I am mostly a Smith and Wesson admirer and collector. After the Smiths, I probably have more Colts than anything.

But as a boy growing up during the Cold War, and being scared to death when the Russians launched "Sputnik", I have always been intrigued by Russian, Warsaw Pact, and Chinese Communist military gear, especially firearms. So back in the 1980s, when we first started to see bits and pieces of stuff coming in from places like China (first, if I remember correctly), I was curious. I'll bet a lot of others were, as well.

Anyway, little by little I would pick up something here and there, but while guns were coming in slowly, there wasn't much ammo to shoot in them, and American companies weren't making any at that time.

I thought that maybe some of you folks have had similar experiences, and would like to share some photos and stories. Like I said, this isn't my main interest, but I have a few things and experiences to share,

So let me start out with a handgun that I ran across in the back of the safe the other day. It is a Russian made Makarov, apparently original military, in the correct 9mm Makarov caliber, dated 1987, and with an original Russian military holster and belt, also dated 1980s.



The Soviet medals are really a little out of the correct era, the Order of the Red Star is earlier, and although the Order of the Great Patriotic War was made in the 1980s, it was probably for issue to a WWII vet who had lost his, or had never been issued. I thought they added a nice touch, though.

Please share any photos and or stories, lore, related to these interesting firearms, or correct me in any errors that I might make as we go along.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064