Makarov questions!

[Archibald Tuttle]

The other day a few of us were shooting some Makarovs that we had just purchased when one of them started shooting sparks. We inspected the handgun but everything seemed in shape. Then a few rounds later shooting in DA, pull the trigger and click...nothing happened. Failure to fire. After about 6 attempts the hammer finally connected and a round was fired. Has anyone had these problems with makarovs before?

 

[usp9]

Sometimes the safety lever can move just enough to block the hammer from the firing pin. It's a slim margin of error. Make sure it is all the way down when shooting.

The spark thing...I don't know except crappy commie ammo maybe???

 

[azhunter12]

That cheap gun!!

Sell it to me.

 

[Archibald Tuttle]

I'm thinking it was the safety lever blocking the hammer. I'll try it out monday. As for the sparks, it could be the ammo, I have two different kinds and I'll compare the two as well.

 

[Jason_G]

I don't know about sparks, but the firing pin channel could be gunked up. Did you look at the primers on the rounds that failed to go off? If there was no dent at all, I would think the safety moved, but if there's a slight shallow dent from the pin, it would probably be some carbon or rust or something crudding up the channel and slowing that pin down on its way to the primer (Mak's have free floating firing pins).

Jason

 

[usp9]

...were shooting some Makarovs that we had just purchased ...

I concur with the firing pin channel suggestion too. Mine came with grease in it that allowed the pin to move, but not completely freely. This is one gun where pipe cleaners come in real handy.

 

[Teakwood]

Before you do anything else, check the firing pin channel and clean it.
Gunk build up can lead to slam fire.

 

[Rodgerp]

As far as the sparks. I shoot a lot of Silver and Brown Bear. They both throw a lot of sparks.

And I concur, clean the FP channel.

Rodger

 

[tinygnat219]

S&B Czech surplus ammo tends to throw sparks too.

 

[brentn]

Remington ammo I use throws sparks like crazy, as in defenite sparks coming out of the muzzle at each shot. I think its pretty normal, just depends on the brand of ammunition you use.

 

[alamo]

I get sparks often with different ammo. Was it just one round that failed to fire? It could be just a round with an unusually hard primer or possibly what was previously mentioned.

 

[grimjaw]

Concur with Silver Bear + Makarov = sparks.

jm

 

[Mojo-jo-jo]

Much of the surplus and new eastern European ammo puts out loads of sparks. I haven't had this happen in any other calibers except Makarov, but it seems pretty common. Usually very dirty powder.

On your failure to fire, you say that the hammer didn't connect? That would be VERY odd on a Makarov. The disconnecter on a Makarov is a solid milled part, and the only ways it would fail to connect would be a worn mainspring (it doubles as disconnecter spring) or SEVERE wear to the disconnecter or hammer. I would doubt that a disconnecter or hammer that worn would EVER connect!

If the trigger bar/disconnecter and hammer are indeed connecting, take a good look at the firing pin and firing pin channel. I did have one that had been dry fired A LOT, and the back end of the firing pin was mushroomed slightly. This made it fail to fire on occasion. A replacement firing pin completely solved the problem. Also be sure that the firing pin channel is clean. It gets surprisingly dirty very quickly. Use a pipe cleaner and some solvent to clean it out.

Of course, it could all be just a bad lot of primers.

 

[cocojo]

Put a magnet on the bullet projectile if it sticks the sparks are from the steel bullet going down the barrel. Many Russian ammo makers use bimetal to form their bullet jackets. The cases can be steel and bullets are bimetal. No need to fear Makarov guns have chrome linings for this reason. As for the misfire or hangup I have seen this before. If you pull the trigger and the hammer moves slightly forward and stops, you have a frame problem. If you pull the slide off and look to the right side where the hammer pin is in it's hole, it may be oversized. Pull the trigger slightly back and see if the hammer pin moves upward in the hole. Sometimes these hammer pin holes enlarge . You can also check it this way. Make sure the gun is unloaded pull the trigger and when the hammer stops without completely falling, push the hammer just slightly to the right if the hammer falls you have this problem. The fix, new frame or a real good gunsmith who can build up the inside of the hole just enough to stop the problem, plus allowing you to taken the hammer in & out. These are some of the problems when buying surplus guns. Good luck

 

[joneb]

You should be able to here the firing pin slide back and forth in the channel when the gun is pointed up and then down.
It's possible that the safety is encountering your thumb while firing if the safety is partially engaged it will slow the hammer down enough to cause a FTF.

After about 6 attempts the hammer finally connected and a round was fired.

After the first hammer drop the safety should have moved back to the fire position.
Are you sure the slide was all the way in battery ?

 

[sgphoto]

Not being a smartass, but be sure you're shooting a true Makarov, not one of of those 9x18 pistols (like a PA-63) "mistakenly" referred to as a Makarov.

Steve

 

[Teakwood]

One more thing.
The mechanism of the Makarov is such that the trigger must be fully released between shots in order for it to re-engage.

Oh yeah - the spark thing. The powder that the Russians use often produces a lot of sparks. As I recall, the ammo from the Barnaul plant was particularly sparky. It is because of the powder they use, which is slower burning and intended for rifles. It has nothing to do with friction caused by the steel jacket.