My brother "made me" buy a Russian gun. IJ70-17A

[Orion8472]

My brother sort of "made me" buy a Russian gun, over the weekend. It is an IJ70-17A, . . . an 8 round pistol about the same as the typical Makarov version. This one is chambered in .380acp, . . . which I found to be an odd thing for a Russian company to do, . . . . chambering in a U.S. caliber. Anyway, it is in great shape, has the adjustable rear sight, has the Russian star on the grips with "Made in Russia" on one side, and "Baikal" on the other, and the barrel looks clean. My brother has the 9X18 Makarov (he has a Russian 12 rounder and a Bulgarian 8 rounder) so it will be interesting to see the power difference [via felt recoil] between the 9X18 and the 9X17.

Anyway, it was a good deal. . . . paid $200 for it.

 

[woad_yurt]

Congratulations on your acquisition! I love to see a Mak go to a good home.

.380 is also the very same 9X17 or 9MM Kurz (short) used in Europe for a long time for military & police work. Until very recently, it seems that .380 wasn't all that popular here, that is, until everyone started making pocketable .380s.

 

[Orion8472]

I see. That is quite true. .380acp seems to have had a rebirth with [as you stated] the surge in small pistols in that caliber. But I remember reading about how that specific caliber was used in Europe, . . . so maybe me saying that it is a U.S. caliber is incorrect.

Anyway, I like the idea of having this specific pistol, and in 380acp. I am looking forward to trying it out. As FOR this pistol, . . . would this be a military/police model, or one of the commercial types? Any idea?

 

[Pilot]

As FOR this pistol, . . . would this be a military/police model, or one of the commercial types? Any idea?

Its a Russian commercial model imported into the U.S. in the mid 90's before the import of these pistols was halted. I have a B-West imported, brushed Satin Nickel model in .380. They are great shooters. Now get one or four in 9x18 Makarov caliber.

 

[Orion8472]

Yeah, this one is a B-WEST, . . . imported to Tucson Arizona. And that's kind of cool for me, since I was born in Arizona.

I COULD take pictures, if anyone is really interested, . . . but for the most part, it basically looks like the others found on the internet.

As for those in 9X18, . . . I will let my brother collect them. He has a lot of that caliber already, and I don't want to start up another caliber myself. LOL Anyway, I think he would LOVE to find an East German one.

 

[jakk280rem]

I COULD take pictures, if anyone is really interested, . . .

go for it. i'm not too proud to beg. my first gun was an feg pa-63, followed by a cz 82. i keep meaning to follow those up with a p64 and an authentic makarov. i have a real soft spot in my heart for those "just big enough to fit in your hand, but just" european pistols. i think i like them almost as much as my s&ws.

 

[Orion8472]

Okay, . . . I will try to take some today or tomorrow and post them here for you [and anyone else who is interested].

 

[M2 Carbine]

Anyway, it was a good deal. . . . paid $200 for it.

Yes, a very good deal if the gun is in decent condition.
Makarovs have been climbing in price for some time.
At the last several gun shows there were no Makarovs below $300.

The .380 Maks usually demand even a higher price.

I have several .380 Maks. Good reliable accurate guns.

The gun is more accurate than this, but this is an example of how well the gun shoots.


BTW, if you run across 9x18 Makarov magazines at a good price, they are exactly the same magazine as the .380.

 

[Orion8472]

I didn't know that [about the magazines]. And that is GOOD to know!

At 35 yards, I'd say that you did pretty darn well! I'm hoping to take it out to try soon. It was obviously purchased used, . . . so when that happens, one takes the risk that the previous owner "got rid of a headache". Hopefully, it was just a matter of the person needing extra money and maybe not knowing much about them.

My brother is fairly big on the eastern block guns, having the Bulgarian 8 round and Russian 12 round version in 9X18, . . . and has about 4 rifles from that part of the world.

Thanks for the input!

 

[JR47]

I also have an IJ-70, in the original 9x18 caliber. As commercial guns, they had to meet BATFE's "sporting purposes points rule". Thus, the addition of adjustable sights, and other small "improvememnts, enabled it to gain enough points to be sold as a legal commercial gun. The Original Makarov pistols were surplus weapons, from various military organizations.

 

[Orion8472]

And we all know that the "sporting purposes" is pure crap. Well, I hope they didn't do TOO much to them to where they're too different than the original Russian designer's plan. Sometimes, our government comes up with the most idiotic "laws".

 

[Zundfolge]

I miss the Bulgy Mak I sold a few years ago ... great little pistol (and mine had Novak sights on it).

If I still had one I think I'd be ordering new grips from this guy

http://www.marschalgrips.com/

These just look awesome


And apparently you can order them with the backstrap checkered.

 

[Orion8472]

Those grips aren't bad. . . . .and I usually prefer wood grips. . . . but I think this one will stay with the original grips. I'll try to take [and post] pictures tonight.

 

[Orion8472]

Here's a quick pic of the Russian:

 

[nwilliams]

$200 is a very good deal for an IJ-70 these days. I would have jumped on that without thinking twice.

My local gun shop has two IJ-70's, one is $300 and the other is $350.

Wish I still had my IJ-70, it's one of those guns I look back on and regret selling

 

[brassdog]

Oh...you got one of the good ones!
You sure your brother MADE you buy it?
What did he do? Sit on you? Threaten to tell your wife about that girl you dated in high school? LOL!!
Enjoy it while you can.

 

[Dr.Rob]

My dad had one and the chamber was overcut, bulged the brass on the bottom. It worked just fine, it just chewed up brass. He traded it in on something else.

 

[Orion8472]

Well, my brother didn't actually make me buy it, . . . but he was the one who originally saw it, and then he was the one who asked the guy [behind the counter] to have it pulled out for us. He really likes them, and I liked his guns as well, . . . and since I already have .380acp rounds, and because of the price, I decided to make the purchase. It truly was a spur of the moment thing. A spur of the moment thing that I'm glad I did. It DOES feel good in the hand, . . . fitting me pretty well.

Thanks for all the comments! I hope it functions as good as it looks. I'm sure it will, though.

 

[M2 Carbine]

There is one problem with Makarovs that you should be aware of. It's hard to stop at just one Makarov.

Since this picture, I added another one.



The Maks are also amazingly reliable. I took a new (9x18) Bulgarian Makarov out of the box and tried to make it malfunction with a bunch of non-destructive torture tests. In a 1,000 rounds not one gun caused malfunction.





The gun when the tests were over.

 

[Mastifflover]

Back in the early 90's my stepfather and I both bought an IJ-70. His was in 9mm makarov and mine in .380. He still has his and I stupidly sold mine about 10 years ago. The sickening part is that we paid $120 OTD for each of them back then. Good little shooter and built like a tank. Oh well one of many pistols that I wish I still had.

 

[Orion8472]

M2 . . . . that is a LOT of pistols! Are they all pretty much the same, or do each have specifics different than the others? Are they all 9X18, or do you have some .380acp models as well? Nice collection, and torture test.

BTW, can you tell me a bit more about the one with the extention? Even the extraction hole looks different. Thanks!

Mastifflover, . . . I think we all may be able to state the phrase, "I wish I hadn't sold THAT one....". Yes, a hard lesson to learn.