The left side of the frame is also marked with the same two characters followed by “3015” and 'A003989'. To find the Year of Manufacture of your Bulgarian 'Circle 10' Military Makarov, look at the serial. Numbers are typically IJ-70. Makarov available from Baikal. Model: Makarov IJ70-17A Serial Number: BEH6235 Year of Manufacture: 1990 to Present Caliber:.380 ACP Action Type: Traditional Double Action Semi-Automatic with Decocker and Removable 8-Round Magazine Markings: The left side of the slide is marked “IJ70-17A”, “MADE in RUSSIA / by IMEZ” and “B EH6235”. The left side of the frame is.

1. Full serial number on left side of slide, safety, and left side of frame. Izhevsk Arsenal marking on left side of frame. Import markings as imaged. Primary Russian magazine factory numbered “3258/1, later electropenciled with the matching number 3308-2 on left side. Secondary magazine is a Bulgarian with an electropenciled matching number.
2. The Makarov Pistol: China, Bulgaria & Khyber Pass Copies Henry C Brown; Cameron S White; Edwin H Lowe download Z-Library. Download books for free.

A cloak-and-dagger icon from the Cold War, the Makarov 9x18mm still delights collectors today … if they can get their hands on one.

How The Makarov Pistol Became A Cold War Icon:

• Designed around the Walther PP/PPK series of pistols.
• Like the German handguns, the Makarov is straight blowback-operated and can be shot in double action.
• Its cartridge, the 9x18mm Markorov, has a no-typical diameter—.365″.
• Due to trade restrictions, the pistol had a very short importation window–3 years.
• While wildly used in Soviet satellite countries’ militaries, it was not universally adopted.

In 1949, the Soviet Union was searching for a replacement to their aging Tokarev TT-33 pistols and by 1951 had adopted a completely new design that ended up being licensed to two Eastern European countries, and to China as well. Manufactured at Russia’s Izhevsk factory, the Pistolet Makarova or Makarov Pistol was the brainchild of Nikolai Fyodorovich Makarov, who designed his new double-action, straight blow-back pistol around the proven Walther PP/PPK series of pistols.

After World War II, the Russians had access to the Walther factory in Germany and shipped much of its tooling back to the USSR. 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. Christened the 9x18mm Makarov, its bullet diameter is an odd .365” unlike the typical .355” of the 9mm Luger and the .380 ACP (9mm Browning). The idea behind it was in the case of a supposed contingency where stocks of 9mm Makarov ammunition might be captured by an enemy, that the cartridge could not be used in standard 9mm Luger pistols.

The Makarov semiautomatic pistol incorporates many features of the Walther in that it disassembles identically by grasping the trigger guard, bringing it downward, and pulling back the slide and upward to disengage it from the frame. Additionally, its double-action safety features are similar in that a cartridge can safely be carried in the chamber with the hammer down. With the hammer at full cock, thumbing the manual de-cock safety upward allows the hammer to fall and subsequently blocks the loaded chamber by use of a transfer bar on the safety, preventing contact with the firing pin. The eight-shot, medium-weight pistol with its 3.68-inch barrel uses a single screw in its assembly to secure the rear fastened grip. The checkered red Bakelite grips also have a circled star in the center. Markings on the Russian Makarov are the serial numbers on the left slide flat and frame with a Cyrillic prefix, and the year of manufacture is at the rear of the left frame.

It is important to reiterate that importation of the Russian Makarov lasted but a few short years between 1992 and 1995 due to the eventual trade restriction on Russian military imports during the Clinton administration. Soon after, this also included military arms from China as well. Ironically, a number of Russian-made Makarov pistols inadvertently entered the United States between 1998 and 2009 and have become known as the “sneak” Makarovs. 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. Apparently, some of these Russian versions were mixed in and marked with the aforementioned two countries as the origin of manufacture until close BATFE inspection revealed the Russian Izhevsk Triangle cartouche on some of the pistols. These are rather desirable on the collector’s market because of this import marking error.

Soviet Satellite Clones

Regarding licensed Eastern European versions of the Makarov, East Germany was the first of the Soviet satellites to manufacture them, beginning in 1958. Made at the Ernst Thaelmann State Factory, the first two years of production saw some difficulties in getting off the ground, with full-scale manufacture underway by late 1959 and early 1960. 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. The East German pistols also have their internal parts marked by electro pencil with the last two digits of the serial number. Production ceased in 1965. It appears that those with small, unobtrusive import marks together with condition, determine the higher price and overall desirability.

Da … We Have More Russian Guns:

The final licensed Makarov in communist Europe was the Bulgarian version. Given the green light for licensing rights in 1970, few were produced until five years later. Actual production took place at the Friedrich Engels Machine Works – known also as “Factory 10.” The Soviets supervised and trained the Bulgarians to manufacture the Makarov, and remained in charge of all production throughout 1975. The next year saw the Bulgarians assume control, and they steadily continued production of the Makarov up to 2007, some 15 years after the fall of communism. Prior to their sale on the U.S. surplus market, Bulgaria sold quantities of Makarov pistols to Slovenia, well past the communist break up. Most from this country were imported to the U.S. following Bulgaria’s and Slovenia’s admission to NATO in 2004.

Identical to the Russian version with the checkered, red Bakelite grips with a circled star along with the Russian dark blue finish, the Bulgarian Makarov is unquestionably a high-quality copy that prior to 1975 used some Russian internal components until the factory became entirely self-sufficient. Marked with an encrypted prefix for the production year, and followed by the serial number on the left slide and frame, quick identification of the Bulgarian variant is the presence of the Circle 10 stamped on the left frame. Surplus Bulgarian Makarov pistols are still available as of this writing from some U.S. distributors.

Breaking From The Herd

Interestingly, not all former European communist block countries opted for licensing rights to produce a Makarov clone. Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland, which all had established arms factories, were quite nationalistic regarding their choice of a 9x18mm-caliber military pistol. Hungary was the first to stick with an indigenous design. The FEG factory in Budapest introduced the first 9x18mm Makarov in 1959, which was the RK-59. For economy purposes, Hungarian engineers decided to build their pistol with an aluminum frame and fashion it almost directly after the Walther PPK. The RK-59, however, was a blunder from the start as it was learned that after about 1,000 rounds, the aluminum frames developed hairline cracks and galling, which eventually deemed them unserviceable. However, Hungary quickly went back to the drawing board and after one year found their solution. Adding a 1 percent mixture of Titanium to the aluminum alloy sufficiently hardened the frame, and after a 5,000-round test it was found that evidence of stress cracks were now passé. Thus, their second 9mm Makarov pistol was introduced in 1961 and appropriately named the R-61. This straight-blowback, semiautomatic pistol seemed to fill the bill, however, its biggest drawback was a small capacity, six-shot magazine and heavy felt recoil, a similar problem later to be seen with Poland’s first pistol of like caliber. Marked with the crest of Hungarian communist premier Janos Kadar on the left slide flat, the R-61 would last in regular service for a mere three years, but remained as a reserve sidearm until 1972.

Hungarian arms engineers were ordered to find a replacement and introduced the larger framed, PA 63 in early 1964. This seven-shot semiautomatic pistol remained in standard service until 1996, and thousands were imported to the United States beginning about 1999, and are commonly encountered on the American surplus circuit. In regression, its predecessor the R-61 was imported in limited numbers and many distributors had them rechambered to the popular .380 ACP. Those in the original 9mm Makarov chambering, however, will reap a higher price. Aside from minor dimensional contours, the Hungarian PA 63 with its 3.9-inch barrel is cosmetically close to the Walther PP and has become a favorite carry arm for American shooters. Supplied with a thumbrest left grip made of black plastic, aftermarket copies of the early flat grips are available from suppliers. The light aluminum/titanium frame has a more significant degree of felt recoil than the all-steel Walther. What is unique about both the R 61 and PA 63, is that neither have an external slide catch, and rely upon an empty magazine to lock the slide to the rear.

Following Hungary, the next former Soviet bloc country to opt for a domestically produced 9mm Makarov pistol was Poland. As with the PW wz.33 Tokarev copy, Poland once again manufactured the new replacement at the Lucznik factory Number 11 in Radom. The development of their new military pistol was the culmination of a six-man team at the WITU, a Polish acronym of the Military Institute of Armament Technology. 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. The new blowback semiautomatic pistol was one of two former test versions: the Model W with a longer barrel and the Model M with a shorter 3.3-inch barrel, the latter of which was approved for adoption.

This pistol was similar to the Walther PPK in many respects, but utilized a small-capacity six-round magazine. Final nomenclature for the approved pistol was the 9mm Pistolet wz.1964 – abbreviated as the P-64. Adopted in 1965, the pistol was unique in that like the former Hungarian 9mm Makarov family of semiautomatic pistols, it did not have an external slide catch and relied on an empty magazine to lock the slide in the open position. Though very compact and concealable, its main drawbacks were excessive recoil and a six-shot magazine. The P-64 has been imported into the U.S. since 2005 and was retained by Poland for a time as a reserve weapon. 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. In 1983 a new pistol christened the P-83 Vanad was adopted by Polish military and police forces. A great improvement over its predecessor, this eight-shot blowback semiautomatic pistol is dimensionally close, but slightly wider than the Russian Makarov. The P-83 began to surface in the United States around 2009-2010 and remains in Polish service as a reserve police arm. 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. As with the P-64, it has a protruding loaded-chamber indicator. The one important addition was its external slide latch, and its most unique modification was its stamped-steel triggerguard. In lieu of pulling the triggerguard down and to preclude the occasional back snap of the guard during disassembly, the P-83 has two striated grips on both sides of the frame and when pulled down, allow the triggerguard to remain in place, unlocking the slide rail latch when pulling the slide back and up for removal from the frame. It is obvious from the number available in the United States, that substantial quantities likely remain in Polish government inventory.

Perhaps the top of the line semiautomatic pistol in 9mm Makarov caliber is the Czech CZ 82. Here we have the pistol that finally replaced the already 30-year-old CZ 52, and it appears Czechoslovakia was the last Eastern European country to comply with Russia’s directive to switch over to the official Warsaw Pact caliber of 9x18mm Makarov. There couldn’t have been a better pistol that took its time to kowtow to Soviet demands. By far the most up-to-date double-action blowback pistol mentioned thus far, it offered an ambidextrous safety and button-type magazine release, as well as a high-capacity 12-shot staggered magazine. Adopted in 1982, this semiauto is a design that has contemporary features acceptable by even today’s standards. Fewer of these have been seen on the U.S. surplus scene compared to the others simply because the Czech and Slovak Republics still maintain it as a police reserve arm. This pistol is also used by the People’s Republic of Vietnam, Kazakhstan, with known sales to North Korea as well. Accuracy wise this pistol is very effective out to 50 yards. Loading the 12-round magazine, however, becomes work after the sixth or seventh round is inserted due to its extremely stiff spring. Its most unattractive point is the black paint-like finish that easily chips off with use over time.

Keeping A 9x18mm Fed

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. Fortunately, there are about nine different ammunition makers worldwide that offer the 9x18mm Makarov. Prices vary from $11 to $24 per 50 rounds, and in some cases are less in cost than that of the popular 9mm Luger. Hornady, Brown Bear, Silver Bear, Privi Partizan and Sellier & Bellot are just a few of those companies that offer the 9mm Makarov. The author’s personal favorite is Russian-made TulAmmo. Loaded with a 95-grain bullet and steel cases, TulAmmo offers several American calibers in their line as well, but they do not list the 7.62x25mm Tokarev – which is rather peculiar. TulAmmo’s Berdan-primed, steel cases are naturally not reloadable, in this case however, the attractive prices of most loaded ammunition in this caliber alone are almost enough to omit the procedure. For those who insist on cooking up their own fodder, Winchester, Sellier & Bellot and PPU offer this cartridge with Boxer-primed cases. The author has used each of the above-mentioned brands of factory loads and has found that all perform equally as well in all of the above-listed pistols.

Editor’s Notes: This article originally appeared in Gun Digest 2018, 72nd Edition.

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Russian Makarov 9mm Pistol Serial Numbers

Are baikal guns able to be dated buy their serial number?If so when would a model 58,with the prefix KA likely to have been made? If i remember rightly the the later model of baikal the where all the serial number are numbers, the first 2 numbers are the manufacture year.

Going by the low serial number (the KBI applied one at the rear of the slide.A000***), that is one of the earlier IJ-70s imported into the US. It also has the rounded slide release lever like the original military PM instead of the flat, bent lever like makarov380acp's pistol has. Pro100 545 torrent.

It's early enough that I don't see the english marking of either Ishvesk or IMEZ on the slide. (Both of those names refer to the same plant.just different markings).

I've got one early IJ-70 marked similarly. I've also got a couple of IJ-70A variants in.380 like mak380 has posted. One from 1994 that is Ishvesk marked. The other is IMEZ marked and I think I bought it in 1998. Otherwise, they're identical. The East German Suhl Maks are the best of the best.

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Good steel and excellent workmanship. Next in quality are the Bulgarian Maks. Good steel and decent workmanship. The Russian military and commercial (IJ-70) Maks are about equal in workmanship but I'm still positive they used a softer steel or just fudged on heat-treating the internals on the commercials. I've never seen a Norinco (Chinese) Mak so I can't say how they are. Doesn't matter what country they're from, they're great little shooters!

I'm surprised when I hear that folks are still paying $300 or so for the IJ-70 Maks. I was buying them new for $120 in the '90s.

But I guess I'd probably pay $300 for another one too if I found a nice one. The IJ-70s are not as good of quality as the military PMs but are still darned good little pistols considering their pricetag. The steel is softer than the military PMs that I've seen.

I will admit that it did take around 7500 rounds through that 1999 IJ-70 before the sear/hammer was worn so bad that it just had a horrible trigger. A couple of replacement parts and it's still alive as a backup trail pistol. It was common to replace the internals (sear, hammer, disconnector, etc) on the IJ-70s and Bulgarians with East German Mak parts when they were still available.

This also allowed the slide to be cycled to clear the action with the safety applied. • The Firearms Forum is on online community for all gun enthusiasts. Join us to discuss firearms of all kinds, gun accessories, legal issues and more. Membership is free and we welcome all types of shooters, whether you're a novice or a pro. Come for the info, stay and make some friends. • Site Functions • • • • • Useful Links • • • • • • Support the site! We work hard to bring the best Firearms Forum has to offer!

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This might help some: Then compare to pictures here for a general format by country: Remember, Bulgie surplus dates are the first two numbers +60 and the EGs are dated by year 58 to 65. If you run across a way to date IJ-70s (sans manual) and Chinese type 59 ZZs by the serial number, please let me know. Using advanced search on GunBoards can give one a virtual plethora of info to glean from.:thumbsup. :) Serial # prefixes, generally considered lot codes, don't get a lot of discussion because the commies kept production numbers to themselves.

The East Germans kept good records, but the published list for EG Mak prefixes is incomplete, as examples show up not listed. Without representing a number of guns produced in that lot; and the year of manufacture marked on the weapon, the prefixes are just 'there'. Cyrillic is cool to see on some examples, but I don't know what it means on a Makarov, so my brain just falls asleep. Ran across this info from some notes from Makarov.com-IIRC there is also an example of an EG with a 'DD' prefix; not listed, probably others (dated list). Note that this table is not complete and there appears to be a sequential pattern, so don't panic if yours doesn't fit into the ones listed. East German production codes Production year Letter Code 1958 S 1959 J, K, L, N, U 1960 B, F, G, H, M, T 1961 AP*,AR, AS, AQ, AT, AU, AV, AW, AX, AY, AZ 1962 BR, BT, BU, BV, BW, BX, BY, BZ 1963 DA, DB, DE, DF, DH, DK, DL, DP, BO, BP 1964 ES, ET, EV, EX, EZ 1965 ER, FB, FH, FF * One person noted that his gun was marked 'AP' and '62,' so there appear to be inconsistencies. China Not terribly much is known about these, except that they were brought in as Norinco Model 59.

Not many are available, so they often command a premium over other Makarovs. On the whole, the quality of these is not as good as some of the others, but there have been notable exceptions.

Makarov Serial Number Identification

Very rarely you may run across a Type 59 with an Arsenal mark (number) in a triangle. Most common found are 56 and 66. These were Military pistols that were remarked and packed for Commercial Export. A Chinese Makarov with 'SHI' mark is of Military issue, and normally if found in the USA means it was a War Trophy 'bring Back' from some conflict, and commands a Premium price. Bulgaria The Bulgarian Arsenal Makarovs are the only ones that are currently being imported into the country. Miltex had an exclusivity agreement with Arsenal before they decided to get out of the small arms business. Many other Bulgarian Makarovs are out on the market including some military surplus.