A friend of mine just brought over a Russian Makarov (IJ-70) in .380 that belongs to his dad. He brought it over for me to see if I could fix it. In looking at it the barrel is bulged about an inch forward of the chamber with the slide back. The bulge binds the spring against the slide which keeps the slide from going forward, preventing takedown.

So, is there any other way to fix this besides beating the slide forward and hoping nothing else breaks? If I can get the slide off then I can cut the barrel off behind the bulge and replace the barrel.

Also, assuming I can get the barrel removed without breaking anything, where can I get a replacement barrel?

I know nothing about the smithing involved.

But here is a place that has barrels.

www.e-gunparts.com/DisplayAd.asp?chrProductSKU=1047410&chrSuperSKU=&MC=

Is the slide fully back with a bulge in the barrel sticking out the front of the slide preventing the slide from going forward? If that is the case, I would cut the barrel off to let the slide go forward.

Will the trigger guard swing down to let the slide back far enough for take down?


If you had to force it, I would get the trigger guard down, and force it back so if I got it It could be disassembled, forcing it forward is not going to get you anywhere.

There are replacement barrels at a few places, they are pinned to the frame, and you need a jig to install them safely. Also if you look around replacement slides are out there if it comes down to it.

OK, I'll ask - how did it get the bulge?

cut the barrel as close to the slide as you can. Then drill out the center of the barrel until the metal of the barrel is thin enough to collapse in on it's self.

Quoted: cut the barrel as close to the slide as you can. Then drill out the center of the barrel until the metal of the barrel is thin enough to collapse in on it's self.

Damn, thats a good idea. I'm going to tackle this next week. We'll see how it goes.

As far as how the bulge got there: I don't know. The guy who brought it to me didn't know. It belongs to his father and apparently has sentimental value. I assume it was a squib or other barrel obstruction.

Stripped mine to see what the options are and didn't come up with anything helpful. The only way to remove the slide so the barrel can be pulled is to slide it forward over the barrel - over the obstruction in this case. Best option I can think of - other than battering the slide over the obstruction - is to cut the barrel immediately behind the obstruction. The barrel is toast anyway. However, I'm unsure how much of the barrel must be left to use a barrel press to pull the old barrel out. He should definitely post his situation and photos to the Makarov forum on Gunboards.Com - there are some smart folks on there, too. As for replacement barrels, he can check makarov.com to see if there are any still available - they are liquidating their remaining inventory. If not, I have seen barrels on Gunbroker and some of the other auction sites. Hope that helps.