Makarov Love

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bladerunner82

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I've been shooting handguns for 30 years, which I admit makes me a young one to many here. I accept this. In the last 30 years, never have I experienced such utter reliability as I have with Makarov PM pistols. It doesn't matter if they are Russian military surplus (fixed sight, not Baikal imports), East German, or Bulgarian. To a pistol, I have never had so much as a whimper. In my opinion, they really are the unsung hero of pistol reliability.

My polymer gun-owning buddies poo-pooed the idea of a 50-year-old pistol being able to hold its own against their space-age polymer wonders, but range time eventually makes all possible quirks known. Perhaps being an an abject clean freak regarding my guns may have something to do with it, but I'm beginning to see other guns I own exhibit trouble where the Makarovs keep chugging. I have, over time, changed out the recoil, extractor, and magazine springs to all Wolff products. The extractors themselves seem to be able to chew through a ridiculously high amount of steel-cased ammo and appear none the worse for wear. I doubt I would try this with my other guns.

What are your thoughts, guys? Any other admirers of the venerable Makarov PM?
 
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I've had a few. Great guns but over time I sold them all. No real reason other then to streamline ammo, mags and shooting calibers

Also had the Polish P64. If you like the MAK you'll like this. A little different than a Makarov but still cool. Fair warning though. ...DA pull is like 30# :)
 
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Arik said:
Also had the Polish P64. If you like the MAK you'll like this. A little different than a Makarov but still cool. Fair warning though. ...DA pull is like 30# :)
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Funny you should mention the P64. I was reading about them just this weekend, and also watching a few YouTube videos. The hideous trigger pull was mentioned every time. I would like to have one, because they do look like cool little shooters. There are spring kits from Wolff that help with the trigger.
 
You can get Wolff springs to fix that issue. Another neat one is the later P83 Wanad.

The 64 reminds me a lot of a 38spl m36 snubby. U notch rear sight, small front sight, low capacity, heavy for it's size, easy to conceal, about the same energy and fps
 
Once upon a time, my buddy Milt, USA, was assigned to the British Army at Whitehall.
He obtained and hand carried to Aberdeen the very first Makorav that we got our hands on.
 
THE PILGRIM said:
Once upon a time, my buddy Milt, USA, was assigned to the British Army at Whitehall.
He obtained and hand carried to Aberdeen the very first Makorav that we got our hands on.
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Interesting story. It would be neat to learn more about that episode, such as thoughts on the pistol from Aberdeen armorers compared to the 1911.

The Makarov PM is touted as being the first gun in space, as the Soviet cosmonauts flew with them.
 
Just an FYI: I had a Russian student that corrected my pronunciation of
the Makarov. I pronounced it Mack a rov. He pronounced it Mu care ov.
 
crazyphil said:
Just an FYI: I had a Russian student that corrected my pronunciation of
the Makarov. I pronounced it Mack a rov. He pronounced it Mu care ov.
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MAK is the English pronouncement I guess. It's actually Aaaa like sound. Longer like in "car". Something like Maa car ov.

Also Makarov PM is redundant. PM stands for Pistol Makarov.
 
crazyphil said:
Just an FYI: I had a Russian student that corrected my pronunciation of
the Makarov. I pronounced it Mack a rov. He pronounced it Mu care ov.
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You are correct, sir. The emphasis is on the second syllable, "mah-KAR-ov".

Such a fine pistol. I believe if I could only have one pistol it might be a Makarov PM. Years of using these things has shown me they are freakishly reliable. Even the dirtiest, nastiest ammo doesn't phase these things as long as you clean them well after shooting. The extractors are stone cold hardened something or other, maybe tungsten. Years of use on steel-cased ammo doesn't seem to phase these things. And, for better or for worse, as a hold-over habit, I use nothing more than Breakfree CLP. It harms no finishes and does a "good enough" job of cleaning, lubricating, and protecting that I've seen no use in buying the newer, more spendy products that I honestly believe offer nothing more than a way to divest me of my income.
 
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The closest I've gotten to one is a Hungarian PA-63, which is a dead ringer for a Walther PP, but in 9x18. If you replace the stupid thumb rest grip most of them have and install a Wolff spring kit they make an inexpensive and effective pistol.
 
glenwolde said:
The closest I've gotten to one is a Hungarian PA-63, which is a dead ringer for a Walther PP, but in 9x18. If you replace the stupid thumb rest grip most of them have and install a Wolff spring kit they make an inexpensive and effective pistol.
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Those are great shooters, too. Alloy frame, which makes it a bit lighter to carry. There was something about the steels and alloys used in Eastern Europe during the time of the Makarovs, Hungarian PA-63, Polish P64; they are incredibly durable. It's difficult to learn much about the manufacturing processes since they were made when info behind the Iron Curtain was hard to obtain by mere mortals. I'm assuming the metals are heat treated. I have a friend with a pre-45 1911 made by Remington Rand. I warned him not to shoot hot ammo in it because I do believe those older 1911s made by anyone were not heat treated.
 
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Lovely pistol. I had one of the East German ones, 1962 vintage, the best-made of a well-made type. After the fall of the Wall you could get them for $150. Nowadays you can hardly find them.

Of course being German, it wasn't just a Makarov. It was a "Ernst Thälmann Modell M", so called because it was produced at the state-owned (ready for this?) "VEB Fahrzeug- und Jagdwaffenwerk Ernst Thälmann" in Suhl. In case anyone cares, Thälmann was a German Communist leader murdered by the Nazis. Giving the pistol a different German name was probably a gentle way for the East Germans to stick it to their Russian overlords, since Makarov was not the inventor, but just the manager of the program to build the gun based on the plans for the Walther PP Ultra which the Soviets had captured at Zella-Mehlis, right next to Suhl.

If you talk to former East German police officers, they all wanted a Modell M, but production was limited and they tended to be allocated to higher officers and party members; regular cops had to contend themselves with the imported Hungarian PP copies mentioned above as the PA-63, which did not enjoy a sterling reputation (although I suspect quality control is significantly better on guns exported for profit to Western markets than it was pre-1989 for guns dumped on Communist neighbors to fulfill plan quotas).
 
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" I warned him not to shoot hot ammo in it because I do believe those older 1911s made by anyone were not heat treated."

Until about the mid-1920s, Colt slides were not heat treated at all. The front portion of Colt commercial slides were treated thereafter for wear resistance. as were WWII M1911A1 slides. After WWII, Colt started treatment of the entire slide. Having said that, I have never heard of a catastrophic M1911/M1911A1 slide failure due to metallurgical reasons. Lots of WWI M1911s fought their way through WWII (and even later in Korea and Vietnam) without incident. I also have fired many thousands of rounds through my ca. 1918 Colt M1911 without incident. But about 15 years ago, I did get a WWII Ithaca slide and retired the original WWI Colt slide, principally for historical preservation reasons, not safety concerns.
 
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Absalom said:
Lovely pistol. I had one of the East German ones, 1962 vintage, the best-made of a well-made type. After the fall of the Wall you could get them for $150. Nowadays you can hardly find them...
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Interesting bit of history there. Thank you for sharing.

The East German Makarovs are indeed beautiful guns. The bluing on those is legendary and the overall workmanship is right up there with anything being made today. They also shoot very well. Regarding out-of-the-box accuracy, I would put an East German Makarov up against almost any semi-auto save a Sig Sauer P210 in terms of inherent accuracy.
 
DWalt said:
" I warned him not to shoot hot ammo in it because I do believe those older 1911s made by anyone were not heat treated."

Until about the mid-1920s, Colt slides were not heat treated at all. The front portion of Colt commercial slides were treated thereafter for wear resistance. as were WWII M1911A1 slides. After WWII, Colt started treatment of the entire slide. Having said that, I have never heard of a catastrophic M1911/M1911A1 slide failure due to metallurgical reasons. Lots of WWI M1911s fought their way through WWII (and even later in Korea and Vietnam) without incident. I also have fired many thousands of rounds through my ca. 1918 Colt M1911 without incident. But about 15 years ago, I did get a WWII Ithaca slide and retired the original WWI Colt slide, principally for historical preservation reasons, not safety concerns.
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Good to know, thank you. One learns something everyday. I will inform my buddy and let him make an informed decision. I tend to be leery of older guns and Buffalo Bore ammunition. I know it's probably just me wanting to not see him crater a beautiful gun (albeit one that has honest wear).
 
Love my Bulgarian mak.I once shot it side by side with my HK p7 and was surprised at how accurate it was.
 
I have an East German Mak, outstanding little pistol! :cool:
The fit and finish on this is fantastic! Wouldn't trade it for anything! ;)
 
The Makarov is my gun of choice. I own an East German, and it's beautiful, but I carry a Bulgarian military. My practice gun is a Russian commercial in .380. I shoot it every week, usually about 60-80 rounds (l reload), and then it just goes back in the safe until next week. It has not jammed. I also have an Arsenal commercial in the safe, but I hope to find another East German someday. Makarovs are fantastic!
 
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