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Makarov Interchangable Barrels?

hermiem
I've read recently that there are Makarov interchangable barrels. The information that I researched indicated that there are regular 9mm Luger/ Parabellum that can be used - without any other modifications to the handgun. Does anyone know if this is true and if so where I could purchase one?

Thanks,

hermiem
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Comments

5 comments

Date Votes
  • rufe-snow
    The interchangeable barrels that were marketed, were for the .380 cartridge, not the 9mm Luger. They were sold by a on-line outfit that was known as Makarov.com. This company has been out of business for a couple of years now though. I don't know if their is another source for the barrels.

    The 9mm Luger cartridge is to hot to be fired in a unlocked straight blowback Makarov pistol. Ultimately bad things would happen to both the pistol and the shooter if 9mm Luger ammo is shot through a Makarov.
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  • beantownshootah
    Expanding on what Rufe said concisely, at some point there were barrels available to convert between 9x18mm Makarov and 9x17mm short (ie .380 ACP). It will probably be pretty hard to locate some now, but you could try on the auction site.

    Personally, I probably wouldn't even bother since 9x18 ammo is slightly more powerful than 9x17 (.380) plus, at least for the moment, cheaper. This conversion made more sense 10+ years ago when .380 was cheaper and 9x18 Makarov was hard to find.

    There were NEVER barrels capable of converting this gun to 9x19 parabellum (luger).

    The ordinary Makarov mags are likely too small to fit 9x19, and the gun action is probably too short to chamber it.

    But most important, that round (which most Americans just call "9mm") operates at WAY too high a pressure to be fired safely from a small simple blowback-type action gun like a Makarov.

    The Makarov round itself was specifically designed as about the most powerful round possible to fit into a small pocket size pistol with a blowback action.

    During firing, a higher-pressure round like a 9x19mm fired from a low mass blowback action would force the slide back before chamber pressure was reduced to safe levels. That would cause all sorts of havoc like ruptured cases, gun blowing up, etc.

    Its perfectly fine to fire 9mm luger from blowback action guns. . .but those guns use heavier actions and are by necessity, generally much larger than small Makarov pistols (eg MAC-type submachine guns, various carbines, etc).
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  • Grasshopper
    Personally, I probably wouldn't even bother since 9x18 ammo is slightly more powerful than 9x17 (.380) plus, at least for the moment, cheaper. This conversion made more sense 10+ years ago when .380 was cheaper and 9x18 Makarov was hard to find.



    That about sums it up there/
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  • texas gunplumber
    replacing a Makarov barrel is NOT for anyone that is NOT qualified, and has the correct Barrel Press...there is a procedure that must be followed, in the correct sequence...to remove and re-install a Makarov barrel, without damaging the pistol
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  • Wolf.
    Just a comment about switching out barrels in the Makarov pistol. I know your original topic didn't address this, but to digress a bit, the job of switching out 9mmMak to .380Auto/9mmShort is a bit more than simply dis-/re-reassembling the gun, but it is not that difficult.

    If you're not a gunsmith and your experience is limited, there is available a DVD "Armorer's Course" for the Makarov Pistol offered by Americn Gunsmithing Institute (AGI), and there may be others offered by other gunsmithing DVD providers, too, I don't know. The Makarov is a pistol that has some unique features and, one of these DVD's would be handy to have

    ALSO, don't forget to do some detailed web searches. There is even a website called makarov.com, which has tutorials related to the Makarov pistol.
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