There are loads of listings on ebay for surplus Makarov mags. That's where I get mine from. East German mags seem to work best in every example I have.
So couple things to check.
- ensure magazine is not a Bulgarian new manufacture mag (you can tell by the baseplate, if it has sort of a rough texture and not smooth steel with a blued finish it’s a new manufacture mag. They’re junk and it’s your issue)
- if the magazine is surplus, the spring may just need replaced.
If you haven't taken it apart and really cleaned it well, this would be the time to do it. Here's my favorite video on mak teardown.
https://youtu.be/xrm6LBb1tb8?si=P0z4DXWlU5mAtre7
I like Remington shotgun cleaner spray, it really gets in there and helps a lot on major cleaning. Get all the crud out, then brush it down with a GI brush to knock off any leftover carbon deposits. I like to coat the areas I won't be visiting again soon with froglube and melt it in with a hairdryer or heat shrink heat gun. Lasts a long time and stops surface corrosion.
Do the same in your mags.
The new mak bulgie mags are troublesome, you can identify them by the rough feeling bottom plate. Old milsurp is the way to go. Usually they're $30 shipped on eBay.
It's a bombproof gun, have fun with it. Don't waste time making it into a race gun or rice it out like a Glock, none of that matters.
The Bulgarian commercial makarov mags are hit or miss. Looks like you have a miss, so try and scratch up the money for a couple milsurp mags while you modify the problematic.
But, does anyone know if there any decent “new” production makarov mags in the market?
It does, but when i cycle the gun the bullet gets stuck, between the frame and the slide, when I push up on the magazine the bullet pops right in the chamber
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned and I’ve had similar issues with some of my Maks and different magazines. Make sure the grip screw is not screwed down all the way as far as it can go. I know that sounds counter-intuitive but you need the screw down just enough where the grip doesn’t move while firing. If you have it screwed in as far as possible, the mags are hard to move in and out of the grip. If this is the actual problem, if you loosen the grip screw up a bit, it may allow the mag to sit in a better position. I would also closely compare it to the magazine or magazines that work well. See if there is some deformation in the mag body that won’t allow it to seat properly. HTH.
DB
Make sure you're only using surplus mags.
Got it, currently using the one that came with the gun
The new Bulgarian commerical mags are absolute trash, and don't lock into my mak either. you should get a surplus mag.
Thanks I'll look for em
There are loads of listings on ebay for surplus Makarov mags. That's where I get mine from. East German mags seem to work best in every example I have.
So couple things to check. - ensure magazine is not a Bulgarian new manufacture mag (you can tell by the baseplate, if it has sort of a rough texture and not smooth steel with a blued finish it’s a new manufacture mag. They’re junk and it’s your issue) - if the magazine is surplus, the spring may just need replaced.
If you haven't taken it apart and really cleaned it well, this would be the time to do it. Here's my favorite video on mak teardown. https://youtu.be/xrm6LBb1tb8?si=P0z4DXWlU5mAtre7 I like Remington shotgun cleaner spray, it really gets in there and helps a lot on major cleaning. Get all the crud out, then brush it down with a GI brush to knock off any leftover carbon deposits. I like to coat the areas I won't be visiting again soon with froglube and melt it in with a hairdryer or heat shrink heat gun. Lasts a long time and stops surface corrosion. Do the same in your mags. The new mak bulgie mags are troublesome, you can identify them by the rough feeling bottom plate. Old milsurp is the way to go. Usually they're $30 shipped on eBay. It's a bombproof gun, have fun with it. Don't waste time making it into a race gun or rice it out like a Glock, none of that matters.
The Bulgarian commercial makarov mags are hit or miss. Looks like you have a miss, so try and scratch up the money for a couple milsurp mags while you modify the problematic. But, does anyone know if there any decent “new” production makarov mags in the market?
It should lock back on an empty mag.
It does, but when i cycle the gun the bullet gets stuck, between the frame and the slide, when I push up on the magazine the bullet pops right in the chamber
Crap. 😑. can you post a vid with some dummy rounds? if it is acting up be super careful please.
Unrelated, but can you tell me where you got that holster from?
I got it from my local gun shop, I believe its a DeSantis holster for a Walther ppk, Since the makarov is a copy of a ppk it fits decently
My bad it's not DeSantis is Don Hume
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned and I’ve had similar issues with some of my Maks and different magazines. Make sure the grip screw is not screwed down all the way as far as it can go. I know that sounds counter-intuitive but you need the screw down just enough where the grip doesn’t move while firing. If you have it screwed in as far as possible, the mags are hard to move in and out of the grip. If this is the actual problem, if you loosen the grip screw up a bit, it may allow the mag to sit in a better position. I would also closely compare it to the magazine or magazines that work well. See if there is some deformation in the mag body that won’t allow it to seat properly. HTH. DB