Makarov.com going out of business

[PotatoJudge]

Just thought you guys might want to know, makarov.com is going out of business. Makarov.com carries some popular proprietary items that won't be available again anytime soon, so get them while you can. I'm planning on waiting until their inventory is marked down and go ahead with a complete upgrade of my CZ-52 with new rollers, slide release, firing pin, and may pick up some spare parts or whatever else catches my eye.

Kind of sad for me since the CZ-52 was my first pistol and I cruised their site quite a bit at the time. I guess they had their few models they specialized in, and those guns had their "time" for collectors and buyers of cheap milsurps. Anyway, here's wishing them the best.

http://makarov.com/

 

[markmc753]

Karl and George at Mak.com have been great resources of the years... Good luck and God bless!

 

[Banzai Jimmy]

Wow... Thanks for the head's up!

 

[loneviking]

Man, what a disaster. Where do you get those little Makarov odds and ends now? They are great little guns but I'm seriously thinking about selling my CZ 82 as it's a lot of hassle to find ammo, parts and holsters.

 

[wristtwister]

Well, I hate to see them go, but I can sure understand why. They know everything about Maks and CZ's, but they're always out of everything they advertise except the tee shirts, hats, etc. that they can make locally. Nothing ticks me off worse than reading "NEW... Just in"... then when you go to order it ... "SOLD OUT!" It got so bad that I stopped going to the site and started shopping at the gun stores, gun shows, and places like Numrich who don't sell anything but parts.

I hate to see their knowledge go away, however. They knew all the tricks for keeping your guns running properly... like spring weights, etc. to keep them operating without problems.

I wish them good luck, but it isn't hard to understand why their business rolled over. Maybe THR could use them as moderators for a Mak board. They certainly know their stuff... they just always ran out of it when it was on sale.

WT

 

[lee n. field]

Yup, saw that a couple places. I've bought various things from them, off and on, since I got my first Mak in 1997.

Much of what I'm seeing tells me the heyday of the Mak is past. Arsenal ceased production recently. Magazines are much harder to find than they were. Maks aren't the deal they once were, when the surplus pipeline was flowing. Prices on Makarovs are up quite a bit, bringing them into the range of similar guns.

Alas.

Maybe THR could use them as moderators for a Mak board. They certainly know their stuff... they just always ran out of it when it was on sale.

They currently sponsor a Makarov forum on gunboards.com. How long that will last I do not know.

My understanding from what I've seen elsewhere is that they intend to keep the makarov.com site up, minus the stuff for sale. Information only.

Since the Domain is paid up thru 2033 or some such advanced date, Karl has agreed to keep the Website up for as long as it lasts, if the Business is not sold as a Unit. All contact info and Commerical sales info will be removed, but the rest will remain. He didn't sound like he would be doing regular updates on it either, but at least the old info would remain.
__________________
-George

The relevant thread (Makarov.com's George Fisher announcing the closing) on gunboards.

So, yeah. Anyway, got my parts order off yesterday. And I guess this makes my currently unused replacement rear sight for the Baikal Mak that much more valuable -- bwahaha!

 

[Pilot]

Much of what I'm seeing tells me the heyday of the Mak is past. Arsenal ceased production recently. Magazines are much harder to find than they were. Maks aren't the deal they once were, when the surplus pipeline was flowing. Prices on Makarovs are up quite a bit, bringing them into the range of similar guns.

Are Makarovs produced in any country now? Maybe China? Anyway, I think the above statement is correct, however, the Mak will continue to be a fun gun to shoot and a good choice for carry.

 

[lee n. field]

however, the Mak will continue to be a fun gun to shoot and a good choice for carry.

There are still people carrying ancient Colt pocket autos.

If I had to buy now I'd be looking at the CZ-82 (preferably) or the Bersa .380.

Are Makarovs produced in any country now? Maybe China?

Baikal in Russia, I'm pretty sure, but we can't get them. Clinton import ban that Dubya never did anything about.

 

[Pilot]

Baikal in Russia, I'm pretty sure, but we can't get them. Clinton import ban that Dubya never did anything about.

One of my five Makarovs is a commercial "Baikal" bought before the import ban. I thought I heard that they stopped producing them as the Russians are now using a 9MM "Grach" pistol instead of the venerable Mak. I could be wrong though.

 

[Moonclip]

Yeah I read about it too on gunboards where they sponsor a forum. Very sad. Much of my early internet experiences and info came from them.

 

[lee n. field]

Baikal still lists the Makarov. (And see also here. )

 

[denfoote]

It's sad to see, but not entirely unexpected.

The business was started during the golden days of Makarov importation.
Vlad Klintonof delt what, I believe, was the death blow when he imposed the import ban.

Bulgaria stepped up to the plate and provided Maks for several years, but sadly, that supply had dried up and with it sources of parts.

I'm not sure what the story is on the CZ52, but I have not heard of any more coming into the country.

With no source of spare parts, what was Dr Bloss to do??

 

[22-rimfire]

Hate to see them go. I like diversity in the market place. Frankly, never wanted one of their guns.

 

[The_Shootist]

Curses

I'm sorry to see that happen - but the writing has been on the wall for a few months now, starting with the dry-up in cheap plinking/carry ammo.

Real shame since I consider the 9mm Mak round punchier than a .380 and probably the equal to the .38 spl with more rounds in the package carried. You can still get an excellent SD round from Hornady and the pistol is more accurate than it should be and rock solid reliable , making it a viable CCW option (no worse than a .380).

But the fun has gone out of it!

 

[Buck Nekkid]

I bought a ton of stuff from them when I got my first CZ 52, then I kinda quit shooting them and forgot all about Makarov.com.

I'm real sorry to see them go and I hope someone picks up the Makarov/CZ 52 biz and keeps us going.

 

[asknight]

I've tried to be their customer on numerous occasions, yet everything was always out of stock or out of production but continued to be listed on their ecommerce site.

 

[biggiesmalls]

this news saddens me. my grandpa still carries his makarov so i will sit him down and figure out what we should order him before it closes. thansk for the heads up!

 

[kserg]

I still don't understand the ban. What was the reason?

 

[Samuel Adams]

Too bad. I bought a holster from them for my vz82 with which I am very satisfied. Perhaps somebody else will take the ball and run with Mak and CZ items.

 

[Samuel Adams]

WOW! This from Makarov.com.

May 19th, 2008, 1:45PM Update - Due to the over whelming number of Orders received so far today, we have had to take the Shopping Cart Off Line again until we get caught up on orders and see what remaining Inventory we have. Sorry for any problems, please check back on Wednesday May 21, 2008 at 10am. All orders received today until 1:45pm EST will be processed in the order that they were received.

 

[PotatoJudge]

Looks like makarov.com has a sale pending. Hope it works out and the new owners are able to put out some cool upgrades (I, for one, need a shoulder stock and 18in barrel for my CZ-52).

 

[PTK]

No Orders are being taken at this time.



We have a Pending sale of the Business.

Information regarding this sale and status of pending orders will be updated

no later than Monday June 2nd 2008