Bulgarian Makarovs

[HerrdoktorSchuetzengruvin]

I bought a brand new Bulgarian Mak a few months ago. It came with a new flap holster, cleaning rod, and a lanyard. It has the red grips with the star, and the code 10 is right behind the slide release on the left side, with cyrillic characters and the serial number to the right of that. On the right side is PW Arms Redmond WA.

I saw a couple other Bulgarian Maks at the show today, and they all seemed to look not quite as nice as this one does (maybe heavily used?). Both of them had Bulgaria stamped on the right side, and I never saw a code 10 (circle 10) stamp anywhere.

Whats up with these Bulgarian Maks? Mine looks as nice as a wartime PP IMO, with the exception of the reddish purplish hammer and safety, which is no big deal with me.

[Hoploholicxx]

Sounds like you have some Russian parts in your Mak Doc. As far as I know, Bulgaria never produced the purple parts. My Bulgie has a black finish while my Russian as the purple. I think that all the Bulgies are just about gone and the only ones remaining at this point have some finish wear. I hope the folks at PW did a better job at stamping your pistol than the monkeys at CAI did on mine LOL they are not that bad just located in the best places.

[aliceinchains]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by HerrdoktorSchuetzengruvin
[B]I bought a brand new Bulgarian Mak a few months ago. It came with a new flap holster, cleaning rod, and a lanyard. It has the red grips with the star, and the code 10 is right behind the slide release on the left side, with cyrillic characters and the serial number to the right of that. On the right side is PW Arms Redmond WA.

I saw a couple other Bulgarian Maks at the show today, and they all seemed to look not quite as nice as this one does (maybe heavily used?). Both of them had Bulgaria stamped on the right side, and I never saw a code 10 (circle 10) stamp anywhere.

Whats up with these Bulgarian Maks? Mine looks as nice as a wartime PP IMO, with the exception of the reddish purplish hamm


If i can get one for that price i don't care if the grips are rainbow brite pink.

[HerrdoktorSchuetzengruvin]

Well the guy I bought it from thought it was Russian.

I figured it was Bulgarian since it has that 10 with two circles around it. But the gun itself doesn't state the country of origin.

Whatever it is, it was either brand new or unissued. None of the bluing is worn at all and the holster had never been used and the lanyard was still folded up.

Where is the S/N usually on Bulgie Maks?

[Hoploholicxx]

The circle 10 is the Bulgarian arsenal mark. The Russian is a bisected triangle in a cirlce. If I recall correctly, the EG is is a diamond with a circle in the center. Then there is no mistaking a Chi-com ;)

[sfc ret]

I bought a Bulgarian a couple of months ago....and it was a soviet one, although it has "bulgaria" stamped on the right side. it has the ishvesk arsenal stamp (circle bisected triangle) and a date 1974 on it. Seems that some of the Bulgarians that where imported had some soviet ones mixed in.

[sfc ret]

here's my other soviet mak with what the arsenal mark looks like.

[GUNSMOKE]

The parts that have the purple tint have been re-arsenaled. I have a friend that has a mint Russian and that ain't the same arsenal mark! The one he has is the Triangle with Arrow, and its not penciled. My understanding is the x mark and the penciled numbers are arsenal re-works. May want to also check the internals and see if they match. I've seen a lot of these that have parts, such as the slides that are not deep blued so they do appear to be "put togethers" since there are Bulgies and East Germans that are really beautifully made. But we are talking Makarovs here.

The last batch of E.G Maks that came in from Century were really put togthers and not very sweet at all. Cole Distributing had a batch last year that were just beautiful. You may want to check to see if any are left.

The best E.G.'s said "Thule" and the bluing was very deep and very shiney. Yet the polish actually make the best Maks in the world. Now thats a makarov, somewhat expensive but just a great pistol.

[Hoploholicxx]

Are there actually Polish Mak's in the States then? I thought there were rumors but no confirmed cases. That would be a very collectable piece!

[Bret]

There is no such animal as a Polish Makarov. However, the Pols did make a pistol called the P-83. It shoots the 9x18 cartridge and was designed to be less expensive to manufacture than the Makarov. It is made almost entirely of stampings. It shoots like a Makarov and holds one more round in the magazine. The magazines and all other parts are not interchangeable.

[HerrdoktorSchuetzengruvin]

sfc ret

The Circle 10 on mine is done with an electric pencil just like yours looks like it is. So are the serial numbers.

Does anybody have Bulgarian Maks with stamped arsenal marks and stamped serial numbers?

[HerrdoktorSchuetzengruvin]

Originally posted by Bret
There is no such animal as a Polish Makarov. However, the Pols did make a pistol called the P-83. It shoots the 9x18 cartridge and was designed to be less expensive to manufacture than the Makarov. It is made almost entirely of stampings. It shoots like a Makarov and holds one more round in the magazine. The magazines and all other parts are not interchangeable.

They made a standard P-83 (though I don't see any stampings):

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/4050/p833.jpg

And a very high quality P-83 called a Vanad:

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/4050/p-83.jpg

Then check out this new baby of Radom's:

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/4050/mag95.jpg

And I just can't resist showing this beautiful Polish AK sporter which is sold in Europe, but not here:

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/4050/hunter.jpg

[Hoploholicxx]

Originally posted by HerrdoktorSchuetzengruvin

The Circle 10 on mine is done with an electric pencil just like yours looks like it is. So are the serial numbers.

Does anybody have Bulgarian Maks with stamped arsenal marks and stamped serial numbers?

I think the original markings were acid etchings. This did not meet the import standards so they went with a pin punch marking system. I do not think there are any arsenal marks that die stamped.

[HerrdoktorSchuetzengruvin]

I found this pic which looks identical to mine, with the exception of the grip color. Even the cyrillic prefix to the serial number is the same:

http://www.makarovinfo.com/cir10.jpg.jpg

Note the red looking safety, too. Just like mine.

[Bret]

HerrdoktorSchuetzengruvin,

Both the slide and the frame of the P-83 are stamped. They have really done a good job on them, so it's hard to tell. Kind of like if you look at a Sig 228 it would be difficult to tell that the slide is stamped, but it is. You'll need to take one apart to appreciate how good of a job they have done.

BTW, Delvar of USA (that's were you got to PIC's) is the importer and they have an ad in Shotgun News that says they are going out of business. The P-83's are about $240 each. Not cheap, but if you want to have a "complete" Makarov collection, you've got to have one. The onlly downside to shelling out $240+transfer is that one day Poland may unload their surplus P-83's on the US market. Probably for about $100 a pop.:cryeyes: However, if you don't buy one for $240+transfer, you'll probably never see one again.:mad: I chose to play it save and buy both versions that you have pictured.

[Ezra Coli]

Originally posted by HerrdoktorSchuetzengruvin
sfc ret

The Circle 10 on mine is done with an electric pencil just like yours looks like it is. So are the serial numbers.

Does anybody have Bulgarian Maks with stamped arsenal marks and stamped serial numbers?

My Bulgie has stamped serial numbers, penciled circle ten and purple decocker and hammer.

No such animal as a Polish Mak, maybe a Radom or some other Polish gun in the same calibre? Of course, they said there's no such thing as a Romanian SKS for a long time too...

[Gun Toter]

The reddish or purplish looking color of certain parts is caused by the blueing process. I believe the parts were not left in the blueing solution long enough. It seems to be common to all the Maks from what I have seen. My E. German Mak has a deep purple hammer and decocker. It also has been reworked at some point as the internal parts are all electric pencil etched with the serial number over the top of previous electric penciled numbers. It was one of the very early ones to come in and has the shoestring looking lanyard still attached to the original military grip. The external finish is gorgeous with some minor holster wear. I think these weapons were reworked at intervals to keep them going as I havent seen a E.G. Mak newer than 1965.

[HerrdoktorSchuetzengruvin]

Mine looks brand new. Absolutely no wear and the holster and lanyard were never used, either.

Was it military unissued or commercial?

[Secesh]

I just picked one up

All #'s are electric pencil etched,
including the Circle-10.

Mine came from century and has their mark on the left side of the frame,on the right side they stamped "Bulgaria" &"9mm Makarov.

It's got some holster wear, but the barrel is extra nice as well as the rest of the internals.

I love it, the accuracy really suprised me.

[jimmyjoebobx]

Herr doc-
what you have is a military unissued bulgarian mak, I have 2, both came wrapped in wax paper, boxed, and caked full of cosmo. As for the reddish controls, it actually has to do with the different type of materials that were used to make then, and also the bluing process. If you look carefully at yours if feels like a cross between metal and plastic. The circle 10 denotes the militray factory that produced that mak. I did custom work on both of mine, if I had a picture hosting I would post some pics.

HTH

James

Email if you got any questions

[Secesh]

I just picked up Bulgie Mak # 2.
This one is like new.
I got to "handpick' it from 6 that my ffl just got in.
:D