Kaeto
Member
How could I weaken the spring on the Mag release on my PA-63? It cannot be released by thumb pressure when holding the gun normally. Requires too much force.
PA-63 Magazine Release
- Thread starter Kaeto
- Start date
- Status
entropy
Member
Do like I do with the 1911. Turn the gun in the hand to apply more force to the button. I turn the 1911 as much to operate normal length slide releases as to push the mag release. I do it from muscle memory, even with .45's with extended releases and oversized buttons.
OP
OP
Kaeto
Member
Not very helpful. I have to use the force of my other hand to get it to work.
AZAndy
Member
I have a couple of those. Just pulled one out of the cabinet to see, and like yours, it's very stiff. I'm not seeing how one can access the spring to maybe trim a coil. When I used to shoot it, I used my left (weak) hand on the release and pressed the pistol towards it with my right. Not a real solution, I know.
I've taken mine totally apart. And I don't recommend it. In particular, be sure you have a good reason if you ever take apart the trigger bar. Not only is it like a puzzle that takes forever to put together, but the trigger return spring is no longer available as a spare part. People like me broke all the springs in existence trying to put this gun back together. It took me 3 springs to get it back in without mangling the spring so bad that the trigger return was weakened, and by then I couldn't buy any more. I might have broken the very last one that was sold in the US, lol. I had to make one, and it is not a simple feat. Also prone to disappearing are the extractor spring and the detent plunger it pushes against the safety.
Not my video:
Note the rubber tourniquet trick he does at 1:20. I never knew this. This was one of hardest part of the process for me. (But don't worry, there are plenty more).
He takes out the mag eject button at around 3:00 mark. IIRC, it's just a small coil spring that is underneath it.
If you manage to do this, I think there's at least a 50% chance you will regret it and wish you had used Andy's "solution." Do it in a clean-room, using plastic bags and boxes. Parts are no longer available.
Not my video:
Note the rubber tourniquet trick he does at 1:20. I never knew this. This was one of hardest part of the process for me. (But don't worry, there are plenty more).
He takes out the mag eject button at around 3:00 mark. IIRC, it's just a small coil spring that is underneath it.
If you manage to do this, I think there's at least a 50% chance you will regret it and wish you had used Andy's "solution." Do it in a clean-room, using plastic bags and boxes. Parts are no longer available.
Last edited:
Panzerschwein
member
Keep in mind the communist overlords considered the magazine to be more valuable than the man who used it. They would rather have had the soldier die than the magazine get dropped accidentally and lost. It is stiff for a reason.
entropy
Member
Interesting logic. If the soldier dies, it is likely the weapon will be a battlefield loss. Maybe picked up by a comrade (pun intended), maybe by an enemy. Now the whole pistol, a weapon, is lost. I'm sure some idiot at FEG that was testing the PPK accidentally bumped the mag release and dropped it, so the specs on the mag release spring were upped for the PA-63.
Haha, that's very funny. IMO, as a sidearm of last resort, there is zero need for a super fast reload. This gun is never going to be a primary weapon of choice. If you're using it, you're probably crapping your pants. And I rather take an extra half a second to eject a magazine than accidentally eject a full mag. I more than likely have at BEST one spare mag at hand, probably none. A magazine that was dropped accidentally is more likely to cost you your life than the difference in reload speed. With the sidearm, the first shot is the most important one. 7th is way down on the list. Reload, below that.
Somewhere I have seen a movie outtake where the police actor pulls and points a Beretta, immediately followed by the mag clattering on the ground. With my luck that would be me. I don't go out of my way to make controls lke mag release reachable or easy to press. The only controls I want to easily reach are the safety and the trigger.
Rule #1 of a gunfight is to bring a gun. Rule #2 is to make sure it is loaded.
If I lived long enough to shoot 7 shots in a surprise SD scenario, I think I'm already ahead of the curve by 7 bullets.
Last edited:
Panzerschwein
member
The get a PM. The heel release can be a good thing, sometimes.
Coyote3855
Member
Could be an urban legend, but I read somewhere that the Soviets changed from the TT33 to the Makarov because of accidental magazine loss in combat. Seems unlikely to me. I have a couple of TT33 clones and the mag release is both small and unobtrusive. But it makes a nice story.
Panzerschwein
member
That was one factor in adopting the PM, yes. Some say that the TT was the better pistol for the Soviets over the PM. This is nonsense. If the Soviets didn't think it was an improved design, they would have never adopted it. The truth is that while the Tokarev is the more powerful handgun and is more agreeable with most American shooters (read M1911), the Makarov is the better gun. The Soviets desired something that was simpler and easier to make, having more effective and modern safety features, be lighter and easier to carry, and produce just as good effectiveness as the 7.62x25mm. Yes, the 7.62x25mm is the more powerful round, but the 9x18mm was equally effective in "stopping" an enemy soldier of the 1950's-1990's when these guns were the primary USSR sidearm. Larger caliber, slightly heavier bullet, not as much energy but when we're talking FMJ military ammo (all they used back then and even to this day over there mostly) the 9x18mm was no worse a fighting cartridge.
I'm just making this point that the Makarov was adopted for a reason. It had features that the Soviet army wanted and considered more valuable over the older Tokarev. The Makarov is still in widespread military and police service in Russian and elsewhere, they are great guns, and contrary to what some believe, they were exactly what the Soviets were looking for in a handy service pistol when it was adopted.
OP
OP
Kaeto
Member
Talking about why the Soviets switched doesn't really mean much. This pistol is Hungarian military and police issue. I guess I'll have to live with the mag release requiring two hands to operate.
I haven't had an issue.. mine is stiff but not o much that I can't do it one handed. I do have to alter my grip. Is it possible you've got some dried cosmoline binding up the works?
Take the grips off, take it outside and soak it in diesel fuel. Work that button a hundred times. It might help.
Take the grips off, take it outside and soak it in diesel fuel. Work that button a hundred times. It might help.
PS I just pushed mine 100 times.. it's a workout!
Panzerschwein
member
You're right, I got off on a tangent. It won't happen again.
As for your magazine release I would not worry about it. Oil it and work it plenty, it should loosen up with time.
OP
OP
Kaeto
Member
Thank you for all the helpful advice. I'll try the oil and working the button tactic.
- Status