Posted: 3/6/2019 10:16:18 AM EDT
[Last Edit: 1saxman][Edited]
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Had the pistol for awhile and never paid much attention to it but carrying was a problem because the decocker was so stiff. I was getting ready to sell it and just started playing around with it. I realized there's no way to just 'flick' it like a thumb safety - you have to have both hands on the pistol and push the lever forward in a sliding motion with the strong hand thumb. This is actually easy and can be done very quickly after the draw as the pistol is being presented.
Consequently I picked up some 9X18 Hornady 'Critical Defense' ammo and I will definitely be carrying it. I had already fired it a few times and realized it's accuracy potential with the fixed barrel, but the double-action trigger pull was brutal. I measured it at 33 lbs using a luggage scale. So fortunately I found the Wolff Spring PA63 calibration spring set that any PA63 owner probably should have. It has a selection of main springs and a stronger recoil spring. I tried the 9 lb hammer spring first and it was what I wanted - worked right off the bat. The stronger recoil spring is to compensate for the weaker main spring to prevent excessive battering - I didn't really have any problem drawing back the slide after installing it but you probably would not want to let the slide slam shut without loading - with no ammunition, just ride it home. Now the double-action pull is good enough for that first shot without pulling the gun too far off line. The single action pull is really nice now. The green box came numbered to the gun from Hungary so I believe it is the box in which it left FEG. 
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They were a great buy when they hit the markets, it's hard to find parts and mags for them now. It'll fit in a Walther PP holster if you're looking. The spring kit is a must. I've seen one that had Novak Colt Mustang sights installed and it looked good, probably helped with accuracy as well since the factory sights are minuscule. Like the Walthers, the PA63 tends to be quite accurate though. Remember the aluminum frame isn't rated for high pressure ammo (there is no SAAMI specs for 9x18 +P) nor are heavier rounds recommended (95gr is max bullet weight- Buffalo Bore and a couple of others make/made rounds in the 110-115gr range). The feed ramp is easily polished if you have any issues with HP rounds. There were .380 conversion barrels made for them but they're very hard to find these days. |
You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help. -Calvin
| I want to say I went with the 13lb since I have a mix of the combloc ammo which is inconsistent in its loading (some of it is more powerful than others). I also polished the internals; the trigger is honestly not bad for what it is, especially considering how it came out of the box. |
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Thanks. I ordered the spring kits today for it. I've had it for a very long time, but never shot it much because of the typically horrible East Bloc trigger. Otherwise I think it is an interesting take on the Walther PP series. |
A conquering army on the border will not be stopped by eloquence. Otto von Bismarck
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Get the spring upgrade kits from Wolff... The hammer spring upgrade will help with the DA and SA pull while still giving it upphmm to bust a primer. The recoil spring will help with the snappiness. Hogue grips will help dampen recoil also. Great pistols..I ccw it whenever I can and I have other Fég versions of it from the. 22 version to the .380 and 32acp. |
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Originally Posted By Harmonic_Distortion: I just found a PA63 I had stashed. It FIFY.  As delivered they're absolutely horrible; they obviously wanted to make sure pulling the trigger was a very deliberate action. With the spring kit and some polishing it's as nice as some of the PPK series I've felt, which isn't to say great, but certainly a shootable DA/SA gun (if you can get past the ludicrously tiny sights).
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Shitty DA and safety and other stuff was sporting pistol points. I found the original pistol point records at Fég and it was saying those features were an added safety. The plan I was looking at was that once they entered the US, the importer was to clean it up and spruce it up for the market. Obviously....that wasn't done. |
| I knew the "target grips", the left side thumb swell, were an import thing, hadn't heard about the springs. I only use the safety as a decocker so no big deal on that but you can smooth it up a little too. You can, or could anyways, find the left side grip panels online and the ones off of the commercial FEG gun fit. |
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I installed the 9lb. hammer spring and the 13lb. recoil spring. It's a totally different pistol. The DA is now useable, and the SA is actually pretty good, it breaks at about 4.5lbs. now. Even with the absurd old school tiny sights it was pretty good at 7 yards. The recoil is still over the top for a pistol of this meagre caliber. I had my S&W 28-2 Highway Patrolman at the range along with the FEG, and even with full power .357 magnum loads, it's recoil was far less punishing than the blow back PA63. I put a box of Silver Bear FMJ and half a box of LVE through it. The Silver Bear was accurate and reliable, the LVE made stuff was garbage. Accuracy all over the place, inconsistent ejection, and felt recoil was never the same round to round. With good ammo I could see using it for carry if my primary 9mm pistols were down for whatever reason. |
A conquering army on the border will not be stopped by eloquence. Otto von Bismarck
The biggest issue with 9x18 and especially in the PA-63, is the availability of good ammo. Because of the alloy frame, FEG recommended not using any ammo over 95gr and not using any ammo labeled +P (even though there's technically no SAAMI spec for +P in the caliber). Most of the commie ammo seems to be listed around 1000fps although I've seen reports it's usually in the 900s; I don't have a chrono but you can tell some of it lighter recoiling than others. The various Bear ammo shoots well in my experience but none of the hollow points expand much, if at all. Without being able to use some of the Buffalo Bore, Underwood, etc that pretty much leaves you with Hornady Critical Defense as about the only "defensive" cartridge for it and usually doesn't usually get 12" in gelatin. It gets good reviews for expansion, reliability, etc. but unfortunately you can't find any right now.  That said, I've carried mine in an old Bianchi Hawk shoulder holster while driving (with Hornady); it'll fit in most holsters for a Walther PP. I really need to send the slide to Novak and have them install a set of their Mustang sights on it; I might shoot it more often with better sights. |
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Hopefully you have magazines for it, they've gone from under $10/each to like $65-75 when you can find them. I'd also grab a spare firing pin, supposedly they're hard and will break but I try not to dry fire mine- heck, I'm not sure when it was last shot. If you get bored it's easy to bevel the mag well, round any edges and polish the frame to a shiny finish. Not recommending it mind you, but they were $95 pistols and I didn't mind messing around with mine at the time. I was goingbto send the slide to Novak's but I have too many other projects and the PA now lives in my toolbox as a garage gun.
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Originally Posted By Miami_JBT: Well, I'm bringing this back from the dead because I had an old PA63 that can use some love. same |
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Norcal LEO callsign: Hold Fast
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| The best spring change in my Polish P64 (essentially the same gun as the PA63) was the slide spring. Beefing it up made the cartridge much more manageable. Cleaning up the lockwork helped with the trigger pull too, though mine is really only a range gun, so a lighter DA trigger wasn’t a priority for me. |