Russian variant shows the identifying markings of the Izshevsk Arrow in a circle with the production year of 1976 at rear. 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. The checkered red Bakelite grips also have a circled star in the center. 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. 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. Additionally, its double-action safety features are similar in that a cartridge can safely be carried in the chamber with the hammer down. 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.

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. Christened the 9x18mm Makarov, its bullet diameter is an odd. 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. 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.Īfter World War II, the Russians had access to the Walther factory in Germany and shipped much of its tooling back to the USSR. By 1951 they had adopted a completely new design that ended up being licensed to two Eastern European countries, and to China as well. In 1949, the Soviet Union was searching for a replacement for their aging Tokarev TT-33 pistols. While wildly used in Soviet satellite countries' militaries, it was not universally adopted.Due to trade restrictions, the pistol had a very short importation window–3 years.Its cartridge, the 9x18mm Markorov, has a no-typical diameter-.365″.Like the German handguns, the Makarov is straight blowback-operated and can be shot in double action.Designed around the Walther PP/PPK series of pistols.How The Makarov Pistol Became A Cold War Icon: A cloak-and-dagger icon from the Cold War, the Makarov 9x18mm still delights collectors today … if they can get their hands on one. This particular Russian example is one of those that mistakenly entered the United States with import marks of “Germany.” Actual legal Russian importing lasted but a few years. An almost identical comparison is the 9mm Russian-made Makarov at top, with a Bulgarian-licensed copy at bottom.

Cz 82 9mm makarov for sale