I went Mak nuts....some makarov questions and such

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orangeninja

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Hello all, I'm a newbie here but felt it appropriate to join as I have recently aquired 3 Maks......yep, all at the same time. 2 Unissued Bulgies with sequential serials and 1 that had the novak job done on the sights.......which will soon see much carry.

My questions are as follows....

1.) Is it possible to put the recoil spring on backwards? How do you know which way it is supposed to go?

2.) Hornady rounds.....I carry them in my 9mm.....how are they in the Maks?

3.) This is a touchy question which may cause some purists to black out......but should I have novak type sights installed on my 2 sequentially numbered maks? I'm not a collector and they will see use........unless someone wants to swap me 3 non-sequentially numbered maks for my 2.

4.) If I want sights installed, who does this type of work nowadays?

5.) Wolff springs, a must?
 
Can answer one question.Have two bulgie maks and Hornadys feed thru and are accurate .Also, use 115gr Silverbear JHPs.These are the same as above comments.Russian JHPs seem to expand as much or about the same as other JHPs.That said, I would rather trust my bacon to Hornadys in a deadly self defense scenario.Go to www.makarov.com and check out the velocity and expansion testing on most of the 9by18 rounds.Oh eyees. The recoil spring can be put in backwards.Small end first towards the chamber.And while you are the Makarov site.Check out the gun sight possiblities.I'm not a purist.Not even a puritan:rolleyes: So if you change sights there won't be this:uhoh: I'll let the other more knowledgeable gunnys take over.Exit,stage left:D
 
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Who does the work? Good question. Novak themselves do installs -- why don't you call them and see if they'll do a Mak.
 
They aren't Pythons.

Don't worry about the collector's value. Maks are fantastic, and the sights are the only weakness I've found. If you look into the pistol with a mag inserted and the slide back, you'll see how high the top round is. The feed ramp barely enters the equation with these. Hornady is my choice of carry ammo for Mak, and I think you'll like the way it shoots.
Another option for your front sight "on the cheap" is to do what I'm doing, and cut off the front sight and drill/tap the slide for 6/48 thread, and add a trijicon shotgun bead sight. Tritium bead in a solid housing, and only $29 from Brownell's.
 
Orangninja said
“Hello all, I'm a newbie here but felt it appropriate to join”
but you’re listed as
Senior Member
Join Date: 12-04-03
Posts: 2,632

“Jugot some splainin to do, Lucy.”

Are you just new to handguns??? This section of THR??? Or???

I agree, on the Silver Bear 115JHP, much heavier bullet at higher velocity than the Hornady round.
 
Whoops.............well, this is a cut and paste from the Makarov forum........that I posted there. I am a newbie here but I've been around the block a couple of times here. Whoopsie.:eek:
 
Welcome to the collective, Comrade! :evil:
Wolff springs, a must?
Not an absolute must, but if you're shooting high performance ammo, it will probably save your Makarov from some wear-and-tear. Some claim that the Wolff springs reduce felt recoil. All I know is that 19# springs didn't hurt at all in mine, and I have had ZERO failures of any kind with my Mak. Others have reported similar results with Wolff springs. I think the Wolff springs are a good thing, and the price isn't bad. :D

The recoil spring should have to be twisted to get it over the barrel, and to remove it.

Enjoy your Maks!
Dirty Bob
 
Maks aren't collectors items so I wouldn't worry about changing sights on them. As for the Wolff spring, I'd definately consider it. It reduces recoil a bit and with heavier loads, it reduces stress on the gun. I almost never recommend Russian ammo for carry, or even for plinking with most guns, but the Silver Bear 115 grain loads are a good choice for the Mak.
 
Da comrade. Just listen to teacher tovarich.:uhoh: :eek: :cuss: :banghead: :( :neener: Have fun with your Mak is vhat I'm tryin to say. Ve have vays of making you have fun,Ya.:D The Sour Kraut exits stage left.
 
I'm no expert at anything, but I wouldn't mess with the sight on those two just "because." You can always change them if you want to, but you can't ever change them back to original.
 
I have a East German and have not been able to bring myself to change the sights yet. I put in the 19# recoil spring in and I have not hade any problems during hundreds of rounds. I also put new springs in every magazine I purchase for it. You used to be able to find a lot of magazines which were inexpensive. Now it it harder to come by them and they have gone up in price.
 
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