Russian Baikal IJ-70

[msmp5]

I have a buddy who has a Russian Baikal IJ-70 for sale for $225.00. The gun is in excellent condition, has adjustable sights and one mag, caliber is "9mm Makarov". Markings indicate "KBI Inc" as the importer. My questions are (1) How does the 9mm Makarov round compare to the .380? Is the 9mm Makarov round also also referred to as the "9mmx18" round? (2) This gun appears to have two serial numbers on it. One is on both the slide and the frame, and begins with what looks like a Russian cyrillic alphabet letter. Then there is a second serial number, just on the frame - an English letter followed by numerals - which I am guessing was put there by the importer, because the engraving matches the other importer's marks on the slide. Is the presence of two serial numbers (one Russian) significant in any way? Does it make it more collectible? More valuable?

 

[docnyt]

That's a good deal these days for an IJ70. The presence of 2 numbers doesn't really impart any collectibility. The second set is an importer number as you surmised.

As far as caliber, the 9x18 is the Makarov round. And comparing it to .380, well you could see it as a progression in terms of ballistics from .380 to 9x18 to 9 mm Luger.

Much more info on makarov.com and on gunboards.com where there is still a Mak forum.

 

[rcmodel]

.380 = .355" dia, 88 to 105 grain bullet at around 1,000 to 850 fps.
9x18 MAK = .363" dia, 90 to 109 grain bullets at around 1,100 to 975 fps.

As you can see, it is only marginally more powerful then the best .380 loads.

Right now though, Russian steel case 9x18 MAK ammo seems more easy to find and cheaper then .380 ACP.
However, a much wider choice of good SD ammo is availble, when it is available, for the .380 ACP.

A double SN marking would not make it any more valuable.
If it did, they wouldn't be selling them for $225.

rc