I’ve actually used all three of those when I used to work in some third world countries and wanted a pistol chambered in 9x18mm to “blend in.” To be honest, I never really noticed much difference in reliability or accuracy among them, though I normally only had a chance to shoot the pistol at hand enough to make sure it functioned and the sights were somewhat on at 50 feet. 380 ACP but has fewer modern expanding loads available in the U.S. The 9x18mm Makarov round offers a small step up in performance over the. The one I shoot all of the time, and used for shooting tests in this article is actually stamped “Bulgaria” as part of the import markings. Some of these came in with the Makarovs actually produced in East Germany and Bulgaria. I don’t like those the same way I don’t like AKs with thumbhole stocks, no bayonet lugs and other politically correct features.Ī few Makarov PMs pistols were imported but “by mistake.” Both East Germany and Bulgaria had purchased Russian PMs as well as producing their own copies of it. By the 1990s, some of the Baikal IJ-70 versions of the Russian Makarov came into the USA. I never wanted copies of Colts or Smith & Wessons, so why would I want a copy of the Makarov PM? By 2002, reportedly more than five million Makarovs had been produced in the Soviet Union/Russia, but about the only Russian ones that had entered the USA during the Cold War and its aftermath were ones captured in the third world. A reliable and fairly accurate design, Russia’s PM’s main faults are its small sights, heel placed mag release, limited capacity and underpowered cartridge.įrom the time I had first learned about the Makarov I wanted a Russian one.
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It was important to teach the basic manual of arms with the Makarov, as it is counterintuitive for those who have used a Walther PP or PPK, and some government trainees had. However, since I did not have a supply of 9x18mm ammo, I just had them disarm, point and dry fire the Type 59. Once the trainees had learned to render the weapon safe or ready to fire and understood its controls, I had them fire some of the weapons. Typical ComBloc weapons available throughout the third world were normally used, as well as Western ones that were widely distributed. Included in the more advanced government class were techniques for disarming an aspiring kidnapper and turning his weapon against him. I also used it for a while in a class I did for government personnel and certain business people who were going to be working in dangerous places. I had a chance to shoot it, though Makarov ammo was very hard to find. That was a Chinese Type 59 captured in Laos during the Vietnam War. For me, it was the star of the show despite the presence of hundreds of other exotic automatic pistols. One of the pistols on display was a Soviet Makarov presented to a Cuban officer on Grenada and captured by a US soldier. I remember attending the National Automatic Pistol Collectors show a couple of years after the US intervention in Grenada. OctoBy Leroy Thompson, Machine Guns & Tactics EditorĪs ubiquitous as the Makarov pistol has become since the importation of large numbers from Germany and Bulgaria, there was a time when it was legendary but virtually unknown in the USA, and that was only 30 years ago.
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