Price guide for Russian Makarovs?

Amadeus, do you mind telling me why, other than collecting, you would be interested in this particular pistol? It fires a 9x18mm that is just weak enough that the pistol can work with a simple blowback action and does not need a locking breech. But that means that it is a singularly weak round for any purpose other than plinking and I would rather use a .22LR for that.
 
This is just an anectodal evidence, but I saw one Russian Makarov go bang upon decocking. That made me stay away from them (not that I like the decocking levers anyway).
 
AmadeusM said:
Very interesting. Can you tell us more?
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Not much to tell. A friend lowered the hammer with the decocking lever at a local range, pointing the gun downrange, and the gun went bang. The gun was purchased new (from old Russian surplus). It may have been a defect, may have been a one-off event. My friend keeps it now as a souvenir, but doesn't use it much. In case of emergency it still fires straight and to the point of aim, so I suppose it would fulfill its role if need arises.
 
I just recently sold mine to a good friend for I think it was $165 (w/ 100 rounds of ammo). Mine shot (and shoots still) straight & true.
1st I'd heard of the problem w/ the decock lever.
 
Hugh is right. It is such a weak round, especially from such a short barrel.

But the Maks tend to be VERY reliable-- with a capital R.
 
komondor said:
But the Maks tend to be VERY reliable-- with a capital R.
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True, but then so are revolvers. For the empty weight of the Mak (730 grams) one can get a S&W model 60LS or 649 Bodyguard with 5 .357 Mag rounds in the chambers. I would prefer to trust my life to the S&W and the .357 Mag in this equation.

Mind you, I understand we are talking more about a collector item. Still, it always makes sense to look at the practical side as well.
 
i dont know that the mak round is so weak, its more powerfull than a .380 ACP IIRC, and ya dont hear that the 380 is weak.

nothing wrong with maks, for the $$ anyway, sure lotsa better stuff around but the maks a lot better than throwing rocks, also is very reliable, i had one and put pearce grips on it, and used cor bon ammo and it wasnt at all bad imho, used to keep it in my car glovebox, if it got stolen no biggie.

as far as a mak vs a revolver, well the maks cost about $150 or so, the revolvers mentioned are what, 3X or 4X that much lol?? i looked at snubby smiths a while back and some of the scandium 357s were almost $800 IIRC, i guess ya could get a used one, but still wayyyy more than $150.

i trust my life to a kahr P9, PM9 or a glock 33, each of which is, imho, as reliable as a revolver, mine have certainly never had any problems, anyway.
 
Www.makarov.com has more info on Maks than you could ever possibly want. The Makarov FAQ page lists the approximate values of different pistols. I haven’t been into Maks for a couple of years though, so I can’t vouch for how accurate the prices are currently.

For info on ballistics, you might want to check out www.goldenloki.com . There are some gel tests posted there on different kinds of 9x18 ammo.
 
SIFU1A said:
i looked at snubby smiths a while back and some of the scandium 357s were almost $800 IIRC
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None of those I mentioned were scandium. Besides, I would rather not shoot scandium (not of my own free will, anyway). They will bite your hand. :eek:

Overall, I've got nothing against Maks. As I mentioned, the story I told could have been a unique problem, and no other Mak ever made had it.

I heard the German Maks issued to the police were particularly good.
 
nothing else is like shooting a scandium J frame 357mag snub, imho, not even a .500 S&W.

the german maks are the best for sure.

i also had a PA63 (IIRC??) the 2 tone hungarian (again IIRC) mak clone, it was ok too, not as good as a mak though imho. i saw some in shotgun news really cheap though (IIRC $130)
 
The Makarov is generally held to be a diamond in the rough as far as cheap pistols go. Supremely reliable, as SIFU1A points out it is more powerful than the .380 & ammo is cheap = you can get lots of practice. Now it is not an HK but it is not a bad little pistol either. About like a PPK and a little rougher (okay allot rougher) around the edges (!).

Awhile back I posted a link to a pistol review site - kinda like a Wikipedia type thing where anyone could post a review or comment. And I seem to remember it enjoying allot of really good reviews there - more than allot of other guns by comparission. I'll try to find the link if anyone is interested...
 
i would say if they break into my vehicle and steal the thing its not me arming criminals its criminals arming themselves.

i have a CCW license BUT its against the law to pack pistols in many places (ie certain restaurants, polling places, etc) so occasionally i leave it in my car which is a corvette which has no trunk, so theoretically it could get stolen (hasnt ever happened) from the glovebox, theoretically a gun could be stolen from anyplace no matter what (ie from your safe locked in your home if given the time, tools, and a big enough inclination to get them) so imho if ya have a gun it could at least in theory get stolen, i would prefer if one has to get stolen it would be a $150 one vs a $800 one.
 
I read some excellent articles back in the latter 90's about these little guns , oneof the articles was focused on modding the Mak so that is felt better in the hands , rounding of corners and such , afterwhich it proved to be quite a nice little plinker.
I wanted one for a while but then I'd have to have yet another type of ammunition in my closet.:D Also I think it might be better to have somewhat standardized weaponry that does'nt need 'hard to find' ammo.
 
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