"Makarov machine pistol ..."

[Swing]

I just finished reading a Time magazine article about the bin Laden raid. In it states:

"On a shelf in bin Laden's bedroom were the AK-47 and Makarov machine pistol that were his constant companion ..."​

Now, I'm 99% sure the article is simply in error. Goodness knows it wouldn't been the first of such to flub a firearms reference. However, out of curiosity, did Nikolay Makarov ever design a machine pistol? I am not aware of one, but figured I'd toss it out there for discuss. The only other possibility is it was an OTs-33 chambered in 9x18mm Markarov and the journalist truncated it.

Anywho, just wondering. Thanx.

 

[TurtlePhish]

I always thought bin Laden had a Krinkov.

 

[Swing]

All the footage I've seen shows him with an AKS-74U or the regular AK-74, but its still well within the realm of possibility that there was an AK-47 there. Or the journalist flubbed that one too.

His courier that got blown away in the guest house also, apparently, had an AK. At least according to the article.

 

[TurtlePhish]

Or the journalist flubbed that one too.

Ever seen that "Journalists' Guide to Firearms" pic?
Your average person (journalists/reporters especially) sees any AK-style firearm and calls it an AK-47. I'd wager it was pretty well flubbed. Same with the Mak- it was probably some other gun that was misidentified.

 

[Swing]

I didn't until now. Just googled it and laughed my butt off.

 

[gun addict]

who knows, maybe he has a Stechkin pistol next to him, that's very much a makarov machine pistol

 

[TurtlePhish]

It's great

Worst part is, it's pretty much true.

 

[Telekinesis]

I'll also agree that this is most likely a case of a journalist who doesn't know much about firearms. It is very unlikely that there was a full auto Makarov with Bin Laden.

However, there IS at least one full auto Makarov in existence. A professor from the Russian Academy of Missiles and Artillery, Alexey A. Konovalov, modified a Makarov as a proof of concept for a SMG bolt design which reduced the cyclic rate of a blowback SMG while reducing the size (mainly length) of the receiver. (What better way to show that you don't need bolt overtravel than to use a pistol to demonstrate the concept?)

The result is the Prototype 1130, probably the ugliest Makarov in existence.

Here's a link to a page describing his work:
http://izhevsk.club.guns.ru/eng/konovalov.html
This is not a review, but more of a abstract of his project/paper. If you don't like phrases like "refer to Fig 1a,b,c" you may not enjoy reading it.

The high points are that the average modern SMGs typically have rates of fire up to 1200rpm which wastes ammo and is difficult to control (He cites optimal rpm being around 450rpm.) The normal way to solve this is to give the smg a longer receiver, meaning it takes more time to cycle, thus reducing the rate of fire. What Konvalov did with this prototype was to show a way to reduce the rate of fire drastically without having the size penalties of increasing the length of the receiver.

 

[armoredman]

Interesting.

 

[Swing]

Interesting. Thanks for posting, Telekinesis.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I'd bet a Stechkin in 9mm Mak or a mis ID'ed standard Mak.

 

[SDC]

Makarov DID work on a submachine gun (the TKB-486, later refined by Stetchkin), as well as a number of other designs that most people don't associate with him, but I'm sure that the guy writing this story heard "9mm Makarov machine pistol" (ie. Stetchkin), and ran with it without bothering to research what he actually had.

 

[Swing]

Good point on the Stechkin. AFAIK, it was developed by Igor Stechkin, not Makarov, but is chambered for 9x18mm Makarov. I've read in at least a couple of sources that the Soviets used them in Afghanistan, so bin Laden and crew would certainly have had access.

Thanx all for the replies.

 

[el Godfather]

Stechkin APS is one of the top choices among people who want to get their hands on a reliabilie machine pistol. (non-US issue).

In world markets black and legal in many places its most conmonly available machine pistol from old Soviet stockpiles.

Its not heavy like it looks.

Very reliable and capacity (20) is great specially when the mag doesnt stock out.

I have fired it a lot and thought the recoil is very manageable.

 

[Narwhal]

Just for you

 

[Dunkelheit]

 

[Swing]

LOL! I've now seen a few different variations of the "Journalist's Guide ..." and they all are a riot. Well that and sadly true.

For example, I remember during the Elián González affair one of the news articles referred to a MP-5 as an AK-47.