Anyone Have Any Russian or "ComBlock" Firearms to Share?

[les.b]

Here are some wooden AK toys I made for some friends' kids. Do they count?

Warren:

Yes!!! Those are great!! When I was a kid, my dad had a woodworking shop, among other hobbies, and he made me some wooden toys that I treasure to this day.!!!

Best Regards, Les

 

[les.b]

Here is my one and only CZ75, purchased in 1986. I got the Ross (made in South Africa, and not importable due to ill-advised American boycott) holster in Vienna, Austria, of all places.

Warren:

Well, that's one that I "always wanted", (how many times have I said that?)... but never got around to getting. So many guns, so little time!!! (And money). I see that it is an early version, with the original style stocks. If I ever get one, that's what I'm looking for.

Nice!!

Best Regards, Les

 

[Warren Sear]

Warren:

Yes!!! Those are great!! When I was a kid, my dad had a woodworking shop, among other hobbies, and he made me some wooden toys that I treasure to this day.!!!

Best Regards, Les

You will notice one has a folding stock from an AMD 65. I shortened it about 2 inches, and then modified it to fit onto the 3/4" plywood "gun". The kids love it!!!

 

[Warren Sear]

Warren:

Well, that's one that I "always wanted", (how many times have I said that?)... but never got around to getting. So many guns, so little time!!! (And money). I see that it is an early version, with the original style stocks. If I ever get one, that's what I'm looking for.

Nice!!

Best Regards, Les

There was a short window of time in the 80's where our government would allow them in. When that window closed, no more same in until after the fall of Communism.

I had seen CZ75's pictured in magazines and books, but I had never seen on in real life until I got mine. I really liked it, and shot the living **** out of it, as you can see in the pictures. This is one of the last guns I would ever sell.

 

[Warren Sear]

In my engineering job I meet people from all over the world. Funny there no different than we are.

Yep, some bad, mostly good.

 

[hoosier4guns]

Haven't seen one of these posted yet..VZ52... 7.62x45 non import marked. I also have a few 91/30's and M44's..a few Yugo Toks..Steyr model 95 in 8x56r. I have an early Krebs built AK on a Russian receiver that I traded a Russian SKS..still have my other Russian SKS. Back in the late 80's early 90's I had a 01FFL and a small business in my home prior to my retirement so I could feed my reloading habit. Back then the Nagants were considered Russian junk. I did a lot of business with SOG in Lebanon Ohio. On several occasions I would purchase 91/30's by the case..20 per case with bayonets at $599 per case..that's $29.95 per rifle with bayonet! Sold em all day for $50 a piece. I still have a few of the old ones from back in the day..sold a hex Finnish capture last year for $275. Here's a few pics. Rich.

 

[Richard Simmons]

Dug another one out of the armory. This is an "unissued" 1944 Finnish Tikka M91/30 with hang tag. I really like the potbelly stock the Finns used on these and other 91/30's. I've had this one a long time and have never shot it. AFAIK neither has anyone else since 1944. I'll have to pull the stock and see what year the receiver is. This is the only one of these I've ever run across in my area.

Also spied a Finn M39 a"41" capture 91/30 and a Russian M38 but those will have to wait for another day.

 

[les.b]

Well, I see that I have only posted one gun so far. I am just blown away at the response to this topic. I always suspected that there were a lot of folks like me, who were children of the "Cold War", and who always wondered what was behind the "Iron Curtain", and when the curtain began to move to the side a little bit, we couldn't stand the suspense, and had to see what it was all about.

Here is a family album of my Makarovs.

First, here is another shot of the Russian Makarov, the original, from which the satellite and allied countries were to model theirs:



Next, here is a Bulgarian Makarov:



Here is an East German Makarov:



And finally, here is my Chinese Makarov:



I have some other handguns that fire the Makarov cartridge, but will post them in a separate post.

Best Regards, Les

 

[Warren Sear]

When they first started coming in, you could get an M91 from Century arms for $19.99. Some had a cracked or missing handguard, but most were complete, or the crack could be repaired.

 

[les.b]

Haven't seen one of these posted yet..VZ52... 7.62x45 non import marked. I also have a few 91/30's and M44's..a few Yugo Toks..Steyr model 95 in 8x56r. I have an early Krebs built AK on a Russian receiver that I traded a Russian SKS..still have my other Russian SKS. Back in the late 80's early 90's I had a 01FFL and a small business in my home prior to my retirement so I could feed my reloading habit. Back then the Nagants were considered Russian junk. I did a lot of business with SOG in Lebanon Ohio. On several occasions I would purchase 91/30's by the case..20 per case with bayonets at $599 per case..that's $29.95 per rifle with bayonet! Sold em all day for $50 a piece. I still have a few of the old ones from back in the day..sold a hex Finnish capture last year for $275. Here's a few pics. Rich.

Rich:

That's one that is pretty rare, and non-import marked makes it even rarer. I always meant to add one to my stable, but just never got around to it. I used to have an FFL myself, and I too dealt with SOG... That's where some of these guns came from. Those were the days!!!

Thanks for sharing with us!

Best Regards, Les

 

[les.b]

Dug another one out of the armory. This is an "unissued" 1944 Finnish Tikka M91/30 with hang tag. I really like the potbelly stick the Finns used on these and other 91/30's. I've had this one a long time and have never shot it. AFAIK neither has anyone else since 1944. I'll have to pull the stock and see what year the receiver is. This is the only one of these I've ever run across in my area.

Also spied a Finn M39 a"41" capture 91/30 and a Russian M38 but those will have to wait for another day.

Richard:

That's another treasure!!! I don't know what I'd do in your case: the temptation to shoot it would be great. And the temptation to leave it "mint" would also be great!! I have a Finn M39 that was made in 1970, and it was mint when I got it ( I'll post it later), but I did shoot it. Only with modern commercial non corrosive ammo, though. The brand new Finn barrel was, and is pristine, and I intend to keep it that way, but think it's ok to shoot, as long as you don't abuse.

Best Regards, Les

 

[Warren Sear]

Here is my Russian made SKS...

 

[les.b]

Here is my Russian made SKS...

Warren:

I suppose that if there is a quintessential "Cold War" firearm, that we were allowed to import without restrictions, the Russian SKS would be it. How many military parades have we seen photos of during the Cold War, where the troops marched with SKSs shouldered?? I would include the AK varieties, and will get to them, but we were never allowed to import unmodified, full auto AKs like we were the unmodified SKSs.

You have a beauty there. I notice that importer insisted on stamping the English letters of the serial, even though they are the same as the Cyrillic letters. Gotta admire bureaucracy in action!! I have one also, and will post it later.

Again, thanks for sharing your collection with us!!

Best Regards, Les

 

[American1776]

Love the Makarov PM. Mine is in .380 auto for ammo availability, and I have a lot of .380 to begin with.

For ~350 bucks, you get: An all-steel pistol with a chrome lined barrel that is 100 percent reliable and will last forever. Easy to carry, and pretty darned accurate due to the fixed barrel.

I actually like the way it looks too.

 

[JayFramer]

Makarov:

Great pistol.

 

[les.b]

Love the Makarov PM. Mine is in .380 auto for ammo availability, and I have a lot of .380 to begin with.

For ~350 bucks, you get: An all-steel pistol with a chrome lined barrel that is 100 percent reliable and will last forever. Easy to carry, and pretty darned accurate due to the fixed barrel.

I actually like the way it looks too.

American:

A friend of mine just picked one of these up in a pawnshop, used, but like new in the box, with all the papers and what-not... For $260.00, dealer paid the tax. He texted me about the deal, and asked whether I thought that was a good price... Well, I said I would buy them all day at that price. His was like yours, a 380 version, with the adjustable sights. Marked "Baikal". I think he got a heck of a deal.

Thanks for sharing with us...

Best Regards, Les

 

[les.b]

Makarov:

Great pistol.

JayFramer:

Nice Bulgarian Makarov. I like them, and I think that they are still available. I think that seeing yours posted on your thread (click here for link) http://smith-wessonforum.com/firearms-knives-other-brands/477972-bulgy-mak.html was one of the things that led me to start this thread. These little guns are built like a bank vault, and have been one of the great open secrets of the shooting world since the ammo became readily available. They will last forever, we are getting them for less money than it would take to make them in today's market, and since all the different countries made basically the same gun, there are plenty of replacement parts out there in the unlikely event that something could ever go bad!!!

What's not to like??? Thanks for sharing....

Best Regards, Les

 

[Marshwheeling]

Marshwheeling:

Thanks for sharing with us... I love the Czech guns. The little CZ 50 is a real relic of the "Cold War". The CZ 52 is a unique and really cool handgun capable of handling really hot loads of the Tokarev cartridge.

Best Regards, Les

I once bought a pretty rare CZ motorcycle from a friend of my brothers, a guy we called "DR. Science". He would go on at length about what cool guns the CZ 52s were.

A few years later, I had owned a number of Jawa and CZ motorcycles, and developed an appreciation for their construction and craftsmanship. Another buddy thought I might like his CZ pistols, and offered them to me at an attractive price, so I bought them.

Since then, I have bought a CZ 75 BD Police, which is simply a splendid pistol. Unfortunately, however, I passed on a CZ 82 a few years ago, and have been kicking myself ever since. It would have filled a glaring hole in my modest array of CZs.

 

[American1776]

American:

A friend of mine just picked one of these up in a pawnshop, used, but like new in the box, with all the papers and what-not... For $260.00, dealer paid the tax. He texted me about the deal, and asked whether I thought that was a good price... Well, I said I would buy them all day at that price. His was like yours, a 380 version, with the adjustable sights. Marked "Baikal". I think he got a heck of a deal.

Thanks for sharing with us...

Best Regards, Les

Thanks for starting this interesting thread.

The ONLY thing I would complain about with the .380 Mak is the adjustable rear site. It's sharp and it gets in the way for carry.

I did purchase an aluminum fixed sight that can be installed in place of the adj. site---I just have to find it and CAREFULLY install it one of these days. Also, the front site could be a little thicker and taller.

But honestly, for what this pistol is for (close quarters defense), it's all good.

 

[Faulkner]

I have a CZ52 that was one of my first purchases using my C&R FFL when I first got it over 15 years ago.

I also have a very nice Russian SKS that I just don't happen to have a picture of. 1954 Tula

Well, I took a couple of pictures of my 1954 Russian SKS. I've had this one for about 25 years and paid the whopping amount of $59.00 for it.