New edc : FEG PA63 in 9x18 makarov

Hiya Guys ,

I just picked up this sexy FEG PA63 chambered in 9x18 Makarov in a $525 trade deal. I got the FEG, 2 magazines, a holster, 550 rds of ammo & $75 cash to close the deal. It's an early model with the serial number less than 1000 and it's in damn nice shape & looks strikingly similar to my Bersa Thunder .

 

Am glad you are happy with your deal. You'll find this a very easy to carry potent semiautomatic. Only way it could be better is if it were the compact version the SMC. Hope you enjoy your find

 

Wolff Springs makes springs for it to reduce the DA and SA trigger pull. They are easy to conceal and fairly accurate in single action. With stock springs, the double action is very heavy. Make sure that you stick with 95Gr bullets (or lighter) because of the aluminum frame. These pistols were designed for use with 95Gr military ammo only.

 

Thanks for the heads up, I'll be looking into some new springs for this pdq . I've seen them before but I still find the hinged trigger guard some what comical, although I do admit it works slick as snot as a takedown lever ...

 

Switching to the Wolf springs is one of the best things you can do. I ordered some nice grips from Marschal grips in Budapest. They make some of the nicest I have seen.

 

Excellent choice in a carry gun (though the Bersa is as well; I own one of them, too.) I have the FEG AP-22, essentially the same gun in .22LR. Though the DA trigger is all-but unusable, the feel and fit of the gun, along with its deep blued finish, is impressive. It shoots well, too, but requires the highest-quality high-velocity ammo.

 

Wow, now that is some sexy furniture ...

 

You are correct, they made these from 1963 - 1990, so some of them are going on 54 years old. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FEG_PA-63

What I would love to see is for them too correctly reclassify the SKS as a C&R, unfortunately since the Chinese government refuses to release any official production data on the SKS we're screwed & have to put up with the atf's nonsense .

 

Here are four of my FEG's, three in 9x18 and one in 380 but all have the Marschal grips from Budapest Hungary.

 

I have several old commie bloc pistols and enjoy showing them to friends and playing with them. But, I don't have one of those. After seeing all those pics., especially with those beautiful marshal grips, I think I now want one! LOL

 

The AP 22 and SMC in 22 are great shooting little guns. They will sometimes also accept Walther PP Magazines. I've had one for years now and it's a very handy little gun around the farm

 

I have one I bought from a local gun/pawn a few years back that had set on shelf for months. I did the wolfe spring change and it made it a really pleasant shooting piece. I keep it hidden on a shelf in my garage for emergencies in this particular section of my abode.

 

For those that are wondering, I just looked up the Wolff springs & I found them available at Midway USA .

http://www.midwayusa.com/s?userSearchQuery=Wolff+pa63&userItemsPerPage=48

They have the conventional (extra power) recoil spring that comes with a firing pin spring for $7.99 & a hammer spring pack w/ 9, 11 & 13 lb. springs for trigger pull for $8.50.

Now I'm wondering if anyone has tried The Recoil spring kit and whether it would be better to order both kit or just the hammer spring kit ? .

 

The Walther PP also has to have trigger guard pulled down to field strip it.

 

I had the 32acp version. It was a nice little pistol and pointed very well. I let a relative talk me out of it. Congratulations on a nice find.

 

The Bersa Thunder is the better pistol IMHO but the FEG is a solid platform.

 

So I was looking around the interweb for an alternative to the $65+ wood grips from Budapest when I came across these :

http://suncrafts.com/wordpress/archives/category/items-for-sell/game-sport-match-misc-shot-gun-rifle

Has anyone tried these ?, apparently they make them in some nice hardwood models, Sandalwood models and even zebrawood models which would be fantastic and the prices are pretty tempting

 

I don't have an FEG, but one of my favorite things about the Makarov that it's based on is that it's such an elegant design from a simplicity standpoint. I think almost every part serves multiple purposes. The trigger guard is the takedown lever, the safety is also the firing pin retainer and the decocking lever, the barrel is the recoil spring guide, the bottom of the mainspring is the magazine catch...

It appeals to my inner engineer.

 

I like the PA63,but IMHO as a 9x18 mm shooter(Makarovs,P64's etc)I SO wish it was made with a steel frame...a bit of an idiosyncrasy on my part.

 

Sarge7402 writes:

So, you're the one..! I've never actually heard from anyone else who has the FEG in .22LR. I knew there had to be at least one other person here. Thanks for the tip about the PP magazines. Though I don't know how readily-available they are, they can't be any more scarce than the FEG ones are.

 

I own two of these pistols. I like the gun, it is accurate and I enjoy shooting it. The problem for concealed carry for me is the safety. You have to flick the safety up with your thumb which is awkward at best and requires a bit of force to do it. This could be a problem in a stress situation and could very well slow down your time to get it ready to shoot. You don't want to carry the pistol cocked, and you don't want to carry it with the hammer down with the safety off. The safety is a hammer block safety and must be on safe to prevent the hammer from striking the firing pin of the gun is dropped. The DA pull is atrocious on a stock gun. I replaced the hammer spring with the wolf spring and even though it did improve the pull significantly but it isn't as good as a newer design. If this is the only gun you have it will work but a newer design would be a better choice.

 

Alright, I just got the wolff reduced power hammer spring kit ordered for this FEG. I was planning on ordering it from Midway along with some more. 380 ammo, but they were out of stock and on backorder, so I went directly to Wolff and ordered it from them instead ($12) ...