[Zeke Menuar]

Looking for info about the SMC/PMK pistols made by FEG.
I came close to buying an SMC-380. Good solid, accurate pistol. Missed out by two hours. I also read about a gun called an SMC-918 that chambers the 9mm Makarov round. What about the PMK variants? Don't know much about those pistols either. The SMC-918 pistols are hard to find at the usual auction sites. Anybody own one of these or have shot one?

Thanks
ZM

[Kor]

I once owned an SMC-380, which I bought because it was a nice-looking PPK-clone for $125.00 dealer, IIRC. It was a nicely compact pistol, and the blued finish on the slide was surprisingly nice for such an affordable gun. It was also very reliable - I don't ever remembering it jamming, even with reloaded .380ACP ammo.

The downside was the trigger - typically HEAVY Walther-style DA pull, and undistinguished SA pull. I tried polishing the parts to smooth/lighten the trigger pull, but all my efforts yielded only modest improvement - and MUCH frustration from stripping/reassembling the lockwork. Had I thought to try swapping the mainspring for a lighter unit, I might have been happier with the results.

The factory plastic grips got melted a bit by the Gun Scrubber aerosol solvent I used for the gun's first cleaning - the formula for the grips and/or Gun Scrubber may have changed since then. Walther PPK grips WILL NOT work on this gun, take care of the factory grips and remove them before cleaning.

The grip tang is bobbed short on purpose, to decrease the size of the gun - however, this makes it more likely to give you slide/hammer bite. I didn't have any problems, but YMMV.

The sights are pretty small, but that makes them less likely to snag on the draw. :rolleyes: If I'd liked the gun enough, I probably would've had a smith install Ashley sights, but I wound up selling it after about 4 years of sitting in the safe, doing nothing.

A friend owns a PP-sized PA-63 in 9mmMak, and we all hate it - too big for the caliber, sights too small to use, ludicrously heavy trigger pull, and amazingly heavy recoil. One guy said that he'd sooner fire a .44Mag Mountain Gun than this PA-63 - it would be more comfortable to shoot! :uhoh:

[tbeb]

I once owned a PMK .380 that was 100% reliable, in my hands, with 95 gr. FMJ ammunition. My friend's daughter had one and she said it sometimes jammed. I test fired it and had no problems. The PMK is a fairly light pistol and can jam if you shoot with a loose grip (limp wristing). You must shoot it with a firm grip. I personally won't own a pistol with this characteristic for self defense.

I've never owned one, but I think I'd look at a Bersa/Firestorm .380, because I've read a lot of good things about them and they are fairly inexpensive.

[PCRCCW]

The FEG PMK/SMC series of guns are a best buy in my book. I shot an SMC 918 at a range as a rental gun..by the time I actually KNEW what it was..they had sold it. :banghead:

These little known guns will run and run and run. The sights suck, the DA trigger pull is horrid, but thats all thats wrong with them. They are more dependable than most 500$ guns Ive owned. I shot the SMC918 for over a year at this range, well over 2000 rounds of Mak. It was a shooter and it was more than CCW worthy.

Any little gun can limp wrist...this gun with Hotter Mak ammo felt like my K40...it heard the web of my hand after a box of ammo. Ill make no bones about them....they run and run. But they arent as "silky smooth" as a Bersa or Sig....they are also much more heavily built than either also.

FEG imported the SMC/PMK guns as the "bread and butter" guns and actually made the same guns with alloy frames and very nice triggers.
They called them the BR series of guns..some were steel frames but
still had much better machining and QC. The guns were made for Military Officers and Pilots, as the ground forces had the other guns.

You can find the SMC/PMK series guns on GunsAmerica on a regular basis.
The SMC is the tiny little 6+1 gun with the short barrel, the PMK is truley an enigma. FEG used the SMC slide/barrel on the PA 63 frame and made a PPK copy...longer grip/short slide. This is the real PMK configuration. As of late Ive seen the PA series guns marked as PMK's...which is not correct.

Oh well....technicalities. BTW...you have a PM.....top secret.

Shoot well.

[wingman]

I have the smc380, well made, accurate, never has jammed even with reloads,
trigger is stiff but has broken in since firing a few hundred rounds. Wood
grips are avaiable for them.

The smc918 is tough to find but they are out there, my smc380 is steel frame,
most smc918's are alloy that I have seen however that would work fine for carry.

I also have a pa63 and find it to be a accurate gun, I don not believe it to be
as good quality as the smc's but have had no problems with it.

All in all very good guns for the money.

[wingman]

Zeke, check this website and look at the br61 9x18 cal., "i believe" it to be
an older version of the smc918 with a steel frame, I have purchased from
this place with good results.

http://www.ssmedwi.com/Pistols%20page%202.htm

[PCRCCW]

The BR was the gun I mentioned that were issued to Pilots and officers.
The triggers are light years over the SMC/PMK series.
A good little gun.....and an excellent carry.
Shoot well

[det.pat]

i have an smc 918 and love it. it has a very nice trigger in both modes, the best I've seen on any of this series.

[CaptHoBeau]

I recently acquired an SMC-918 in new condition and developed a like for it. I was shooting it regularly at the range and after about 350 rounds the sear broke. Does anyone know a source for parts as the Charles Daly group is out of business. Any help would be appreciated.

[North Bender]

I have one FEG SMC918 with Marschal grips:

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o14/nbender_photos/FEGSMC918-2.jpg

I love the way it looks and it's sturdy. But truth be told I have a hard time hitting a barn with it. I think it's because the grip is so small that I have to learn a whole new hold.

[Dain Bramage]

CHB: Buymilsurp.com has FEG parts. They don't list an SMC, but a lot of the FEG blowback pistols share parts. I needed an ejector for my PA-63. The PA-63 line at BuyMilsurp was out of stock, but the AP-7 ejector matched perfectly.

They list both PA-63 and AP-7 sears at the site. Maybe someone can chime in if they're cross-compatible with the SMC-918.

Buymilsurp Link (http://www.buymilsurp.com/pistol-parts-accessories-hungarian-feg-ap7-ap-mbp-pistol-c-3546_10156.html?page=2&sort=20a)

[CaptHoBeau]

Many thanks for the info, I have asked them if they can help as the sear for the AP-7 appears similar.

[CaptHoBeau]

With special thanks to Dain Bramage the PA-63 sear is identical to the SMC-918/380 sear, I took a chance & ordered one and am now trying to figure out how much disassembly I have to do to install it. For info, the exploded view of parts for the PA-63 seems to show commonality for some other parts as well.