A Cold War Beauty: Makarov

[MilitaryArms]

I've always been a fan of Soviet era weapons. When I was a kid it was probably because the Soviets were our enemies and their firearms were mostly unavailable on the U.S. market.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union we've been blessed with a couple of decades of surplus firearms from former Com-Bloc countries.

The Makarov is to Russia what the 1911 is to us here in the U.S. It's one of their most loved service pistols which remains in widespread use even after being replaced by a more modern 9mm Yarygin pistol in military service.

I recently shot a video about my Bulgarian Makarov pistol and wanted to share it with you guys.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ_XCZsfrr0

Questions and comments are welcome (including nit-picks on my pronunciation of Makarov :D )

[5pins]

Nice review as usual.

[MilitaryArms]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[brickboy240]

I have a Bulgarian military Makarov.

Surprisingly good shooter...accurate and reliable. Very Walther PPK-ish.

They were a bargain in the early 90s at 120 bucks apiece but I don't know if I'd add one today at their prices. Ammo is not always the easiest to find unless ordering online.

- brickboy240

[DOA]

Thanx for the video. I had a 62 EG mak and kick myself for selling it. Of course its no fun when you get slide bite from one.;)

[Denali]

Very neat pistol! One of my great regrets was selling mine years back, I landed it for $119.00, thinking it easily replaced I traded it for some fishing tackle...A terrible mistake.

[ralph]

I still have a mint EG Mak I bought when I had my C&R.. Best $150 I've spent, to that point. They are quite accurate, probably one of the pistols I'll hang on to..

[Ned Christiansen]

Yeah, like ringing 18" gongs at 100 yards-becomes-boring accurate, and better. They might be a tad big for their caliber but they are more than a tad reliable and accurate. The CZ82's in this caliber are a great value too and again, amazingly accurate.

[G34]

Was going to make a thread talking about my Bulgarian and post pictures on the internals, talk about the weapon's method of operation and how it interfaces with the user but found this and see you said it all. They're very accurate, reliable weapons with great triggers. I will probably get cuts in mine to put real sights on it soon.

I carry mine when carrying a full size weapon isn't desirable like when wearing unbelted pants (sweats or workout shorts). I also carried it when I went to see Batman at a crowded Imax today. Printing was a concern for obvious reasons. I'm aware modern options get the job done better for the size, but I shoot it very well and am comfortable it will get the job done if I ever needed it.