[byron]

after driving 400 mis. round trip last wed. to buy a bulgie mak, i stopped into a tiny sporting goods store in massillon oh. to buy a plastic 9mm cartridge box. what to my wondering eyes did appear? you got it, an ij70. i estimate at least 98% condition.slight holster wear at the muzzle that you have the light just right to discern. it was wearing a red star thumbrest grip and had an extra black grip star w/o thumbrest. neither show any wear and are in better condition than the grips on my bulgie. i triggered on a snap cap and the trigger is oh so smooooth. adjustible rear sight. none of the screws are marked up. the sides of the slide do not show any machining marks which the bulgie does. bluing is deep and rich. i had to have it! it now resides in my hidey hole. if i hadn,t had to get home i'd be at the range right now.

the wife says i have to stop frequenting ktrange. you guys are getting me in a lot of trouble!

 

[Flyer]

You've been BITTEN!!!
Hey, it happens! One Mak is never enough!
Now maybe you'cn see why I started collecting holsters... never know when I'll need another one! 8)
Flyer

 

[Michigan Dan]

Your in trouble now :wink: , you were doomed when you bought your Bulgarian Mak, now that you have the IJ70, there will be no turning back. I'm strictly a novice compared to some (cigarman to name one), I only have seven Makarovs (maybe eight, I'd have to look :lol: ). As I find them, I buy them!

Dan

 

[byron]

maks

dan, my wife just read your post and passed out!

 

[Midiman]

You have a mild form of the disease. Maks aren't that expensive. Try dealing with Black Rifle Fever! I only have 2 so far but am already planning my 3rd. It'll have a 24" barrel with a 30" sleeve to extend the sight radius. The sights I'm going to put on it alone will buy you 3 or 4 Maks...

 

[Michigan Dan]

Re:

You have a mild form of the disease. Maks aren't that expensive. Try dealing with Black Rifle Fever! I only have 2 so far but am already planning my 3rd. It'll have a 24" barrel with a 30" sleeve to extend the sight radius. The sights I'm going to put on it alone will buy you 3 or 4 Maks...

If the Maks were the only guns in my gun safe, I'd be allright---still they are one of my favorite guns.

Dan

 

[SgtB]

Be careful. Once you have one you can't stop. I purchased my first one in Oct. 2003 and now have seven. I need a Chinese to finish things off. Take care and happy shooting.

 

[byron]

MAKS

hmmmmmm... i'vr been sitting here thinking.
an eg, a russkie, a bulgie and a chinee. has a certain ring to it!

 

[alamo]

You haven't lived till you've had an East German Mak. I've got one and a Bulgarian. The trigger on the EG is amazing, particularly the DA trigger.

 

[byron]

MAK GRIPS

THE BLACK GRIPS W/O THUMBREST HAVE "MADE IN RUSSIA" ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT, (BLOCK LETTERS) WHILE THE BOTTOM LEFT HAS "BAIKAL" IN SCRIPT. OF THE 4 GRIPS I HAVE, THIS IS THE ONLY ONE WITH WRITING ON IT. ANY SIGNIFICANCE? THIS GUN HAS BEEN FIRED MORE I'M CERTAIN, AS THE DOUBLE ACTION IS MUCH LIGHTER AND SMOOTHER. OR DO THE TRIGGERS VARY THAT MUCH BETWEEN COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN?

 

[Flyer]

You've got a commercial Russian Makarov.
The Russian and East German Maks are known for having the best triggers of the bunch.
You can always install an East German mainspring into your Bulgie... this usually improves the DA pull considerably!
I'm assuming your Russian Mak has adjustable sights... most IJ-70s do. This is a sign that your Mak is commercial, not military.
Flyer

 

[byron]

mak

righto, adjusyable rear sight. i wish you'd stop pacing flyer, you're wearing me out!

 

[Flyer]

byron,
Hey, I'm trying to wear MYSELF out so I can get to sleep tonight!!! :mrgreen:
Flyer

 

[byron]

mak

had planned on going to the range yesterday. after taking thr ij70 apart i noticed a GREAT difference in the strength of the recoil spring as compared to the bulgie. i have mild arthritus in my left hand and it took a real effort to retract the slide on the bul but the ij70 was a piece of cake. there's no battering on the innards. it did give me pause tho. i was shooting wolf 109 gr. solids in the bul and at the time i thought the recoil was sharp.
i went to makarov.com and they say the wolf load is reasonably hot. i ordered 19 lb. recoil springs and wolff +10% mag springs for both guns. i'll probably have to tie the trigger guard to a tree and hook the slide to the rear end of my truck to retract it now!
has anyone used the higher strength recoil spring, if so how does it work?
the serrations on the slide of these little devils are SHARP.
in any event i'm not going to fire either again until i get the new springs. how do you get the floor plate off the mags?

 

[Flyer]

I put #19 lb. springs in all my Maks. They reduce recoil, battering, and overall help functioning.
Remember, you can use the safety as an aid in retracting the slide - it's strong! Just grab it and that part of the slide and retract... should make it easier!
The mags are a bit of a pain to disassemble. If you look at the bottom of the mag base you'll see a little slot, with the mag spring poking into it. You need to use a small, flat tool like a thin screwdriver to push the spring in, then slide the base forwards off the mag body. Assembly is in reverse; if the mag spring doesn't pop into the slot on it's own, the big, open sides of the mags makes it easy to use a screwdriver to move the spring until it sees things your way and pops into place!