shows they have only those and some Hungarian Mak-alikes. I will try to locate some Bulgarian or German ones in the area.


Thanks!

[gbran]

I have a Bulgarian Mak. Maks are the funnest, best bang for the buck you can find. Pretty darn accurate too.

[camacho]

From what I read pretty tough little suckers too. I think they put them through all kinds of abuse and they still were able to fire.