Who has the brand new Bulgarian Makarovs?

[rifleman]

I read all about them and am now ready to order. I looked in the SGN that I though had ads for them but I can't find them. Which company(s) was that?

[Russian]

Try warbirds@voyager.net

I bought an NIB, unissued Bulgarian Makarov with all the goodies from them last month for $150.

[rifleman]

Thanks Russian.

[yasnevo]

J&G Sales of Prescott, AZ has them also.

www.jgsales.com

[AK comrade]

Acording to the website and the salesman I talked to last week they don't have any in stock and don't expect any till Feb.

AK Comrade

[ads4u]

Try this on for size. I've heard good things about this company although I haven't purchased from them.....yet. http://www.southernohiogun.com/surplus_hand.html

[Buster Charlie]

Originally posted by ads4u
Try this on for size. I've heard good things about this company although I haven't purchased from them.....yet. http://www.southernohiogun.com/surplus_hand.html

I've heard nothing but "buyer beware" and "Their handpick fee is a waste of money" about SOG. J&G sales seems to be more legit.

Can you actualy GET a NIB bulgarian Makarov? I've only seen surplus guns.

[Russian]

I've ordered two from J&G. Don't for a second believe you will be getting a mint unissued gun from them. One had 90% of its finish while the other had 70% of its finish with minor pitting/rust. The one I ordered from warbirds was mint, unissued.

[Buster Charlie]

Originally posted by Russian
I've ordered two from J&G. Don't for a second believe you will be getting a mint unissued gun from them. One had 90% of its finish while the other had 70% of its finish with minor pitting/rust. The one I ordered from warbirds was mint, unissued.


Did you pay for the handpick fee?

When I went to order two hand selects they told me to my face that thay only had one left that was worth hand selecting, due to other circumstances out of both of our control, I had to cancel my order. So no I havent seen the gun, but the fact that they would bluntly say 'we wont take your money, because we cant give you something worth hand selecting' says a lot to me, much more than SOG who charge for a hand select and never actualy hand select.

[Hoploholic]

For the past month or 2, SOG and J&G have been at the bottom of their Mak barrels...the ones they sent out were anything but unissued. Now, even the slightly worn ones are gone. Their is talk of another lot coming into CAI next month but I cannot say if its true or not.

[Russian]

My deal with J&G is a long story. The short version is that it took 3 weeks for their mail room and shipping department to match my dealer's FFL with my order. Then they "lost" my guns and "found" them just before my order went out. Direct quote from the shipping person: "These are hand select, but I'm not charging you for it." Like I said, one was 90% and the other was 70% with rust/minor pitting.

As someone that used to work in the business, I can tell you that "hand select" means next to nothing. The only time we ever got hand select was when we knew the distributor and he assured us that he would personally pick out a nice one for us. Even then, it was hit or miss. I can tell you that "hand select" for some companies means picking out your gun with the left vs. the right hand. In our experience, J&G and SOG are the same quality of company. I'll leave my comments at that.

Having said that, the real problem is that "hand select" is relative to what is left in stock. Let's say a distributor gets in a shipment of 200 guns. Condition varies across the shipment. 50 guns are mint, 50 guns are 75-99% and the rest are 70% to pure rusted out crap. By the time you call, he has 50 guns, 1 has minor rust/piting with 70% of its blueing and 49 are rusted out pieces of shit. You pay $20 extra to get the 70% gun. Great, you just made out better than the 49 saps who buy the rest of that shipment. BUT, anyone who ordered any of the 150 previous guns before you got a significantly better gun and may not have paid the hand select fee.

I spent the better part of a month looking for my second mint Bulgarian. I found one dealer in Illinois (I live in Texas) who had one, but didn't want to do mail order. Then I lucked out and found warbirds' (FDI is the company name) ad on gunauction. I called them up to find out more about the pistol they had listed. That's when I discovered that they were "my kind of people." I told them that I was looking for a mint Bulgie for my collection. The owner hand picked out an exceptionally clean Mak (no handling scratches, no wear, no rust, MINT) with all the goodies and sent it to me. They didn't charge me hand select fees. In fact, they even threw in some freebies after I told them some of my stories from retailing.

[Hoploholic]

Excellent breakdown on the business Russian...I always laugh when someone refers to hand select as being picked with the right or left hand...just fucking classic.

[Buster Charlie]

Originally posted by Russian
My deal with J&G is a long story. The short version is that it took 3 weeks for their mail room and shipping department to match my dealer's FFL with my order. Then they "lost" my guns and "found" them just before my order went out. Direct quote from the shipping person: "These are hand select, but I'm not charging you for it." Like I said, one was 90% and the other was 70% with rust/minor pitting.

As someone that used to work in the business, I can tell you that "hand select" means next to nothing. The only time we ever got hand select was when we knew the distributor and he assured us that he would personally pick out a nice one for us. Even then, it was hit or miss. I can tell you that "hand select" for some companies means picking out your gun with the left vs. the right hand. In our experience, J&G and SOG are the same quality of company. I'll leave my comments at that.

Having said that, the real problem is that "hand select" is relative to what is left in stock. Let's say a distributor gets in a shipment of 200 guns. Condition varies across the shipment. 50 guns are mint, 50 guns are 75-99% and the rest are 70% to pure rusted out crap. By the time you call, he has 50 guns, 1 has minor rust/piting with 70% of its blueing and 49 are rusted out pieces of shit. You pay $20 extra to get the 70% gun. Great, you just made out better than the 49 saps who buy the rest of that shipment. BUT, anyone who ordered any of the 150 previous guns before you got a significantly better gun and may not have paid the hand select fee.

I spent the better part of a month looking for my second mint Bulgarian. I found one dealer in Illinois (I live in Texas) who had one, but didn't want to do mail order. Then I lucked out and found warbirds' (FDI is the company name) ad on gunauction. I called them up to find out more about the pistol they had listed. That's when I discovered that they were "my kind of people." I told them that I was looking for a mint Bulgie for my collection. The owner hand picked out an exceptionally clean Mak (no handling scratches, no wear, no rust, MINT) with all the goodies and sent it to me. They didn't charge me hand select fees. In fact, they even threw in some freebies after I told them some of my stories from retailing.
I stand corrected

how about AIM? Can I still trust AIM?

URL to that site with the good maks? :)

NM I found it, $168 is kinda pricey but if they're really brand new I think it'd be worth it, especialy with all the accessories

[Russian]

http://www.thewarbirds.com

1-989-473-2176

Their site isn't done, so it's better to call them.

[warshield]

Originally posted by yasnevo
J&G Sales of Prescott, AZ has them also.

www.jgsales.com

J&G does not have them thy just have an ad that says thy do.

[warshield]

I got I have bought several unissued maks on the auctions for 140 to 150 I just got one for 157 no shipping and that is the most I ever paid for one but I was in a hurry.

[Gun Toter]

At my local gunshop, I just put on layaway a brand new Bulgarian Makarov with new military holster (Russian or Bulgarian, I dont know which), leather lanyard, cleaning rod on the holster and a spare mag. Both mags numbered to pistol with a -2 next to the serial number on the spare mag. Pistol is coated with a dried whitish colored grease and I forgot to look at the markings because I was so excited with the price: $139.95 w/accessories. With tax about $152. I should have it paid for next month. I don't know if its the military or commercial, but it has the reddish grips with the star on it and not the ugly target grip. I cant wait to get it. The dealer has a bunch more of the Bulgarians, but without mags or accesories, for $159.95. I dont think he knew he still had this one and didnt price it accordingly. Woo Hoo! I love those ex-commy guns!!

[Chichi Tavares]

Try floridaammotraders.com

$160 unissues w/2 mags, holster and cleaning rod. Great shape. He also has Military (fixed sight) Russians for $250-$300 range).

Good guy to deal with, the one I purchased was at gun show, so I got to see it. They ALL looked great though. Third Mak, one from JG Sales (got it a couple of months ago, GREAT shape too, but sometimes hit and miss with them), and a Russian Commercial that I purchased at a pawn shop for $150 (impulse buy). Slide and frame needed refinishing (I should have passed, but what the hell!). Sent slide to Mac at shootiniron.com for parkerizing ($30 including S/H), did an awesome job on it. Waiting for an extra few bucks to send the frame out.

Good luck fining some, you can't own just one!!

[Gun Toter]

If anyone looking for a Bulgarian Makarov is in the Central Illinois area, Pekin Gun and Sporting Goods in Pekin, Illinois (right across the river from Peoria) has 2 brand new Bulgarians for about $150 each I believe. I dont know if they come with any holster, I dont believe they do. But they are brand new Bulgarian with the red star grips and fixed sights. Their number is 309-347-6060. Dave is the man I deal with and is great to work with.

[rrrgcy]

I just bought a pair of consec. # maks from Bill below, for $160 each plus $10 each added for the consecutive numbers, as unissued military Maks with accessories.
Unfortunately, he is out of these maks for now. HE bought a crate and had them for only Three Weeks! Shows how quickly these Bulgie Maks are disappearing

This was his post below, maybe he'll buy more some day:
"Unissued Bulgarian Military Makarovs.Still in cosmoline.Made in the 1960s.They come with 2 matching mags,holster,cleaning rod,lanyard & owners manual. Price $159.99 (Quanity pricing available on 3 or more!$154.99 each) Shipping $12.00 VS/MC add 4%.Must be shipped to a F.F.L.-Dealer.(These are not C&R.) Bills Guns 724-668-8250 evenings."

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