"Ain't no water pistol."

as my daughter says. It's a Makarov. It's a moderately old Russian designed double action/single action self loading pistol. Usually they are chambered for 9mm Makarov, sometimes for .380ACP. 9mm Makarov is a cartridge (somewhat uncommon in this country but getting less so) intermediate in power between the .380 ACP and 9mm parabellum, and not interchangeable with either. The magazine usually holds 8 rounds. (10 round "high capacity" versions exist. The magazine well is different. A 10 round Mak will accept 8 round magazines, but not vice versa.) They have been manufactured in and been used as service pistols in several formerly communist countries (Russia, Bulgaria and East Germany) and in China. Some qualify as "Curios & Relics".

This is a city gun, a personal defense weapon, not a gun to take with you on a trip into the boonies. If CCW for the Rest Of Us (or better yet, Vermont carry) ever comes to this benighted state, this would be my choice.

I don't know how many hundreds of rounds I've put through mine without a single failure to feed, failure to fire or failure to extract. (2000-nov. Ooopsie. Mine does not like Winchester Winclean. 2 failures to feed in a box of 50, possible due to the squared off tip of the bullet (polishing the feed ramp might help). I won't be buying Winclean again.) To some this might be monotonous. To me this is interesting. Consensus on rec.guns and the Makarov mailing list is that high reliability is typical for the Mak. This quickly became one of my favorite guns.

Nothing's perfect, of course, but most of the infelicities can be dealt with easily and cheaply. Given the stout recoil of the 9mm Makarov cartridge in a smallish blowback gun, the large rubber Pearce grip much nicer than the stock hard plastic grips. The Mak tends to kick the brass into orbit (not so good for reloading). Changing from the stock 17 lb. recoil spring to a 19 lb. Wolff spring ameliorates this problem somewhat. The magazine release on the heel is not as easy to work as some might like. (This is "a feature, not a bug". A heel release was part of the design specification.) Fitting it with a split keyring helps. There's also an aftermarket modification that actuates the heel release by a button at thumb level. My current opinion is that it is better just to learn the trick of pushing the latch with the thumb while pulling the magazine out with the first or second finger. The Makarov could really use better sights. Aftermarket sight jobs are available, and a little bit of colored model paint on the front sight helps greatly.

Reliable as a hammer and only a few FRNs more than the low end Jennings/Bryco/Lorcin piece-o-crap guns -- if Consumer Reports rated handguns, this would be a "Best Buy".

The Makarov Pistol Operator's Manual (a translation of the Russian Army manual) and Walton Cude's The Ultimate Makarov Guide will both inform you enough to let you take it apart and reassemble it. Walton Cude's