These pistols were imported from Bulgaria and East Germany and were marked with the country of origin, as each of these nations obtained a quantity of the Russian-made versions in the 1970s and ‘80s as supplementary arms to make up for shortages in their ordnance inventories. But the high point of my “in the day” Makarov experiences occurred when I was in Russia.

Seven different loads are also run through the gun to check for operation and recoil.True to the product description our Makarov proved to be in excellent condition. It was with a former KGB protection officer who was working for an arms dealer in Brussels at the time I knew him. It is a good self defense cartridge and the owner must train with it.They don’t BUILD them. The changes from the initial prototypes to the early production pistols and thence to the mass production and late production guns includes a number of minor part variations that are not documented elsewhere in print, and the explanation of Makarov serial number and dating schemes (to the extend they are deciphered so far) is excellent for the collector.

Someone looking for a Leonardo Antaris or Collector Grade work will be disappointed, as this is more akin to Robert Adair’s book on Unique Pistols.That said, the content is good and contains plenty of useful elements. And even with the rising price,a decent bargain.Not a fan? Along with the Tokarev TT-33, the Browning P-35 and various other weapons, I taught my trainees to disarm their attackers and quickly turn the weapons against them. My contact had a shoulder rig that had a pocket for the front of the suppressor and a spare magazine under the arm opposite the holster. Beginning in 1958, it would be three years later that this group of engineers would come up with a pistol coined at first as the CZAK, taking its initials from the names of some of the designing members. It was officially replaced by the 9mm Luger Glock 19 and the WIST 94, both of which conform to NATO standards.The P-83 has rubber-lined, semi-wrap-around grips, and recoil is far more controllable compared to its predecessor. The guy told me that the name Century was derived from the amount of time it took to get their guns to function. As of 2016, it appears that Poland released the greater majority of them, as it is now being offered in large numbers by several dealers and distributors, and is by far the lowest priced Eastern Bloc surplus pistol of its caliber.It wasn’t until 18 years later that Poland finally adopted a much-needed replacement for the P 64. Those in the original 9mm Makarov chambering, however, will reap a higher price.

The 9x18mm Makarov cartridge is distinct from the 9mm Luger, uses an odd-sized .365-inch bullet. Breaking From The Herd. Nikolai Makarov opted for a cartridge developed by Boris Semin, who in 1946 developed it from the older Walther 9mm Ultra, an experimental cartridge originally intended for the Luftwaffe. Walther opens the semi-automatic pistol to the world with its easy-to-manipulate CCP M2 in .380 ACP.There has been an error with your Email Subscription. Century Arms, long known for their importation of military surplus firearms from around the world, continues to bring us neat pieces of history from abroad. Women do not know what a Makarov is, so why are you featuring a woman in the main photo?Maybe because most of us like to see strong women with guns I picked up one of these several years ago when the sold for less the $200. When I was in St. Petersburg, I met a female bodyguard who was an ex-member of the KGB and had carried her Makarov in a shoulder holster. Defensive loads are less common, but Hornady loads a Critical Defense round for the Makarov and so I'm others are out there. I guess I could have tried to switch them out for the correct ones, but I sold it instead. In the United States, the East German Makarov has become one of most highly sought of their ilk given the beautiful dark blued, smooth finish, coupled with jet-black checkered plastic grips. Adopted in 1982, this semiauto is a design that has contemporary features acceptable by even today’s standards. Its most unattractive point is the black paint-like finish that easily chips off with use over time.As noted earlier, it is very apparent that none of the aforementioned countries have released any sizeable quantity of surplus ammunition for the 9mm Makarov cartridge, due to several countries holding numbers of pistols in this caliber as contingency war stock. By using a fixed barrel and blowback operation the Makarov is simpler to produce, uses fewer parts, and has incredible reliability compared to other designs. Is it possible that my recollection is correct, and in that event is it also possible that they might have gone into weapon manufacturing to earn a living …. The checkered red Bakelite grips also have a circled star in the center.