Russian military Makarov -- not import marked

[Shear_stress]

Just got this. At first glance, another Makarov. There are scads of them out there, usually Bulgarian, some East Germans, a smattering of Chinese. Most Russian Makarovs in the U.S. are commercial models (quickly IDed by the adjustable sights added for importation.) Russian military models are harder to find, and most of those were erroneously marked as made in "Bulgaria" or "Germany" to match the other pistols in the shipping container.

Some of the unmarked Russian military Makarovs had been imported with a batch of Bulgarian or East Germans and then somehow eluded the importer's stamp. Others were brought back from overseas from places like Iraq after Desert Storm. I have no idea what the history was on this example, so your best guess is mine.

Condition is pretty good, just some minor freckling. 1973 production. Quality appears no better than the Bulgarian or East German ones I've got.

A piece of some kind of history or another.

 

[jhb]

Nice find. I got a Bulgarian version myself. Darn good pistol. Thanks for sharing with us. Enjoy 'er.

 

[fletcher]

Avoiding the import marking alone is great cosmetically - good score.

 

[Shear_stress]

Thanks, folks. It's a pretty cool pistol. I think the true Chinese military Maks are actually harder to find, but I like this one just fine.

 

[Hometeached1]

Very nice!

I love finding little gems like that.

 

[jonnyc]

Might be worth some investigation:
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthr...-captue-Makarov-(pics)&highlight=russian+fake
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?353048-Khyber-or-not&highlight=russian+makarov
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthr...ber-Pass-or-Russian&highlight=russian+makarov
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthr...u-carry-a-Kyber-Mak&highlight=russian+makarov

 

[Pilot]

Thanks, folks. It's a pretty cool pistol. I think the true Chinese military Maks are actually harder to find, but I like this one just fine.

The Chinese Maks are probably the most collectable, but the worst for fit and finish. The East Germans, Russian Military, and Bulgarians are excellent. Your Russian Mil is very collectable.

 

[bannockburn]

My brother has an East German Mak without any import marks on it and it looks as good as the day it left the People's Democratic Republic factory. Metal polishing and bluing are first rate, not quite as good as U.S. production but much better than any other Eastern Bloc guns I have seen.

 

[Geezer Glide]

While I don't own a Makarov I own several guns chambered for 9X18. For a while, ammo was dirt cheap but it's catching up. I may need to buy some in about 15 years.

 

[Shear_stress]

Might be worth some investigation:
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthr...-captue-Makarov-(pics)&highlight=russian+fake
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?353048-Khyber-or-not&highlight=russian+makarov
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthr...ber-Pass-or-Russian&highlight=russian+makarov
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthr...u-carry-a-Kyber-Mak&highlight=russian+makarov

Interesting thought--the possibility of it being a Khyber Pass copy had crossed my mind. However, this gun has even spacing of the slide grip serrations, proper Cyrillic markings (including a faint inspection mark on the frame) and a chrome-lined bore. All of these point to Russian manufacture.

 

[North Bender]

It doesn't look like a Khyber from the markings, and the fact that the barrel is chrome lined would strongly indicate it's a real PM. That is one fine looking sample.

Note - a military Chinese Makarov is easily worth 2x what any other variety of Mak will bring. You can get over $2,000 for one. The commercial Chinese models that were briefly imported are not near so valuable, but the finish on some of those commercial Chinese Maks is really outstanding - like blued glass.

 

[Sarge]

I've got a 66 ruskie that I brought back from Viet Nam - trophy papers and all. The pistol is in Exc cond, but had a mismatched rust pitted mag in it.
I've also got a couple of chicoms, one of which I shoot occasionaly.
I found that the Hungarian PA 63 is much more fun to shoot and less bulky to carry, so that is my small carry gun.
Sarge

 

[wojownik]

I've got a minty Russian 1976 Mak PM that is a "Bulgy sneak" along with Bugarian Mak and an East German Mak.

IMHO, the trigger on that Russian is a lot nicer than either the Bulgarian or East German. However the Bulgarian actually seems to be a tad nicer than the Russian all-around (fit/finish). The EG Mak tops both in fit and finish - really finely manufactured.

My Polish p-83 Wanad is in a different category, a really mass-production item, kinda rough on the edges, but also accurate and reliable. But the p-83 seems to want to rust even in dry, clean storage conditions. My p64 is neat, and I have to get around to replacing those springs one day - basically unusable as-is with that trigger pull.

But, overall, that Russian Mak PM stands on its own - its the original'naya Makarov, of course.