Is this a good deal for a Makarov?

[Double Maduro]

I just got back from a local gun shop, buying cleaning supplies and snap caps. While I was there I saw that they had 3 Makarov's in the case.

These are Bulgarian, and they said they were new. They come with 2 magazines, a cleaning rod and an extra set of grips that on casual inspection looked to be wood, but may be plastic.

First, I didn't know they were still making Mak's. This is a reputable shop so they probably are.

Second, is the 9x18 round a decent self defense round?

Third, are these pistols accurate, reliable and safe?

Fourth, is $180.00 a good price?

All I know about Mak's I learned here so any info would be appreciated.

Thanks,
DM

 

[antsi]

$180 is a fair/decent price, but not a can't-pass-it-up deal of the century.

9x18 for self defense is just going to be another chapter in the same old debate. It is maybe a skoshe more powerful than .380 but a full notch down from 9mm para. It is very easy to shoot quick accurate follow up shots.

Maks have a well deserved reputation for reliability. I have never had any kind of malfunction with mine. Ocassionally you will hear of hiccoughs with certain brands of hollow point ammo but you will be able to find JHP's that work in your gun. And besides, the argument can be made that FMJ might be a better choice for self defense in this caliber anyway.

It is a proven design. The "Makarov kB!" is a nonexistent phenomenon.

They are plenty accurate as long as you're comparing apples to apples (won't outshoot an olympic match pistol, 'natch).

 

[lee n. field]

First, I didn't know they were still making Mak's. This is a reputable shop so they probably are.

They don't make them anymore. The most recent new were a short run of commercial Maks from Miltex. These are distinguished from milsurp by having a squared trigger guard. They're also quite a bit more expensive than milsurp.

What you're looking are probably some of the thousands of "unissued" Bulgarian Maks out there.

Second, is the 9x18 round a decent self defense round?

That's debatable.

accurate, reliable and safe?

yes.

is $180.00 a good price?

Right now, I don't know. I got mine about 3 years ago, when one of the vendors had a $99 ea for 2 or more deal. My dealer said he could do better than that with one of his distributors, and I got an unissued Bulgarian w/ holster and 2 mags, $136 out the door (taxes, shipping, FFL fees, etc.)

 

[David4516]

"First, I didn't know they were still making Mak's."

I don't think that they are. But, there are alot of "un-issued" Maks out there, and they could be considered "new"...

"Second, is the 9x18 round a decent self defense round?"

Decent, yes. Great, no. My Mak is my carry gun, and I don't feel under-gunned. But it's no .45, thats for sure...

"Third, are these pistols accurate, reliable and safe?"

Yes, yes, and yes. You won't find a more reliable compact auto out there.

"Fourth, is $180.00 a good price?"

It's not good, but it's not bad either. I think they average for about $150 or so, but that can vary depending on the condition of the Mak and your location. I think $180 is a fair price for an 'Un-issued' Makarov...

 

[alamo]

Bulgarian Makarovs are $129.95 from SOG so if you factor in shipping and the transfer fee from your dealer, $180 isn't too bad.

http://www.southernohiogun.com/surplus_hand.html


Makarovs are extremely reliable, most are accurate and they are safe. Do some reading up on them:

http://www.makarov.com/makfaq.html

http://www.makarov.com/makbasics.html


Spare parts and accessories are inexpensive and readily available:

http://www.makarov.com/cart/index.html


Ammo info.:

http://www.goldenloki.com/ammo/gel/9x18/gel9x18.htm

I use Cor-Bon in mine but they don't make it anymore.

Pick one up, you won't be sorry, it's a great bargain. It's also a piece of history. The Makarov was the primary sidearm of the Soviet/Warsaw Pact armies from the early 50s until not long ago. Still used though.

 

[makdaddy03]

The Makarov is the best darn handgun ever made.

 

[CZ-75]

I can't add too much to this, except to say that the price may not be that bad when you figure in the transfer fees and shipping from a wholesaler. It is probably worth it if the Cyrillic letters in the serial number haven't been stamped out, as recent imports have based on some recent bug up the BATF's @$$. The latest imports have the letters defaced.

Plenty of parts other than slides are available and the pistol is easily repaired should the mainspring or sear spring break, which are the only two things that have ever broken on mine; you can detail strip it and put it back together in under 10 minutes, unless you remove the extractor, which will take 10 minute all by itself to get back in.

 

[alamo]

If you get one, you might pick up a #19 recoil spring and a magazine loader from Makarov.com. The loader really helps a lot.
There are illustrated disassembly instructions on Makarov.com or you can get one of the Russian translated manuals. Some put on the Pearce or Makawrap grips. I like the Makawrap myself.

 

[David4516]

The #19 spring is a good idea if you are gonna shoot hotter loads. It will save some wear and tear on your pistol, and the brass won't fly so far. The latter isn't that big a deal for alot of Mak owners, but I reload 9mm Makarov/9X18 so I have to hunt down the brass...

I like the "star" grips. Most Maks come with these grips, I think they are the standard Mak grip. They are thin plasic and have a Star on each side. They come in red or black. The worst Makarov grips I've seen were the ones that came with my Bulgie Makarov from SOG. They had this thumb rest thing that was at totaly the wrong angle and made it much less comfortable.

There are all kinds of goodies you can get for Maks. This is one of the newer and more interesting ones I've seen:

http://www.makarov.com/32naa/index.html

 

[alamo]

I've read on the Makarov forum that they come with the thumb rest grips installed (usually the original grips come with it too) only to help make them legal to import. I'm not familiar with the system, but imported guns must have a certain number of points based on a scoring system and the thumb rest grips are put on to contribute to the scoring. Believe imported pistols must be of a certain size and the thumb rest grip makes the pistol wider for the measurement.

 

[BowStreetRunner]

I second the SOG idea, I got mine there....Ill try to attach a picture
I now have 300 rds of HP and FMJ thru it with no failures of any kind, and my mechanically disinclined self can clean it easily too
Makarov.com is a good resource also IMO....someone in the general board just posted a complaint about them not shipping some ammo for his order........but I like them.....my 2 orders from them have been timely.....its a shame they didnt perfom for him too
Go Maks!

 

[Bren]

I thought Bulgaria was the only counrty still making them new. They aren't coming in right now because of the war and people buying them up.

Reliable/accurate? Yes

Stopping power? You can do better per size.

Price? usually $160 (Bulgy)

I have two EG maks that I bought at $150 each recently at different places and consider that a fine deal. Bren

 

[David4516]

Just got back from Target shooting, another 250+ rounds thru my Mak with no problems... Dang I love this gun

 

[9x19]

Picture, if you will, Gretel with a fine new set of clothes... made by Novak and fit to a T!

Bren... you oughta get off your duff and send that slide... The sights are getting lonely!

 

[makdaddy03]

Bren, Nice set of Maks you have there. Nice to see you here at THR.

 

[Bren]

Thanks Makdaddy.

9x19, DOH! Ok, I'll try to send it in this week, hope your mill is still set up for the Maks. Thanks!

This one shoots low at 25 yards but I'm sending the one that shoots high.

 

[grenadier]

180 bucks for a Bulgarian isn't too bad of a deal, if the gun is in great condition, with a good finish. That would be a good price for an East German or Russian Makarov, which, in my experiences, tended to have somewhat better finishes.

I think you'll find them to be a pleasure to own and shoot. They are certainly ugly, but possess ironclad reliability and durability. I've never heard of someone wearing out a Makarov in a short time.

 

[12 Volt Man]

You guys have access to a milling machine to put dove tails on a mak? Details..........I need details!!! I was thinking about sending it in through Makarov.com. If you guys have another way, I would like to hear about it.

 

[denfoote]

Hey Bren,
The sights on Pistolet Makarova are numbered. I'm not sure any more how the system works, but Dr. Bloss does!! You can buy different rear sights over at his place!!

 

[CZ-75]

Bulgarian and EG numbers don't mean the same thing, either.

 

[9x19]

12 Volt Man,

I bought my own mill, and have done several of my own pistols... Bren is the first (non-family) guinea pig.

www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?threadid=22123

 

[cowpuncher/pi]

I bought one from a dealer in Tx. for $210.00. Which I found out later was high. Then about 3 weeks ago I was in a gun shop looking around. They had one for 149.50 and it had the sweetest trigger of any mak I have handled. I bought it. As far as stopping power. I have a friend that was in the International Police Force in Bosnia. He saw a man killed grave yard dead with one round.
His saying about the Mak is 1.5 million Bosnian's can't be wrong.
You can go to Makarov.com and order some really nice CCW mags. Plus tons of other stuff. I carry one in my patrol bag as a back up to my back up. Good-Good-is Good!

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. While not my first choice as a defensive caliber, much of my shooting is just for the pure fun of it, but I prefer centerfires. With the plethora of inexpensive 9x18 Makarov ammo available, the Mak's a frequent shooter, even if I'm primarily shooting another handgun. I think the fellow got a decent deal on his Makarov and I suspect he'll wind up really liking it. I bought my first one just to see what all the "hoopla" was about and while not usually partial to DA/SA autos, I do really like the thing. Wound up with an E. German that's like new for a second one to "compliment" the new Bulgarian.

As I've mentioned in a couple of range reports, I've been very impressed with the reliability of these pistols and was most pleasantly surprised in the accuracy. These little shooters are tough as they can be and I think they'll take lots of shooting with no problems....but, if there are, spare parts, magazines, and such are quite inexpensive when compared with those for some other pistols.

Getting back to the defense thing, while I do like other rounds better for such, I'd much rather have a Makarov that worked each time I pressed the trigger than one that usually did. That's normally been the case with the Maks so far as I can tell from what others say and what I've seen with these two.

Kudos on your purchasing a Mak and good shooting.

Best.

 

[Bren]

denfoote, who is Dr Bloss and how much are the sights?

I have a #2 sight. Thanks, Bren

 

[mainmech48]

IMO, $180 for a like-new Mak with accessories isn't unreasonable when you consider that the dealer probably has $130 or so in it. The guy's gotta eat and pay his bills too.

The DA pull on my Bulgarian was heavy and somewhat "gritty" feeling when I first got it. Thorough cleaning and some of Neil Keller's excellent lube in the right places helped, but putting a case of ammo through it slicked it up a good deal. The mechanism is robust and relatively simple. There are detailed instructions with good illustrations for a DIY action job on Makarov.com's web site. With a little care and patience you can get very nice results.

Accuracy is generally very good for a small "service" pistol, and they're as reliable as gravity with ball ammo. Mine feeds the Hornady HPs 100% too. YMMV, but light polishing of the feed ramp will usually cure most feeding problems with JHPs. Since the Cor-Bons disappeared, the Hornadys are the only premium SD load I'm aware of right now.

I ended up sending my slide to Mak.com and having a set of XS sights with the "standard" size non-tritium dot installed. It isn't cheap at $120 with return shipping, but the parts cost $60 by themselves. Add in the cost of two dovetail cutters, and the risk of getting in trouble for using company machine tools to work on a "gun" (even on my own time), and it really isn't that bad for the job.

I could've done it at home with a hacksaw and files, but who wants to spend the entire weekend doing a 1 hour job the hard way?

They make a HUGE difference for me in terms of speed of sight acquisition and practical accuracy. Non-Geezers can probably get away with just a dab of enamel on the front sight, but the tiny, shiney stock set-up and my bifocals just didn't cut it.

The Pierce rubber grips are cheap and a big improvement over the stock one that came on mine. They add a little bulk, but not enough to compromise concealment.

For a reliable, all-steel CCW/home defense pistol on a tight budget, the Maks are hard to match.