Makarov failure to fire

[made2cut]

I took my 62 EG Makarov to the range today and had many failures to fire. The hammer was dropping but no bang . When I examined one of the rounds it did not appear to have a dimple. If I cocked the hammer and tried again the gun fired everytime. The failures occured using both American Eagle and Blazer ammo. I have not fired the gun in some time and figured the firing pin was a little stuck but when I got home and disassembled it the pin was moving freely. Everything else appeared to be in good working order. I'm bummed out considering I always thought my Mak was one of the most reliable guns I owned and have been carrying it quite a bit. Any ideas????

 

[usp9]

Sometimes the safety lever slips just enough to block the hammer and prevent a full hammer strike on the firing pin. Make sure the firing pin channel is clean.

 

[made2cut]

That is a good idea about the safety. I actually had buy a new one because of that problem right after getting it. After installing the new one I never had a recurring issue however. The first thing I checked was the safety to make sure it wasn't slipping again.

 

[esq_stu]

Is the fire control group clean? When you remove the slide, the sear and hammer are exposed on top. Here's detailed instructions for disassembly - it's very easy. http://www.makarov.com/tech/assembly.html

I'd pull back on the cocked hammer and look for junk around the bearing surfaces of the hammer and sear, and make sure the hammer goes all the way forward with the sear disengaged.

Also, look for dirt in the firing pin channel. The firing pin should freely float.

From the simplicity of the gun, it's hard to imagine there's anything intrinsically wrong.

 

[M2 Carbine]

I about went crazy before I found the problem with a friend's EG Mak.

The gun would randomly not fire, but would fire on the next trigger pull.

What was happening was randomly the safety would move half way to Safe. When the trigger was pulled the hammer would knock the safety to Fire. When I looked at the gun everything looked normal.

Load the mag and fire one round at a time. After every shot look at the thumb safety and see if it has moved off Fire

Check that the safety does not easily move from Fire to Safe.
If it does, the safety can be removed and the spring can be bent out so the safety doesn't move on it's own.

 

[made2cut]

I double checked everything and I didn't find anything out of order. It was clean when I took it to the range and it's still pretty neat after the session. I did however put a pencil in the bore and it barely moved then the hammer dropped. I've used this method to check my 1911's many times but never my Mak. Can anyone confirm as to how much the pencil should move when fired vertically? This is a 1962 vintage firearm and possibly the hammer spring is not what it used to be

 

[David N]

You DEFINETELY want to go to these 2 sites: makarov.com has already been mentioned. The other is www.gunboards.com and scroll down till you find the Mak forum. The guys at that forum are true Mak fanatics and know everything there is to know about the trusty Makarov.

When I bought my Bulgarian Mak in 2000 it was $175 at the local hardware store and that was a high price at the time. Now they sell for twice that.

Congrats on owning an E German, considered to be the best made and most valuable of the Maks. A quick way to check if it needs cleaning is to shake it. You should hear the firing pin rattle. If it doesn't rattle it needs to be cleaned.

You will find the addition of a Pearce rubber grip for about $20 will make it much more comfortable to hold and shoot.

I wish I had never sold my Bulgy Mak!

 

[alamo]

Remover the safety and take out the firing pin also and make sure the firing pin channel is clean.