Magazine release is the somewhat awkward “European Style” located at the base of the grip. Makarov magazines hold eight rounds in a single stack. The safety is the hammer drop type (keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction when applying this safety). The safety lever is very conveniently located on the left rear side of the slide.
The safety is thumb operated and locks the slide. The pistol is constructed of high quality, milled steel. The barrel is chrome lined for longevity and corrosion resistance.
It has often been compared to the German Walther PP pistol, although its internal mechanics differ. The Makarov pistol is a conventional double action (double action first shot), blowback operated pistol. The Makarov was adopted by the Red Army in 1951 as the 9mm Pistolet Makarov or PM. The Russian Makarov was developed in the late 1940’s as a result of the efforts of Nikolay Makarov who worked at a Soviet small arms design bureau. 380 ammo works fine in the modified Makarov pistol.īased heavily on the captured Walther PPK, the Makarov pistol was developed to replace the obsolete Tokarev 7.62×25 TT33 single action pistol that had been in Soviet service since 1933. It should be noted that Federal sells threaded. The Makarov cartridge uses a 94 grain projectile that chronographed at a transonic an average of 1073 feet per second (10 round average). The Mak is actually closer to a 9.2mm caliber. 380 ACP cartridge is not interchangeable with the Mak round either. Additionally, the Makarov round has a larger diameter projectile. The case on a 9×18 Makarov is a straight wall case, not tapered like the common 9mm. Be advised that the 9×18 round is not interchangeable with the 9mm x 19 commonly referred to as the 9mm Luger or Parabellum, these rounds are too powerful for a straight blow back operated pistol like the Makarov. Often the pistols are referred to as the “9mm” Makarov caliber. The reloading industry was quick to respond to owners of 9×18 com bloc pistols, by manufacturing dies, projectiles, brass and reloading data for the Mak round.Ī note of caution on Makarov and other pistols that fire the 9×18 cartridge.
Even the once rare 9×18 Makarov ammunition is common today in both military surplus, and newly manufactured, commercial forms. The pistols are now inexpensive, due to the quantities imported. Since the fall of the Berlin wall and communism in Europe, previously rare communist firearms that once commanded high “collector only” prices have become commonplace. If someone had the occasion to have Makarov ammunition and a Mak pistol, they would have been considered foolish to fire it, due to the high value of both. Even the peculiar 9×18 Makarov ammo was strictly a collectors item and was as uncommon as the pistols themselves. The Makarov pistols in this country were only found in the gun collections of the affluent. These pistols were extremely rare and expensive. A few more were captured from the Russians during the Afghanistan war and somehow made their way into the United States. Some were brought to this country during the Vietnam war by returning vets. Few people in the western world had ever seen one, or even knew they existed.Ī few Makarovs had slowly made their way into the hands of U.S. A few short year ago the Makarov pistol was, one of the many enigmas from behind the communist iron curtain.
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