A couple of Makarov questions...

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Just picked up a Bulgarian Makarov at a local gunshow. Good condition, 2 mags, cleaning rod, and spare "thumbrest" grips. I gave it a preliminary cleaning tonight, got most of the cosmoline out, but I have a question or two.

1. What areas should be lubed, and how much? I'm somewhat experienced with modern poly autoloaders and 1911s, but the Mak is new to me.

2. How seriously a cleaning does this pistol need to be safe? I'm not afraid to detail-strip if I have to, but it is necessary, before the first firing?

3. I know the firing pin is free-floating. But... should it have any friction in the firing pin channel, or should it just glide with no resistance?

4. Best tool/material for cleaning the FP channel if the answer to #3 is "glide with no resistance"?

Avoiding slam-fires, if that is a real risk, is my biggest concern at the moment.

Thanks!

 

[grimjaw]

1. I usually lube *very lightly* the following: frame/slide contact; a bit around the hammer pivot point; trigger/disconnector contact; outside of barrel.

2. Detail stripping a Makarov PM is extremely easy, and it is highly recommended you do so before first firing. I can detail strip mine minus the extractor in less than three minutes, to include driving out the pivot pin for the trigger guard. Once you've got that done, field stripping is all that's necessary on a regular basis.

3. You should be able to hear the firing pin rattle forward and back if you shake the pistol.

4. I use pipe cleaners to clean the FP channel. The right size boresnake would also work. Hoppes #9 or BreakFree CLP are the cleaners I use.

Look up a post by BamBam-31 from last year to see the potential danger of slamfires/stuck firing pins with these.

Makarov.com is an excellent source of info for the Makarov. I've also found the Makarov forum on Gunboards.com to be very useful, and the people polite and informed.

Good luck with your Mak, and welcome!

jmm

 

[wrangler5]

Just picked up a Bulgarian Makarov at a local gunshow. Good condition, 2 mags, cleaning rod, and spare "thumbrest" grips. I gave it a preliminary cleaning tonight, got most of the cosmoline out, but I have a question or two.

1. What areas should be lubed, and how much? I'm somewhat experienced with modern poly autoloaders and 1911s, but the Mak is new to me.

2. How seriously a cleaning does this pistol need to be safe? I'm not afraid to detail-strip if I have to, but it is necessary, before the first firing?

3. I know the firing pin is free-floating. But... should it have any friction in the firing pin channel, or should it just glide with no resistance?

4. Best tool/material for cleaning the FP channel if the answer to #3 is "glide with no resistance"?

Avoiding slam-fires, if that is a real risk, is my biggest concern at the moment.

Thanks!

1. For openers I'd say you need to be sure there is lube on the slide/frame rails and on the barrel and recoil spring. Then a drop of oil on the trunions for the hammer and sear and you've pretty much got all of the stressed moving parts. I use BreakFree, and others have other preferences. You do NOT want lube on the firing pin or in the firing pin channel.


2. You do not want any cosmoline in the hammer/sear/disconnector areas. If those parts were cosmo soaked, then a detail strip would be prudent. If the cosmo was only external, then go have fun and clean up the innards afterward.

3. The firing pin is supposed to run dry in its channel. You should be able to hear it rattle if you shake the gun forward and back along the axis of the bore. If you can't hear it rattle then you need to clean things up so it does rattle. The firing pin is very light weight, and a Mak in good operating condition will NOT slam fire from closing of the side, and will NOT go off if dropped from any "normal" height (I think I read of a test that said a twenty foot - 2 story - drop might set one off if it landed with the muzzle straight down.)

4. I use a pipe cleaner, with BreakFree on about an inch of one end to clean things out, then use the other (dry) end to dry things out. Usually use a second dry pipe cleaner to be sure things are dry, and then a shot of canned air to blow out any lint.

Enjoy your Mak. I find them a lot of fun to shoot and easy to shoot accurately. Lots of good information on makarov.com. Be aware, though, that they can be addictive - I bought my first (a Bulgarian) in December, and within two weeks had bought an East German. (It's easy if you have a Curio and Relic collector's license.) Just bought a second East German a couple of weeks ago. I carry one of the EGs daily, will keep the second EG as a spare and a shooter, and plan to install a 22 conversion unit on the Bulgarian more or less permanently. If I could find a Russian military model I'd probably buy one of those too, just to round out the "collection."

 

[ulflyer]

Grimjaw: good info. I just recently got a couple of Maks. Is the purpose of taking the trigger guard off so that other parts can be dissasembled for cleaning? I've only pulled the slide so far and haven't checked the firing pin as you suggested. I'll do that before the next firing.

 

[Optical Serenity]

great pics!

Grimjaw, your post makes me want to buy a new Makarov!

 

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Thanks very much for the comprehensive replies! I think most of the cosmoline was external, but I'll double-check and detail-strip if necessary and definitely do the pipe cleaner thing. Yes, it is a really neat little pistol. When I first fieldstripped it and checked out how the parts interacted, I was kind of amazed at the simplicity and sensibility of the design. Anyhow, thanks again for the info and the welcome!

 

[alamo]

I use Q-tips to clean out the firing pin channel. You have to pull a bit of the cotton off the tip to get it in.

 

[grimjaw]

ulflyer, removing the trigger guard is unnecessary unless you're going to change the trigger guard, spring, or barrel.

Qtips are also a good suggestion, +1. Compared to some guns, getting to the firing pin channel on the Mak is a cakewalk.

jmm

 

[lee n. field]

1. What areas should be lubed, and how much? I'm somewhat experienced with modern poly autoloaders and 1911s, but the Mak is new to me.

Where the slide contacts the frame, with a little grease, is all I do.

2. How seriously a cleaning does this pistol need to be safe? I'm not afraid to detail-strip if I have to, but it is necessary, before the first firing?

Do the detail strip. It's good experience, and it's not a complicated gun.

3. I know the firing pin is free-floating. But... should it have any friction in the firing pin channel, or should it just glide with no resistance?

4. Best tool/material for cleaning the FP channel if the answer to #3 is "glide with no resistance"?

Clean it out real good with a Q-tip. After that check the channel periodically. I've had crud build up in there that I've had to clean out with a bent paper clip, but never enough to interfere with function.

Avoiding slam-fires, if that is a real risk, is my biggest concern at the moment.

Clean it real good, lube it minimally, you should be fine.

 

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Ok, cleaned the firing pin channel with Q-tips and compressed air, now the firing pin rattles in there properly. Still haven't done the detail strip, but the innards of the receiver look pretty clean. I lubed it up and everything seems to work properly - trigger is comparatively smooth, etc. Is a stuck firing pin the only potential cause of a slamfire? I don't know if I have the time/inclination for my first detail strip before my next scheduled range trip (it may be academic, I don't know if they have any 9x18 Makarov ammo in stock anyway), should I wait to fire until detail-stripping the frame or is the firing pin channel the only safety issue? For the record, I'm not looking for an ironclad guarantee of personal safety from strangers on the internet, just wondering, based on the wide experience here at THR, what I should be worried about and what I shouldn't. Thanks for the replies!

 

[grimjaw]

A couple of things you can check beforehand:

- There are other possibilties for problems. You could have a busted or worn sear(?). To check for a glaring problem try this with weapon unloaded.

1. Cock the hammer.
2. With pistol pointed in a safe direction, pull trigger.
3. Maintain full pressure on the trigger, and while holding it, rack the slide again.
4. If the hammer stays back even with the trigger fully back through repeated tries, most likely OK. If it does not, that's a problem and dangerous. This is true of most DA/SA semi-automatic pistols, not just the Makarov. Luckily it's an easy fix and parts are available cheap to do so in the case of the Mak.

- You can do what I do the first time I try any Makarov, even after detail strip/clean. Load no more than one round at a time, and work your way up from there. If it does go auto on you, hopefully it will only be two rounds.

I might be a little overcautious when I first get a Mak, but once it's proven safe, I end up treating it like crap. I haven't cleaned my last Mak in, oh, 350-400 rounds? It refuses to malfunction. It's been frozen in a car and baked in an oven (cosmoline removal). Gotta love it.

jmm

 

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Ok, will do. Thanks grimjaw!

 

[ulflyer]

Before putting a couple boxes of ammo thru the E.Ger yesterday, I checked the firing pin and it clearly "rattled". Found that it shoots low with a rear #2 sight in it. Am trying to locate a taller one on the Mak forums, traders, etc. If anyone has one to get rid of, please let me know. Little critters are surely easy to clean.

 

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- There are other possibilties for problems. You could have a busted or worn sear(?). To check for a glaring problem try this with weapon unloaded.

1. Cock the hammer.
2. With pistol pointed in a safe direction, pull trigger.
3. Maintain full pressure on the trigger, and while holding it, rack the slide again.
4. If the hammer stays back even with the trigger fully back through repeated tries, most likely OK. If it does not, that's a problem and dangerous. This is true of most DA/SA semi-automatic pistols, not just the Makarov. Luckily it's an easy fix and parts are available cheap to do so in the case of the Mak.

jmm

Ok, I did this test. Just to make sure I did it right: I cleared the pistol and dropped the magazine. I manually cocked the hammer, and pulled the trigger. I kept the trigger in the full rearward position, and racked the slide. The first time, of course, it re-cocked the hammer, which had fallen when I pulled the trigger. Upon subsequent slide-rackings, with trigger maintained in the rearward position, the hammer remained cocked and did not fall. All else being equal, this is good, yes? Thanks for the info!

 

[wrangler5]

<snip> Upon subsequent slide-rackings, with trigger maintained in the rearward position, the hammer remained cocked and did not fall. All else being equal, this is good, yes?

That's exactly what you want to have happen. Add in a free-floating (i.e. rattling) firing pin and you will not get more than one shot per pull of the trigger.

 

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Mini range report. Thanks, by the way, wrangler5. Just put 50 rounds of S&B through it, no problems. Started out with one round, then two, then three, on to full magazines. The 9x18 bullets made peculiar holes in the target - the first time I fired the pistol, I thought it had doubled. Then I realized I had loaded a magazine with only one round. Perhaps it keyholed? No, upon closer inspection, each shot made a hole with a downward-pointing vertical tear (I was using a target I don't normally buy - perhaps it was the paper.). But the pistol was plenty accurate, at least by my standards. The DA trigger was no worse than my USP , and the SA trigger was fine. The decocker/safety functioned correctly, as well. The bore certainly appears to be in excellent shape. It's a very easy pistol to disassemble and clean, although putting the slide back on is a chore. Maybe mine needs some break-in, or I have yet to condition the muscle memory to the exact sweet spot where it slides back on and into battery.

I must say, the Makarov has the most unpleasant recoil of any pistol I own...and I have guns in .45ACP and 10mm. It's of course the unforgiving shape and material of the grip and frame, rather than the actual recoil, which is very mild. All in all, a fun but robust and effective little Slavic mousegun. I'll have to try some modern JHP defense ammo in it. Hard to imagine a much-better auto for even twice the money. Thanks for previous replies to this thread, the help is appreciated.

 

[lee n. field]

I must say, the Makarov has the most unpleasant recoil of any pistol I own...and I have guns in .45ACP and 10mm.

That it does. That it does. The Pearce fat rubber grip helps with this. YMMV. I went back to a stock hard rubber grip.

Shoot it for a good long while. It's virtues will become obvious to you with time.

 

[rde]

They sell a heavier recoil spring at makarov.com that helps tame the recoil as well. It is inexpensive and probably a good investment since installing a brand new recoil spring ensures you know that you don't have one that is worn out (which can prevent damage).

 

[frankt]

I took my Russian commercial to the range a week or so ago. I had not taken it out of the safe except to wipe down and fondle in a long time.

I shot 100 rounds of the barnaul ammo and it performed great. I did not have a single problem. I did wear through the skin on top of my thumb where the slide must have been grazing me.

I really hate this once inexpensive plentiful pistol is becoming expensive and hard to find. I wish I had bought a Bulgarian a few years ago when you could carry one out the door for $140 with a holster and extra magazine.

 

[ambidextrous1]

You're in good hands, Default; I can't improve on what you've been told.

Ulflyer, have you considered shaving a bit off the top of the front sight to correct a low POI?

 

[ulflyer]

Mak Kicks...Naahhh

Ambidex: Since that initial report in Feb, I ordered a taller rear from Mak.com and it now fires POA. Also, have since bought a NIB bulgarian that shoots nearly POA...have to cover the bull to hit it. German went into storage and Bulg has become my CCW.

As to kick, if find that its less so than my 1908 Colt Hammerless 380 which I had become fond of for carry. I can shoot a couple boxes at at time thru the Mak without any discomfort whereas with the Colt it was a couple of mags. Course, diff people have diff sensibilities to recoil.

If you want to really hurt, get a NAA Guardian 380! Carried it for awhile but like to be able to regularly shoot...and enjoy...any gun I carry. The Guardian ain't no fun to shoot.

 

[Ad Astra]

The Hogue Handall rubber grip sleeve really changes the recoil feel, too.

Under $10, a cheap fix.

 

[Hollowdweller]

I have an IJ70 I bought years ago and what a great and great shooting little gun.

It has a jump, but I never felt that it was unpleasant.

Two of my guns I can shoot the tightest and the cheapest are my Makarov and CZ82. Both 9x18. I got 2000 rounds of 9x18 when AIM had it for 90 for 1000 earlier this year and have been having a ball with both the little guns.

You will love yours! Buy a case of ammo and after the first few hundred you will amaze yourself!

 

[Ivy Mike]

I picked up a Makawrap from Makarov.com a couple years back and have been pretty happy with it. The finger grooves didn't really suit me, so a couple quick passes with an xacto knife removed the offending rubber from the front strap and left me with a thin, easy to handle and comfy shooter.
Mine is one of the Arsenal "special edition" models, chambered in .380 as imported by the now-defunct Miltex Inc. Great bluing job and the trigger isn't as gritty as some others I've handled. Very nice weapon.