How Do You Feel About Your P-64 Now ?

I bought P-64 mainly because I like Russian and Soviet era weapons. When I compare the P-64 to my Bulgarian & Russian Makarovs, I rank it at the bottom of the three. I did change out the springs and that helped the recoil, but it is still at the bottom of the pile. All my guns are shooters, but this is not one that gets to go to the range very often.

I had one for a dedicated vehicle gun. The thing was tough as a tank, reliable as all get out, and crazy accurate. The downside was the sharp recoil made it miserable to enjoy shooting. I eventually sold it for something else that didn't just destroy the web of my hand.

Compared with other $200 guns on the market today, the P64 is leagues ahead of the competition.

SC Shooter sums up my experience totally with the recoil and locating the 64 at the bottom of the list. As far as a list assigned Com Bloc countries by far the top of my list would be my CZ 82's which are great shooters, safe and have a "Load and lock" feature that I really like. As far as my true Makarov's I would rank them EG, Bulgarian (I have the unissued ones from SOG) and Russian, still looking for a Chinese version and the collection of a Soviet calibered firearms (like FEG, PA 63, Tokorev's etc.) should be complete . Now where did I put that great Concealed Carry pistol....my Nagant revolver?

I bought one at the local GM a few weeks back for 209.00. I took it to the range last Sat. and put nearly two boxes of Wolf ammo through it. I could hardly run a full mag(6rounds) without some type of failure to feed. This very well may be more of a magazine problem than the pistol itself. The real bummer is that the safety/decocker latch broke just before I finished shooting the 2nd box. I've been looking all over the web trying to find a replacement part with no luck at all. Replacement mags appear very pricey and are typically used when you find them. The little pistol is very accurate but as has been mentioned, really punishes the webbing between the thumb and forefinger. If anyone knows where to locate parts for these guns, I'd really appreciate it!:banghead:

I had one for brief while and quite shockingly mine had pretty good double and single action trigger pulls. I traded mine towards R9 pistol and that proved to be excellent decision because after that I stopped looking at carry pistols. If I wanted range toy today I would buy inexpensive 9x19 pistol instead, because inexpensive ammo is easy to find. Walmart for example carries Federal Aluminum, PMC and Perfecta brands.

There is a P64 forum that is a huge resource. Check over there for parts.

I have several Makarovs, and a couple of Polish P-83's which I find superior to the P-64. For me the P-64 is a little small, but a spring kit does help trigger pull, and they are a viable carry gun.

Mine was $156 from J&G ...... when it arrived it looked basically new.
I think it was a great deal a few years ago and I still think that today.
The P-64 fits right in with my Makarov and PA-63.

I'm still happy with mine.

I installed the hammer spring and recoil spring kits after the first range trip, it's not unpleasant to shoot now and it's small enough to pocket. I can't carry at work so mine goes into the console of my vehicle every day so that it's available to pocket if I need to run errands on the way home from work.

When I tried to use my P-64 "two handed" (you know like they do on TV), I found I had better accuracy, control, and comfort.

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That pretty much sums up why everyone (outside of movies, Bullseye, and Olympic competitions) uses a two-handed grip to shoot pistols.

Compact gun with excellent accuracy.

That said, I haven't touched mine in years. The blowback action makes it impossible to shoot nekkid cast bullets without making significant amounts of smoke. And I'd rather pick up a Glock than to Easy Bake my bullets.

And just FYI, in case you haven't heard my broken record, yet, you might want to know that the drop safety design of the P64 is bad. Hammer down, safety off is an accident waiting to happen. I keep the safety on when carrying this gun.

GLOOB said:

The blowback action makes it impossible to shoot nekkid cast bullets without making significant amounts of smoke. And I'd rather pick up a Glock than to Easy Bake my bullets.

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GLOOB, I'm not a reloader, so I don't understand what you mean. Powder smoke or some kind of vaporized lead?

Likely he means the lube from the cast lead bullets.

Thanks, Olympus!

Did my best to give it a chance. Three middle-aged friends "carry" the original, with no mods. The DA trigger & recoil of my only PPK/S was so similar tp the P-64 that I sold it.
Am happy for the owners who enjoy them.

Another "two thumbs up" for the Polish P-83s, three Makarovs and the CZ-82. Well-kept secret here : The DA trigger on my pair of P-83s is better (more consistent pressure, and smooth) than on the standard EG Mak.
A "sticky" with large, clear photos at the top of "Makarov.com" evaluates the 83's design/production.

gearhead: did you find that after changing the 64's springs, the SA trigger was very light?

I've had this one for a couple of years. It's my BU gun on my LTC. Personally, I think they are superb little pistols and I actually like shooting mine. I don't know why but I think everyone over-hypes two things about the P64:

1. Man this thing has some kick!
Seriously? Man up gentleman! It's stinging the web of your hand? I must either have hands of steel or everyone else out in gun land is a wimp. I shoot my friends S&W M29 with full house .44 Mag loads. That gun will put a bit of sting into the web of the hand, but the P64 with wimpy little 9x18 Makarov loads? I shoot my AOW with 3" Magnum Buck or slugs, that will sting your hand a bit too. To me, while I like it, 9x18 Mak is pretty sedate load. Guess it's all relative but jeez, I guess it has a tiny amount of kick, compared to a .22 but my daughter was shooting it at 13, nary a complaint, her grandmother at age 68, nary a complaint.

2. The DA trigger is the worst trigger in history!
It has such a heavy pull that no known trigger scale invented by man can measure it! When I bought mine, yes, the DA trigger was heavy, pretty, pretty heavy. But not terrible, just heavy. But the SA was actually pretty nice and really light. I bought the Wolff Spring kit but then read that when you install, you lighten the DA trigger but also lighten the SA trigger, which on my copy, would result in a hair trigger. Nobody needs a CCW BU gun with a hair trigger so I never installed the Wolff springs. And you know what? With a few hundred rounds down the pipe, the DA trigger has mellowed. It's still heavy but not totally unusable, I can hit with it and then the SA, I am actually pretty accurate with it and I am not a great pistol shot in general. It makes no sense, the sights on the P64 are microscopic, yet, inexplicably, I am more accurate with the P64 than my main carry gun, the S&W M&P Shield. Go figure. I can barely make out the sights but I shoot pretty accurately and consistently with the P64. Beisdes who shoots DA/SA pistols in DA anyway? I even cock my DA/SA revolvers and only occasionally shoot them in DA and they have the worlds nicest DA triggers.

All that said, the P64 is a finely crafted all steel Cold War era pistol that is a hoot. Any C&R collector should have one. Highly recommended. And Marschal Grips from Hungary makes absolutely beautiful custom wood grips for them. And you can use the same holsters as the Walther PPK generally (research this) but few of the holster manufacturers list the P64.

Get one!

I do like mine and though I don't carry it (my not-much-bigger CM9 covers that role), with modern defensive loads, it should be just fine for CCW.

The two things that really stand out with my P64 is how well it seems to be made and how accurate it is. The single action on mine boarders scary-light, but it keeps the pistol from moving when squeezing off a shot.

Overall, I'm happy with mine. I won't be collecting the P64, but I'm glad I made the purchase for the one I have.

I have a P83, P64, a couple of Hungarians, a Russian Mak and a German Mak. The Hungarians are at the bottom of the list in every regard. The 64 in DA is almost unshootable but it is fine in SA. I literally cannot hit a 10" target in DA mode using just my off hand. I haven't tried any modifications so maybe I could "fix" it but I rarely shoot it in DA.

Ignition Override said:

Did my best to give it a chance. Three middle-aged friends "carry" the original, with no mods. The DA trigger & recoil of my only PPK/S was so similar tp the P-64 that I sold it.
Am happy for the owners who enjoy them.

Another "two thumbs up" for the Polish P-83s, three Makarovs and the CZ-82. Well-kept secret here : The DA trigger on my pair of P-83s is better (more consistent pressure, and smooth) than on the standard EG Mak.
A "sticky" with large, clear photos at the top of "Makarov.com" evaluates the 83's design/production.

gearhead: did you find that after changing the 64's springs, the SA trigger was very light?

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It's lighter than I would like, but I try to put 50-60 rounds through it every time I go to the range and that does keep me aware of it.

I like the P64 but recoil is a bit stiff. I'll download it a bit next reload sesion.