Fellas,
    I'm in the market for a Markarov and I wanted the feedback and advice of any Mak owners on this board. What is the concensus on these pistols? Any and all info is greatly appreciated!

Harp

My experience in handling, not owning these has been; cheap finish, rough trigger, stiff safety. Good value.

They're the AK of the pistol world.  I've heard more than one instructor say that while they've seen malfunctions in Glocks, Berettas, Sigs, 1911s, HiPowers, USPs, S&Ws, even locked up cylinders in revolvers, they've never seen a Makarov have a problem.  

I must agree with the others.
Its a cheap hand gun but comes with value.
She keeps on ticking, almost impossible to break.

Its fun to shoot as well IM more than pleased with mine

I do.

I've got a E.German mak I bought about a year and a half ago, finish is excellent,fit excellent, trigger excellent,Very accurate out to about 25 yds or so,(chrome lined bores) E. German maks were about the highest quality Maks made,Current bulgarian maks maybe a little rougher (inside and out) but are reliable,accurate, triggers are rough at first, but smooth out after about 500 or so rounds,I would also suggest to anyone who buys one to replace the recoil spring,(Go about 2# heavier) and put Wolfe 10% stronger mag springs in, Wolfe has new springs, (www.gunsprings.com) and at about $100.00 or so for a Mak, how can you lose? I never regretted buying mine,

You need to check out Makarov.com , lots of people who love the Mak.  Mine is a Russian, fantastic trigger(after easy to do trigger job), excellent accuracy(better than my dad's Glock 22, and as good or better than my Beretta 92), Nice finish(E. German is fantastic), Very safe to carry.   I wouldn't hesitate to use mine for self defense because of how well I shoot it.  I can hit where I aim, and that says it all.  You won't regret the Mak.

I have a Bulgarian Mak and love it, As well I have never had a single malfunction period nor have I seen one malfunction ! Mine has an excellent trigger both single and double action and shoots better than most $ 500 guns ! Just get one in 9x18 if you do and avoid the 380 versions, Ammoman has Barnual 9x18  HP's 115 $ per 1k case that shoot really well . Wolf ball 9x18 is pretty stiff and unpleasent unless you have Pierce grips !

Great value and super reliable with FMJ ammo.  problem is the blowback design makes it pain in the web of the hand to shoot.  My advise if you want an affordable handgun is spend $100 more and find a Ruger 9MM.  Caliber is more powerful and you can get high caps

My Russian is my truck gun.  It gets to ride while the Colt's, Glock, etc. sit in the safe.  My only regret is that I only bought 1.  

I love 'em.  I've had a Russian commercial model for years.  Also, I've talked all my friends into buying Makarovs of various makes.  Thus, I've had the opportunity to handle and fire at least one of every make except Chinese.  I'll probably get flamed for this, but you will see it repeated over and over on the net that the East German Maks are the nicest.  My personal experience does not indicate this is true.  Every Mak I've ever seen had about the same level of fit and finish.  True surplus guns sometimes displayed wear, which new commercial guns didn't, of course.  But believers in the cult of the uberkrauts try to make it sound like the E. German guns are greatly superior in some way to the Maks from other countries.  In my experience they are not.  But also in my experience, ANY Mak is great and will make you a happy little puppy.

OK, I'll continue to beat this dead horse and say that I LOVE MY MAK! I got it about 5 years ago after reading a cover story on it in some major gun magazine. I found it at Sports Authority here in Illinois for around $150. Russian model. I, too, wish I bought more... one for each floor in the house! I love how it shoots. It's a Russian utilitarian design that works as it should. I was just thinking yesterday about how it's never jammed or otherwise let me down. I keep it for home protection and loaded some nasty Hornady hollow points. BUY ONE! Now if I can only get my 1911 to be this reliable...  ;-)

I too have a E. German. Absolutely beautiful and dead reliable.
Unlike everyone else here I DO have a complaint. The stock sights are the only thing keeping this from being a great weapon. Has anyone done anything on improving the sights? Some Novak's like on my 1911's would be great...of course that would probably cost more than the gun. Any ideas?

i think i saw a pic a while go where someone had put some aftermarket sights on the mak, i think they used colt mustang sights. TRIPLE CHECK on this i could be VERY wrong about it.
it might of been on the makarov.com site.


Mak's have got to be one of the best guns around around for the money, even better than guns that are 3x the price of a Mak.

i will say that the EG Mak IS better than the others but not by much, it is smoother for sure but probably because these guns were most likely issued and broken in. unlike the bulgarian maks that are NIB.

i have seen a chinese mak for sale, but the gun store wanted almost $500 for it, waaaay too much IMO. and im sure that gun is still there, as are most of their guns because there prices are 3x the average price of other stores.

good news for the kalif mak lovers, the bulgie maks have been approved for sale into kalif.
Thanks Century Arms Inc for submitting these.


the maks shoot 9x18, while a 380 is 9x17, i have read articles where they have fired the 380 in the 9x18 barrel, but had feed/eject trouble. its not worth doing, but in a self defense application its good info to know.

DO NOT FIRE 9X18 ULTRA OR POLICE ammo in the mak, its made for machine guns and is too hot for the mak.

Just picked up an unissued Bulgarian Mak from SOG (www.southernohiogun.com) came with holster, extra mag and cleaning rod/tool. Pretty cheap right now while they last, check it out at their website and then have your dealer order one or two.

And no, I have nothing to do with SOG.

I like my MAK. Its a decent pistol for the $150 I paid for it.
c-rock

The Makarov is a much-needed and welcome update of the Walther PP design.   I bought three East German ones a couple years ago and wish I'd bought more.  The fixed barrel really contributes to accuracy.

There are three things I don't care for with the Maks: 1) unique caliber. 2) lack of good replacment grips.  The Pearce is too big and soft.  3) butt latch mag release.

These gripes are minor and should in no way prevent someone from buying one or more.

I see this pistol at the gun shows all the time but I know nothing about them. What is the best cal. to get them in? Once and a while there is a fellow that travels to Europe and brings back cases of guns like this. What contry is best manufacture? What is a good price range? What should I look for when buying (fit, finish, etc.)?

ive seen a replacement barrel for makarovs in .380. worthwhile?

From what I've seen above I should look for an East German or Russian Markarov. I think the E. German models are what the fellow at the gun show had. I believe, when 9X18 was mentioned, reference was being made to the 9mm Russian Markarov cartridge. Is this correct and is it easy to obtain?  

AR-Fan: Wolf makes 9X18. Ammoman sells it for around $120/case delivered. You probably won't find ammo at Wal-Mart but it isn't anything TOO off the beaten path.

Thanks for the info. From what I read the 9X18 is a little hotter than the .380 and just a little less than the 9mm luger.