how to choose a makarov

[whatever]

I have recently become intrigued with the makarov pistols. I'm not sure if it is the cool-looking design, its reputation as a tank, or the abundance of inexpensive ammo, but I like them. I'm guessing there will be a few to choose from at the houston gun show a few weeks from now. For the moment I want to avoid buying online.

My problem is I've never purchased a used firearm and I don't know what to look for...in a makarov in particular.

Any tips on buying a mak? Things I should look for? Price I should pay? Common mistakes first time mak buyers make that I can avoid?

 

[fletcher]

First thing is to make sure it's an actual Makarov, and not one of the Polish P-64s people sometimes advertise as Makarovs.

Any make will perform very well. Bulgarians are the least expensive, and considered lower quality (still very good though). Price and quality will increase with Russian and East German Maks, with the latter considered the best. There are a handful of double stack Makarovs around as well. Last I checked, a Bulgarian should be roughly $250 or less, depending on condition.

There are 9x18 and .380 variants around (or may have had barrels changed). Make sure you're getting the caliber you want.

If you buy one, make sure the firing pin moves freely. A known, but uncommon, problem is that old cosmoline may make it stick and result in a slamfire. There's a thread here somewhere where a guy suffered quite a hand injury from this. Don't worry though, a good cleaning will take care of it.

 

[broken]

good luck finding one,unless you buy off gunbroker,the gunshows are crazy on prices,small .32/.380 or 9x18 pistols have doubled or over in price, i cant believe what a makarov,pa63,cz70 are going for ,used to be 125.00 pistols.

 

[harmon rabb]

JG Sales has Bulgarian Makarovs for $230 -- http://www.jgsales.com/index.php/handguns/makarov/cPath/16_151

 

[JDGray]

the abundance of inexpensive ammo

Please tell?

Love my Baikal IJ-70, but factory ammo isn't cheap.

 

[fallout mike]

And make sure it isn't a pa-63.

 

[harmon rabb]

Please tell?

http://www.aimsurplus.com/catalog.aspx?groupid=45&name=9x18+Makarov

there you go. $9.25 per box of cheap fmj. $10.95 per box of cheap jhp. ignore the prvi stuff, i see no point, these guns gobble down steel cased ammo like a fat chick eats a twinkie.

 

[vellocet]

I have two, both russian, one standard and one hi-cap. I had to polish up the feed ramps on both of them to get perfect feed. Does anyone know if anyone has any hi-cap mags for sale?

 

[MADDOG]

"how to choose a makarov"
Go to a gun show and find the tables with the Makarov's on them. Pick out the best one or maybe even two of them. Pay the man and go have fun shooting your new Makarov. Academy Sports and Outdoors has Russian ammo for $9.99 for a box of 50. I have several of them and I really do like them. Check out---www.makarov.com---I think you can still get info there.

 

[Pilot]

The best deals will be on the Bulgarians or Russian Commerical (adjustable sights). Both good guns. I'd try to find a Bulgie though. Buying these on line, even used, from a reputable dealer is fine.

 

[M2 Carbine]

Check the thumb safety. Make sure that it doesn't freely move from the fire position.

One thing that's a poor design with the Mak is the safety retention spring.

The first time I ran into this problem some years ago it was hell to figure out.
The gun would fire normally, than randomly not fire.
If the trigger was pulled a second time the gun would fire.
When the gun didn't fire and I looked it over everything appeared normal and always the gun would fire the next time.

Finally one day I decided to look the gun over after every shot. I found the problem.
Randomly the thumb safety would move about half way between "fire" and "safe" when the gun was fired.
On the next trigger pull the hammer would hit the safety causing it to rotate to the "fire" position. The hammer did not hit the firing pin, so the gun did not fire.
When I looked at the gun everything appeared normal because the hammer had knocked the safety back to the fire position.
I finally saw the problem and corrected it by bending out the safety spring.
The safety did not appear to be so loose that it would move on it's own but it was.


Since then I have heard of this problem several times and told the people what was going on and how to fix it.


Personally I never use the thumb safety.

 

[tpelle]

Also note that the Mak safety moves in the "wrong" direction compared to other pistols with a safety lever on the slide - down = fire on a MAK.

It used to be one of the best things about a MAK, at least the single-stack ones, was the huge supply of cheap magazines. You could buy good quality of Mak mags for $6 to $8 bucks each all day long.

I have a Bulgarian Mak that I bought back when the Mak craze was at its height. I recall I paid about $125 for it, and it looked to be unfired. Beautiful honest to God old fashion blue finish. Great trigger pull. Accurate. Reliable. Tiny sights, though. I got rid of the black plastic thumb-rest "target" grips and swapped on a pair of authentic "Red Star" grips. Keep in mind that you may need a slightly shorter grip screw, as it goes in from the back and the one that fit the black thumb-rest grips was too long when used with the Red Stars. I recall that it was a 5mm thread size (may be wrong, though), so I went to the hardware store and bought a pack of nuts that size, threaded one on to the grip screw with just the amount I wanted to remove sticking out, and ground the excess off down to the nut. Removing the nut chased the threads.

 

[vellocet]

Just to mention, the instructions that came with my commercial mak said not to work the slide with the pistol set on safe.

 

[JDGray]

there you go. $9.25 per box of cheap fmj. $10.95 per box of cheap jhp. ignore the prvi stuff, i see no point, these guns gobble down steel cased ammo like a fat chick eats a twinkie.

Not bad, but I'm at $6/50 reloading, but what a pita coverting 9mm luger brass into 9x18!! May be worth the extra cost to buy golden bear

 

[ac398]

Before you go to the gun show go to Makarov.com and go to their FAQ section, this will have all the info you need to make an informed decision about what type of Makarov youre buying. It will give you the info on the different countries of origin, serial numbers and date codes, and production stamping, as well as sights. The suggested prices on Makarov.com are a little low since it isnt updated anymore as the business side shut down.

This pretty much a list of the best quality,most expensive and sought after Maks in order

*** Chinese Norinco Maks seem to command the largest money because there are so few of them available in USA but from the info thats out there they are a grab bag of quality and even the best quality chinese are comparable to the soviet military spec mak.

1 Simson- Suhl- Post unification Germany, widely regarded as best quality and fit and finish, excellent triggers, also the only Makarov that slide can be racked on when safety is on

2 East German, great quality aslo, pretty sought after, ive seen gunbroker prices anywhere from $325 to $450

3 Russian military spec- only came with fixed sights, good quaity guns but fit and finish is not as good as the Germans, but like all Maks great reliable gun. Pretty much on par with the Bulgariansexcept these are much more sought after by collectors since these were issued to the soviet military.

4 Bulgarian, quality about same as Russian miltary Mak except do not command the price of a russian due to them not being real collectors pieces, and these were made in Bulgaria till 99, theres a lot more of them out there. can find a good quality one for $200-$300

5 Russian Commercial Models- all have target adjustable sights and seem to be the least sought after due to the sights, theres got to be some other reason but im not sure exactly why.

So theres a little info man Im telling you to check out Makarov.com FAQs youll get all the info you need to make a good decision. Make yourself familiar with the markings and etchings so youre sure you know what youre getting and if youre just looking for a great shooter get a Bulgarian if you want collectible then thats up to you.

 

[trlhrv]

I have two Bulgarians, two Russians, and one E. German. The E. German seems to have a little better workmanship but the others shoot just as well. They are getting harder to find and more expensive than five years ago. I read the Chinese variation is the better pistol but have never seen one.

 

[Dr.Rob]

E. German guns are to me, the best of the lot.