PA-63 in 9X18 caliber

[Sassi]

I have read what all I can find on the PA-63 and I know it has been beat on in a lot of the posts I have seen, however I find it shoots everytime I pull the trigger. I have had this particular one since 1992. I did not like it at first and put it back in the box in a drawer and pretty much forgot aboput it. The trigger was hard to pull which caused me to jerk the trigger when I fired thus pulling it off target some. The grips did not fit my hand. It was only in the last couple of years that I got interested in it again. I ordered a "Do Everything Manual" on the PA-63, got it out and carefully sanded the insides smooth, smoothed the burrs off the rails, changed springs and put on more comfortable grips. I have found that my PA-63 shoots the Georgia Arms 95 grain bullet well, with no problems, and I use a lot of their ammo, however it seems to get a lot more bullet expansion from Chinese Norinco ammo. This is now a very good shooter in my opinion. Does anyone else have one of these and how does it suit you?

[M2 Carbine]

My first 9x18 was the PA-63, that I let get away from me and now I have another one.
Good accurate guns. Mine isn't 100% reliable with some hollow points but I've heard some are.

I think it's mostly an under rated gun that would make a very good carry gun (for it's size).

I wanted to see if I could dampen some of the sharp kick and I replaced the recoil spring with a standard Makarov spring. Works OK.

Due to the light frame I wouldn't feed it a steady diet of the heavier bullets, like the Silver Bear 115/120.

IMO it's a very safe gun to carry with a round in the chamber with the hammer down.

[richardoldfield]

I had one in .380 and I traded it as someone wanted a compact carry pistol. Mine would out shoot a Walther and it only had two negatives: very heavy trigger pull and an extremely sharp edge on the magazine lips. Regards, Richard :D

[Teakwood]

Personally, I do not like the PA-63 in that it beats my wrist real bad due to the light frame. That being said, a heavier replacement recoil spring does improve the handling, and an 11# mainsrping will improve the trigger pull considerably.

[KiloPhoton]

I have one and it has never failed to fire. I'm not very sensitive to recoil but I had a friend fire it a couple times and he said it was the sharpest recoil he's ever felt on a handgun. Like you, I did a little work changing the springs and polishing it up but really never shoot it anymore. Mostly I just keep it in the car now should I hit a deer. Not sure how the designers came up with the spring selection though, only an 11# main spring and a 18# hammer spring? Seems backwards to me.

[Teakwood]

" Not sure how the designers came up with the spring selection though, only an 11# main spring and a 18# hammer spring?"

Not quite. The mainspring and the hammer spring are one in the same.
They were using too light a recoil spring and too heavy a mainspring.

I recommend a 15# recoil spring heavier if you can find it) and an 11# mainspring. Makarov.com pushes the 9# mainspring, but I had mis-fires with the 9#.

[KiloPhoton]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Teakwood


Not quite. The mainspring and the hammer spring are one in the same.
They were using too light a recoil spring and too heavy a mainspring.
[/QUOTE

You are correct, I did mean to say recoil spring instead of main spring. I do have a 11# main spring and although the trigger pull is much better in double action, it only puts a dimple on the primer without firing on a few brands. I did get the 15# recoil spring and that works better but I think there's still a lot of room to increase the tension seeing as the shell casings end up about 25 ft away.

[Teakwood]

There are instructions here on improving the trigger on a PA63 by polishing:
http://www.makarov.com/tech.html

Also, another thing I had success with was to use a std Makarov recoil spring (it's about 17 lbs) in the PA63. Worked very well.

[USDefender]

I loved my PA-63 - it was like the ugly little pug dog that's always there to help out when you need it. Mine had the darkened (don't think it was blued) frame as well as the blued slide - frame was scratched a little, but blueing on the slide was excellent.

However, I bought the gun for defensive purposes but soon found out that finding good HP ammo for it is next to impossible. 9 x 18 seems to be in short supply where I am.

Since I couldn't carry it as CCW, & it was no good to me as a target pistol or as a real practice piece, I traded it & put the money toward my Kahr.

Sort of missit, but I sure love & trust my Kahr. Wouldn't be offended at the idea of owning another PA63 however. Maybe next time I'll get a .380 though.