Russian Mak marked 9mm

[hunter144]

I saw a Russian Mak with a 9mm marking instead of 9x18. Is there a Russian Mak 9mm or is just the way they marked it. Just wondering before I bought it. Any help will be appreciated.

[chesster]

Was this military or commercial???

[Bushbacker]

I think it just means "9MM Makarov", another term for 9x18. I think Arsenal in Bulgaria was the only ones to make an actual 9x19 Makarov pistol.

[Teakwood]

The myth about a Makarov in 9x19 is just that: a myth.
Back in the '90s, the Russians looked into beefing up the venerable Makarov. One of the things they tried was 9x19. In order to handle that, they added spiral grooving in the chamber to delay ejection.
It just did not work reliably and only a few prototypes were made. There was no production run.

As to the "9mm" marking, the early Baikals often were marked simply "9mm," implying "9MM Makarov." They did this knowing that only dumb Americans would assume that meant 9x19.

[Bushbacker]

The Arsenal factory in Bulgaria used to advertise a 9x19 Makarov on their website a few years ago - I saw it. Now whether they actually made any or not is another story.

Here's the current page on the Arsenal factory site:

http://www.arsenal-bg.com/defense_police/pistols9x17_9x18mm.htm


Here's some info. from Makarov.com on the Mak FAQ:


I see on Baikal's web page that there's a 9mm Parabellum Makarov. Are they available?

According to the director Russian Affairs at former importer B-West, they tested the 9x19 Makarov available from Baikal. The way the 9x19 Makarov works is that the chamber is scored or serrated, the brass gets blown out into those serrations thereby retarding blowback. The result is that the brass is shredded and unusable for reloading, the brass is tossed into low orbit, and the recoil of the gun is horrendous. For liability reasons, B-West refused to import these.