Makarov shoots high and to the right (lefty shooter)

[.455_Hunter]

Greetings,

I have a Bulgarian 9x18mm Makarov that that shoots very high and to the right at normal range distances (15 yds). I am a left handed shooter and most of my fixed sight guns shoot slightly to the right, but the Makarov is extreme. The rear sight is staked on the centerline of the slide and the barrel does not appear to be misaligned. I replaced the right hand factory thumb rest grip with standard red service grips in an attempt to improve the situation, but it did not help much. Should I try the Pearce rubber grip? The pistol makes a very nice carry gun, so I would like to get it shooting more towards point of aim. Any comments or experiences with this problem are appreciated.

Thanks,

Hunter

 

[Steve C]

First determine if it is you or the gun. A small deflection in s short barrel produces greater error than a longer barrel would. Shoot it from a firm fixed rest and see if it still shoots high and to the right. Have someone else shoot it and see if it does the same for them. Usually for the lefty a high and right print can be diagnosed as too much finger in the trigger, anticipating recoil or healing. I put a set of Pierce grips on my Makarov and find it to be a worthy addition being a little more hand filling than the hard plastic grips that came with it. If you are shooting some of the 115gr wt bullets that are currently available it may be throwing the shots high as the standard Russian Mak load is around 105.5 grs at 1,000 fps and heavier and slower bullets will generally print higher.

The error analysis target below is for a right handed shooter, mirror this error analysis target for a left handed shooter.

 

[M2 Carbine]

Some of the Bulgarian Maks have rear sights that are too high.
makarov.com had a selection of different height rear sights.
The rear sight can be filed down if you are handy but usually it has to be lowered so much that the slot must be lowered to.