Thinking about takeing a look into soviet made surplus handguns and these 2 caught my interest, was wondering if any body had any thoughts may kinda double as a carry piece, also what are the differences between the tokorev and the 1911 other than grip safety, and ammo.
I picked up an M57 this past summer from Wideners for $179 if I recall correctly. Gun appeared to be in unissued state, awesome condition. As far as similarity to the 1911, it has same barrel link system, the recoil spring and hinged guide rod is one unit. The trigger and sear is one integral component which pulls straight out of the frame one you have the slide off. My trigger was horribly heavy from the start, and took quite a bit of time disassembling/reassembling while honing the sear and hammer. I did get the pull worked down and smoothed out. The faux compensator was added mainly for aesthetics, it just replaces the factory barrel bushing. The 7.62x25 is hot little round, zips and punches holes.
Personally I wouldn't use a CCW but that is my preference.
Closest thing I have to a Mak is a CZ-82 which would be a more suitable milsurp for carry I think.
Personally I wouldn't use a CCW but that is my preference.
Closest thing I have to a Mak is a CZ-82 which would be a more suitable milsurp for carry I think.
I own several Makarovs, the double action isn't too bad. I like ability to keep one in chamber & the safety on. The safety is easy to thumb off. East Germans Maks are considered the best by many. Ammo isn't too hard to come by.
Thanks for the help, think ill start with the makorov, and sometime down the road, the m35 mostly for entertainment
I am a Mak collector. These are fine pistols and they always work. My suggestion for carry would be a CZ 82. They are not considered a Mak, although they run the same ammo and cost close to the same. They are better made than most maks and have 12 rd capacity. The polish p64 is a great carry piece as well. It is a little smaller and they are made in the old radom factories. Real russian maks are the best in my opinion. The commercial russian maks are not as well made. The East German look the best to me as far as fit and finish. I am not a big tokorev fan. I prefer the CZ52. I love the Tok round though.
Check the thread I stated called Mak Attack - I listed places to buy 9x18m ammo in the OKC metro...if you live around these parts.
If you are thinking of using it for any kind of defensive role, I would prefer the Tokarev, as it is chambered in a full power pistol round. 9mm Makarov isn't much better than .380. The Mak is nice and sleek though, and conceals fairly well. Rather than hammer back and safety on, I preferred to carry it with hammer down and safety off. One less thing to think about if I needed to use it under stress.
well traded my revolver for a cz52, picked up a bunch of 7.62x25, may not have been my first choice but given what was available for trades in my immediate area i can live with it, ill see about getting a cz 82 latter on currently working on ordering a m44 or copy in the next 3 days, thanks for all the impute did learn a little bite.
I have been deep into Maks for a long time. I think the CZ 82 is a fine pistol, and the 12 round capacity is nice. It's a later generation gun, but for reliability, nothing beats a Makarov. In my experience, the East German guns are the best in terms of fit and finish, and have the best triggers. Any true Makarov (Soviet, Bulgarian, East German, and Chinese) is typically reliable. Parts interchange. Incidentally I have all parts except slides and frames if anybody needs anything.
I also got into Polish P-64 pistols. Un worked, the DA trigger is around (not joking) 27 pounds. You can work it down to sort of tolerable (I think the makarov.com site still has guidance on that). These are solid steel guns, a little heavy for pocket carry. Their SA triggers are excellent.
If you have big hands and good hearing protection, the CZ 52 will assure you privacy at the range. It's a fire breather in the dark, and the first shot nearly blinds all parties to the event.
I routinely carry an East German Makarov, and my spare is a Soviet built Mak.
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