One of the main ergonomic issues (for a modern shooter) of the Makarov pistol is the heel magazine release. With some practice, you can do reasonably fast magazine changes, but you still can’t get even close to the speed of the thumb actuated magazine release [Read More…]
After WW2, the Soviet Union was replacing its entire fleet of small arms. And while some Russian weapons that were accepted into service in the late 40s and early 50s, like AK-47 and SKS, became a timeless classic and overtime proved itself, there was at least one gun [Read More…]
In our previous coverage of modern Vietnamese small arms development on display at Indo Defense 2018 we spent some time looking at locally produced M79’s, Lee Enfield No.4’s, a rotary grenade launcher, and even a 9x19mm Bizon! In this post we’ll be [Read More…]
I agree … the title of this article sounds like trolling or some sort of clickbaiting heresy. The expressions like Ukrainian Schmeisser and Smeisser Makarov alone sound like they are either a typo or an April Fools’ Day joke. However, believe it or not, [Read More…]
The Pistolet Makarova, known in the U.S. as just the Makarov, began production in 1951, as a much needed replacement for the TT33 Tokarev and Nagant revolvers. Requirements for the replacement of these two service pistols were as such: Simplicity and Reliability. If [Read More…]
As I said in another article, I kept my eye out for things I don’t see here in the US while roaming the halls of IWA 2018. A large percentage of IWA is made up of airsoft and airgun manufacturers along with blank firing guns. MWM Gillman GmbH is a company that [Read More…]
We have earlier reported about the FAB Defense release of the PM-G Makarov grip which not only gives the old Mak a nice grip shape, texture and beaver tail but perhaps, more importantly, converts the magazine release from heel to thumb one. Recently FAB [Read More…]
Zlatust is a Russian town known for over 200-year heritage of hosting master engravers and decorators. In 1991 a company called Praktica was established in this town. A team of local master engravers has joined the newly founded company and since then they produce a [Read More…]
In the early ’50s, small arms of the Soviet Union have been deeply modernized. The Kalashnikov’s “avtomat” along with its new cartridge was adopted and it was replacing the submachine guns and rifles in the service. The Makarov pistol was also [Read More…]
Thanks to Hracyha for sharing this simple yet stunning photo of a 1911 and M16 juxtaposed to an AK and a Makarov. Both sets are very iconic and hold their own. Let’s not make this into which is better since that topic has been done ad nauseum. What do you think of [Read More…]
We shoot Hornady 9x18mm 95gr FTX Critical Defense ammunition from a Bulgarian Arsenal Makarov with a 3.7″ barrel into Clearballistics ballistic gel to measure velocity, penetration, expansion/fragmentation, and retained weight. Buy it at Ventura Munitions Guns in this video: Arsenal Makarov [Read More…]
The Interpolitex 2017 exhibition held in Moscow, Russia, was a fairly large exhibition with a number of different solutions mainly for the law enforcement market. A small booth of a company called Komoloff caught my attention with a couple of interesting products. One [Read More…]
Kalashnikov Concern have shown off a rare example of Mikhail Kalashnikov’s automatic pistol developed in the late 1940s. Kalashnikov’s pistol was beaten by Igor Stechkin’s entry into the trials, the APS. In the late 1940s, the Soviet Union began a [Read More…]
Kalashnikov Media , a dedicated media website of Kalashnikov Concern, has released a video where the designer of PL-15 and PL-15K pistols, Dmitri Lebedev, talks about the compact version of his pistol. Here is that video (with English subtitles). [Read More…]
PB Pistol (Pistolet Besshumniy (Пистолет Бесшумный) – means silent or noiseless pistol) was developed in the ’60s and adopted by the Soviet Union in 1967. It was issued to special forces units. By the late ‘80s, they started replacing it with [Read More…]
Since we’ve discussed the .30 M1 Carbine caliber, it is probably only a matter of time before someone mentioned another .30 caliber round used by the Allies during the Second World War, that being the 7.62x25mm Tokarev. The round is a turbocharged derivative of [Read More…]
In this age of polymer-framed pistols, it is interesting to take a look at the history and find out where it all started. If you have served in the military or if you are a hunter, hiker, outdoorsman or just carry a gun on an everyday basis, you’ll agree that [Read More…]
Newly founded Russian company Dozor produces a drop-in Makarov pistol grip called “PM Grip Kit”. The new grip is more ergonomic and adds a thumb actuated magazine release lever. Although Dozor grip adds a thumb mag release, it still retains the original heel [Read More…]
Zahal shows how easy it is to install the Fab Defense Makarov grip. The most interesting feature is the thumb magazine release. Kinda like the trigger of the MP5K briefcase, the thumb release on this grip actuates a transfer bar that moves the heel mag release. I hope [Read More…]
I was making my way to another appointment at SHOT when the Mako Group/FAB Defense booth caught my eye. The first thing I checked out was their new “Scorpus” line of holsters, made of glass-reinforced polymer. These are a retention holster that indexes [Read More…]
The National Firearms Museum in Fairfax Virginia is one of the most important collections of small arms in the world, but their representatives also leave the museum and travel to places where they can find firearms that they don’t have in their collection. As [Read More…]
Outdoorhub posted up a video instructing the viewer how to properly pronounce the names of 10 popular firearms. Some of these are obvious and others are not. How is your pronunciation?
A Russian inventor has developed an eighty round 9x18mm magazine for the Makarov PM pistol. He writes (in Russian) that the Makarov is still in use by police in Russia not because they cannot afford new pistols but because the Makarov is [Read More…]
The Moscow Times reports that on 31 Jan. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing law enforcement officials to carry imported guns for self-defense. The guns on the allowed list are the Beretta 92, CZ 75 and Glock 17. These are all chambered in 9mm [Read More…]
Last month the Deputy Head of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Lieutenant-General Mikhail Suhodolskogo, announced that Russian police (the MVD) would be moving away from the AKS-74U (5.45mm 8″ barreled sub-carbine) and the famous Makarov pistol. Reasons [Read More…]