Russian, E. German or Bulgarian 9X18 Makarovs: Ever had an unreliable one?

[woad_yurt]

I noticed that when a poster here asks for suggestions about which SD weapon they should look into, Maks are mentioned infrequently and only by very few. I ask because I have an IJ70 and the thing never fails to function, no matter what ammo I use. It's also very simple and quick to clean. Range ammo is dirt cheap (relatively!) and it's easy to be very accurate with this pistol. It shoots well & parts are affordable, too.

For the life of me, I can not think of a reason why more people don't use/have them. Was there some issue in the past that has made folks still look elsewhere at other makes? It seems to me that, taking into account the finite supply of Maks, they should be going for much higher prices than they are. Some folks maybe want some more power, but Pow'RBall ammo is about 263 ft.lbs., which should be plenty to make someone cease and desist. Plus, I've noticed that there are a lot of posters that are very satisfied with a .380 as an SD round, so it shouldn't be a power issue. The usual Mak holds 8 rounds so, with one in the chamber, you have 9 on tap. A small carry revolver usually only holds 5 and they're extremely popular, so it can't be a "rounds available" issue.

It seems like people should be fighting to get one but they're not, judging by surprisingly low online highest bids.

My Makarov has made me change my mind regarding the often said "you can always count on a revolver to go bang but semi-autos sometimes jam." Not my Mak! Never once.

So, my question is this: Has anyone here come across a problematic 9X18 Makarov?

 

[gbelleh]

My Maks have never jammed either. I love my Maks and carry the E.G. or Bulgarian occasionally. But in today's market, there are many other SD options out there that are larger caliber, lighter, smaller and/or hold more rounds. Nothing wrong with the Makarov, but there are many other choices.

 

[Litlman]

You just don't see them much around here. I saw one in 2 years, a Bulgarian, it was filthy but I could see that all it needed was a good cleaning. I paid $250 for it. Could not get the price down. I took it to the range on a vey cold, icy/rainy day. It ran like a dream! And I was pretty accurate with it. No complaints here. If I find another one , I will not hesitate to buy it. I ccw it in my front pocket in an old uncle mikes pocket holster. Or I put it in my coat pocket. I use a J frame, a small 22 auto & at times a S&W 6906 & CZ 75 compact for ccw. There is something about this mak that feels "right" in my hand. The whole thing is cool , thin profile, easy break down, after market add ons. I need to find a decent holster for it.

 

[M2 Carbine]

A little while back I took a new Bulgarian Makarov and TRIED to make it fail. I sank it in mud. Filled the inside with lint, cat hair, etc. Overlubed the gun and froze it and many other tests.
Just couldn't make the gun fail.


One of my E German Maks would randomly not fire, no primer hit, but would always fire the next trigger pull.

It drove me crazy until I finally figured out that when fired the thumb safety would move half way to ON. When fired again the hammer would hit the safety and knock it back to the Off position, which allowed the gun to fire on the next trigger pull.
Bending the thumb safety spring out a little cured the problem.

One of my Bulgarian Maks shows a LOT of use.
It "doubles".
First chance I get I meed to install some new parts.

I'm a big fan of Makarovs but don't carry one because for the same weight and size I can carry a 45 Kimber Ultra.

 

[sgphoto]

I routinely carry a Mak in an ankle holster. Sometimes it's the only pistol I can carry (for various reasons).



Absolutely one of the best little pistols I've ever shot.

Steve

 

[Silent Bob]

The Bulgy I had worked flawlessly (wish I had never sold it)

The E. German I had would jam often on the last round, with several magazines. I couldn't diagnose the problem at all.

 

[fletcher]

I have a Bulgarian Makarov - it's the only semi-auto I have that has never had a malfunction.

 

[Chipperman]

I have an EG Mak that is very unreliable.

It won't go through a whole mag without a stove pipe. I have not changed anything on mine, other than using multiple mags. It's not a carry gun for me, so I have not bothered to try to fix it.

 

[Apple a Day]

1 Russian and 1 Bulgie. They run like clockwork.

 

[DMK]

For the life of me, I can not think of a reason why more people don't use/have them.

Large size for the caliber and limited ammo selection. It's the same size as my 45ACP Colt CCO. In fact, the Colt is thinner. Even my .357 Mag SP101 is smaller. I can get top shelf HPs in 45ACP and .357Mag.

The only time I'd recommend a Mak is if someone had very little money to spend. You can often find Bulgarians for under $200. Even then, I still think a used Ruger SP101 would be a better choice if available.

I have a East German Mak. It's the best of the breed. It looks great and shoots beautifully. 100% reliability. But it's not even on the list of guns I'd grab in an emergency. I also have a CZ82 (also 9x18). Doesn't look as nice but shoots just as well, if not better. If I had to carry one of the two, I'd choose the CZ since it carries nearly twice the number of rounds, has better sights and has the safety on the frame where it should be. But I'd much rather carry a bigger caliber if I'm stuck with the large size of these guns.

For the life of me I can't understand how the Russians though going from 7.62x25 to 9x18 was an improvement. Granted, the Mak is a much better gun than the Tokarev(have one of those too), but the round was a big step backwards, even worse than the U.S. going from 45ACP to 9x19.

 

[Anna's Dad]

Mine have all been reliable regardless of the country of origin!

 

[KrankyKraut]

My Bulgarian Mak has not been 100% reliable. It had the aforementioned safety issue, where the safety would move don a bit and block the firing pin. Luckily, it was an easy fix. Also, it had FTF problems with Wolf 120 gr. HP ammo. I had the feedramp polished which cured that. Overall, the round is relative weak and the ammo is not readily available in most shops (i.e it doesn't pass the "Walmart test"). For carry, there are better options. I prefer a Colt Detective Special (.38 snubnose) for that purpose.

 

[Glockorama]

Every Mak I've ever owned has been stone cold reliable, including my current Bulgie.

 

[loop]

All of my Maks are very accurate and none has ever had a failure of any kind. On occasion I carry my IJ70 or my CZ (not a true Makarov) but not very often. I have a number of guns that are the same size or smaller, just as reliable and accurate and chamber more potent rounds.

I suspect the reason it isn't more popular is the 9X18 is perceived as being a rather anemic round. That perception is false, but in my case I have .40 S&Ws that are smaller. I pretty much stick to them as my primary concealment guns because that is a significantly more powerful round.

That said, I wouldn't hesitate a bit to trust my Maks as carry guns. Nothing short of a head shot is a guaranteed instant man-stopper anyway.

 

[Pilot]

Also, it had FTF problems with Wolf 120 gr. HP ammo. I had the feedramp polished which cured that.

Mak ammo should be kept to the 90 - 100 grain level. I'm surprised they even make 120 gr bullets for 9x18.

My 2 Bulgies, 1 EG and Russian have all been 100% reliable and accurate. I feel comfortable carrying any of them.

 

[Keeterbird]

I don't carry a MAK, however, I love it as a range gun. $154/K is as cheap as 9mm and it is fun. Have two Bulgarians. One is military and one is the civilian model. After finally getting all of the cosmo out of the Trigger assembly of the miliary model I have never had a problem. The civilian has been dead accurate from the box. When untold numbers of commies have carried them effectively, they must be an effective SD weapn. Besides they are fun.

There can always be a better SD weapon because each individual has a different way of coming to the decision to choose a SD weapon. There is no accounting for taste.

It is a fun gun!

 

[Firepower!]

I used to own a Russian Mak. It was piece of junk. After sometime the satey on it stopped working. Sometimes it would go off by simply cocking it.

Unless I get a NIB Mak I would even touch it again with a ten foot pole. On other issues, I do not like the low magazine capacity.

Yet, I like its bigger brother STICHKEN APS which is my car gun. It is 20 shot auto and much improved quality wise.

 

[woad_yurt]

Chipperman: For real, wanna sell me your undependable Mak? Hmmm? PM me if you're interested in trading some frustration for cash!

 

[jwxspoon]

I've got 2 mak clones, a polish p64 and an feg PA63. Both 100% reliable with many hundreds of silver bear hp's downrange.

Also a CZ82, which is a fantastic weapon in its own right.

All 3 of these weapons do weekly rotation as glove compartment weapons.

jw

 

[Koblenz]

I have an East German Makarov. It is beautifully made and has been reliable with the standard ball ammo.

I wonder how many of those who have had reliability problems with Makarovs were firing non standard ammo, such as American made hollow points? Until recently all military pistols were designed to function with ball ammunition only. I would expect any Markarov, P38, pre 1980's 1911, pre 1980's BHP - really any semi-auto pistol made before 1980 - to jam on hollow point ammo.

CorBon makes a load called PowrBall in several auto pistol calibers. It has a round plastic ball in the nose to give it the profile of ball ammo. The plastic ball falls out upon firing leaving a hollow point bullet headed for the target. Should I carry my Makarov for self-defense, I would load it with PowrBall cartridges.

 

[CajunBass]

I had a Bulgarian that jammed once in the time I had it, and that was with "good" American made, brass case ammo (American Eagle). With the cheap steel cased Wolf it went bang every time. It was extreamly accurate at 7-10 yards, which is about as far as I ever shot it.

I got rid of it simply because I didn't shoot it much anymore. The ammo is hard to find around here, and when you do, the places really like it a lot. I've gone to mostly shooting 22 LR these days.

 

[ambidextrous1]

I have a Russian Mak, which has been monotonously reliable; its size is right for my hand, and it weighs enough to make recoil a non-issue. It resided permanently in the trunk of my car when I lived in southern California. It's also a great gun for teaching new shooters.

Aside from that, it's a fine example of a 20th century handgun; but more recent designs have established new conventions of size, weight and capacity due to the judicious use of light alloys and (dare I say it?) plastic. The .380 cartridge is considered by many to be marginal for self defense, and the 9X18 isn't a lot better.

I don't carry the Mak; but I think it's a great firearm for the range (especially for instruction), and it's inexpensive enough to be a reliable "stash" gun for permanent car carry - if the car is stolen, at least the BG didn't get my Gold Cup.

M2 Carbine, that's a great assortment of Makarovs!

 

[tinygnat219]

WoadYurt:

Will do my best to answer questions and provide my two cents:

Maks are mentioned infrequently and only by very few.

I see Maks being brought up all the time as a viable carry / self-defense choice especially among the surplus gun crowd.

For the life of me, I can not think of a reason why more people don't use/have them. Was there some issue in the past that has made folks still look elsewhere at other makes?

There are some reasons: Mainly because the Makarov design has been surpassed. For the weight and the caliber of the Makarov, one can get many other designs that allow for a heavier caliber and more of that heavier caliber at the same weight. As for reliability, that's not really an issue with the Makarovs; it's a solid proven design that works. Some people also shy away from the lack of Self-Defense ammo. When you look at the .380, you can find all kinds of ammo choices. For the 9MM Mak you have Silver Bear JHP, or Hornady and that's really it for Self-Defense unless you roll your own. I don't consider FMJ ammo a self-defense ammo. 9MM Makarov ammo can also be hard to find (for those that don't look outside of Wally World), and when it is found can be expensive.

The usual Mak holds 8 rounds so, with one in the chamber, you have 9 on tap. A small carry revolver usually only holds 5 and they're extremely popular, so it can't be a "rounds available" issue.

Actually, I like having more than 9 rounds of ammo available at the weight of the all steel pistol and it's 8 round magazine. Give me 13-15 rounds for that same weight. Also, small carry revolvers just plain work, that's why most people like them. Simple operation. No silly safeties to worry about. Just the pull the trigger and the gun functions.

It seems like people should be fighting to get one but they're not, judging by surprisingly low online highest bids.

I see brisk bidding on the gunbroker.com auctions, nothing over 600 bucks, but then the Makarov was never really a 700 dollar pistol. A lot of folks also remember when they could pick up the East German Makarovs for 150 bucks. The most I have seen any Makarov go for has been a 550 dollar Russian model. As more and more Makarovs get snatched up, the price will rise concurrently.

My Makarov has made me change my mind regarding the often said "you can always count on a revolver to go bang but semi-autos sometimes jam." Not my Mak! Never once.

So, you have discovered the simplistic toughness of the design of the Makarov. That's good! I have two myself: East German and Bulgarian. The Bulgarian is one of my "sometimes" guns.

So, my question is this: Has anyone here come across a problematic 9X18 Makarov?

Maybe the rare bird, but nothing like the modern Taurus guns that are out there today.

 

[Koblenz]

For the 9MM Mak you have Silver Bear JHP, or Hornady and that's really it for Self-Defense unless you roll your own.

There is also the CorBon PowrBall, which feeds reliably in guns made for shooting FMJ ammunition, but turns into a hollow point when it leaves the barrel.

 

[woad_yurt]

The Pow'RBall didn't lose the plastic with me. I shot some into a 2X4 just out of curiosity and the ball stayed in the bullet. The surrounding bullet expanded greatly, btw.

tinygnat219: Recently, I paid $173 OTD in a local pawn shop for one and $145 delivered for another at AuctionArms. When I mentioned price, I was talking about the Baikal guns. They can be had cheaply. I still think that, for a couple of hundred dollars, it's a tremendous value.