New Mak, fresh out of cosmo

drudgeon · Mar 11, 2016

Just finished spending the better part of today elbow deep in mineral spirits and baking eastern block guns in the oven(I have an amazing wife who tolerates this BS). I wanted to share the fruits of my labor, a Bulgarian Makarov. It was quite the job getting this thing clean, as there was cosmoline in every single nook and cranny, and at an average depth of about .5 inches

I have tried really hard to find some evidence that this thing was ever used, but I can't seem to.
There is something about these eastern block guns that just make me a happy man.

Stomper · Mar 11, 2016

You missed a spot.

drudgeon · Mar 11, 2016

Ha! I am sure I probably did. Is it weird that I am growing to like the smell of cosmoline? Kind of a new manly fragrance - Eau de Soviet.

erudne · Mar 11, 2016

drudgeon said:
Ha! I am sure I probably did. Is it weird that I am growing to like the smell of cosmoline? Kind of a new manly fragrance - Eau de Soviet.

soviet tears

308 · Mar 11, 2016

drudge said:
..Is it weird that I am growing to like the smell of cosmoline?

Hardly. I get all giddy smelling the cosmo on my fingers after handling my C&Rs

Mikej · Mar 12, 2016

308 said:
Hardly. I get all giddy smelling the cosmo on my fingers after handling my C&Rs

There's a picture for ya'!

drudgeon · Mar 13, 2016

Apparently my hand is too meaty for the poor old Mak(I am part Yeti). It fought back at the range.

Also.. I don't remember 9x18 having such harsh recoil. The thing was hammering harder than .357mag in my SP101. I was shooting some Tula surplus ammo through it, and am wondering if the surplus Russian stuff is loaded a lot hotter?

drudgeon · Mar 13, 2016

Just picked up some PPU 93 grain, and some Silver Bear 94 grain. A friend of mine lent me a 21lb Wolff spring to try from his Mak. If it's still gonna be disagreeable with factory ammo and a heavy spring, she may have to find a new home with someone who isn't a large handed pansy.

PaulB47 · Mar 13, 2016

I bought one of those Russian Maks that came in just after the Wall came down, remember the stacks of boxes at gun shows for $129 each?

I did a fluff and buff or whatever you call it to clean up the action. It's a good size for carry even if the finish is not up to that (I was thinking of one of those D-I-Y baked on finishes but never got around to it). I like the heel mag release on a carry gun, no more inadvertent mag drops.

Yeah, recoil in this gun is sharp, just an effect of the blowback design. You can swap barrels for a .380ACP cartridge which should help some. Also you can get a nice rubber grip for it. Or just put up with it. "Shoot a little, carry a lot"...

Actually I don't carry it any more. It's just an extra gun to have around for whatever reason. Little money in it means you don't feel guilty if it sits in the safe. Mine doesn't bite my hand like that.

Stomper · Mar 13, 2016

Can those be re-chambered to 9x19?

drudgeon · Mar 13, 2016

My guess is no on the re-chambering. 9x18 has a bullet diameter of .365 and 9x19 is .355
I am not a gunsmith(I don't play one on TV either), but I think that hundredth might be a bit to much wiggle room.
I've heard of swapping the barrels out to .380 and even .32, but I don't think I've ever seen a 9x19 barrel. My impression was that 9x19 was difficult to get good reliability in straight blowback designs.

CLT65 · Mar 13, 2016

You're right, 9x19 is a no-go for a Makarov, exactly for the reasons you mention.

I have an EG Makarov and a CZ82. I like them both but they do have a sharper recoil than you might expect for the caliber. I once accidentally fired a magazine full of .380 the the CZ82. It functioned fine but I wondered why I couldn't hit anything until I picked up the oddly bulged empties.

Nowadays I just trim 9x19 brass back a millimeter, cast a bunch of little lead bullets from some cheap Lee molds, and shoot them cheaper than the price of .22lr. I load them to about .380 auto level and they snap a little less too.