Russian Sidearm

Are these pistols currently being imported?

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No. Back in 1998 the US and Russia signed a Voluntary Restraint Agreement. Still in effect. Which sucks.

Lastly. Anyone ever fired one of these? (If so, what were your impressions?)

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Got to fire one when on travel a year or so ago. Just fired six rounds, so not a whole lot of time to really evaluate the pistol. Felt very solid, but the grips just did not feel comfortable to me at all (to the point of being distracting). In terms of felt recoil, I thought there was a lot more snap in this compared to the CZ-75 (a frame of reference, since both are full sized 9mm all steel pistols). But, afterwards I learned that the 9mm round they use in the Grach is a hotter than our 9mm round. A basic, no-nonsense pistol from what I could see.

Even without this agreement between the US and Russia one can't import service firearms for civilian sales - that means no Grach, GsH 18, SVD and etc. BTW, Grach has a civilian version with polymer frame - MP 446 Viking.

Boris

Well, there's always the Bulgarian version of the Makarov. They're good guns. I own and sometimes carry one. Good trigger, and accurate, too. It's not a Grach, but it's still a nice example of Russian engineering. It has some features, such as a decocker and a double-action first-round trigger, that weren't seen on American guns until decades later. It even has a full hammer block, even with the safety off.

I looked for one of these a few years ago, and I found out what wojownik said was true. Kinda makes me sad, seems like a really solid 9mm and it would fit in with all my other post-com firearms.

Drooling over "forbidden" Russian weapons is a popular sport. Until one handles them in person... It goes something like this: "Why is this huge gap over there?", "Does it really need a 15 pound SA trigger pull?", "So, rust is the new tactical finish, right?" and "Ouch! I just cut myself while inserting the magazine!"

Boris

P.S. But they do work... Sometimes. If you manage to flip the safety off without using heavy-duty pliers.

Beretta 92FS is not a service firearm - M9 pistol is the service sidearm in the US. My information is that a civilian person in Russia can't posses any handgun, not only service ones. Only private security guards and such are allowed to carry, while working, a .380 ACP pistol. And the gun is owned by the company that employs them.

Boris

Beretta 92FS is not a service firearm - M9 pistol is the service sidearm in the US. My information is that a civilian person in Russia can't posses any handgun, not only service ones. Only private security guards and such are allowed to carry, while working, a .380 ACP pistol. And the gun is owned by the company that employs them.

Boris

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I saw a documentary on Russian gun ownership once. Apparently you can own a handgun with a license and the only ammo available are rubber bullets.

Okiegunner said:

The most current military sidearm of Russia is the Yarygin "Grach". All steel constuction, 17+1, 9mm. This pistol was originally adopted in 2003, but until recently was in limited service issue. Made at Izhevsk.

A few questions...

Are these pistols currently being imported?

If so, by whom?

How much?

Lastly. Anyone ever fired one of these? (If so, what were your impressions?)

From the pictures and the descriptions, it looks like a really solid, well made, rugged sort of firearm.

Gunner

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Why bother? You can get older Ruger P-series in top shape for about $300.
In places like Russia only elite police units get the Glock regular guys get domestic stuff.

I saw a documentary on Russian gun ownership once. Apparently you can own a handgun with a license and the only ammo available are rubber bullets.

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I stand corrected. Those are called "trauma handguns" - technically it's a firearm, but in reality they use an underpowered round shooting a soft rubber ball and are scarily inadequate to perform up to the intended task. But it's better than nothing, right?

Okiegunner, in a nutshell, we can own (as private citizens, with the correct license) almost everything, except full-auto firearms and short barreled shotguns. Those last two categories require a permit that is somewhat similar to yours "C&R license" and one can not shoot them - the chamber/s are blocked with a soft metal plug and stamped with sealing wax from the local police station.

Boris