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Old September 6, 2018, 05:59 PM   #1
Jdin8455
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Question about Makarov magazine

Ordered a Bulgarian Makarov from classic firearms, took it to the range today. The magazine that matches the serial number of the gun is giving me some problems. When fully loaded, I noticed I cannot strip a round from the magazine...and neither can the gun. It jams up, and the top round takes a dive into the magazine. After depressing the tab on the side that engages the slide stop, I was able to manually get the top few rounds out. Once I only had five rounds in the magazine, it was smooth, the gun operated properly, and I could manually strip rounds out as well.

Do you think it's a problem with the spring? I made sure the follower was seated properly, and everything looks normal on the magazine. (It came with a second, and it functions properly)

I'm going to call Classic tomorrow, but was seeing if you all had any advice or luck with replacing magazine parts on these things. If all else fails I'll just buy a new magazine.

Thanks
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Old September 6, 2018, 07:25 PM   #2
JJ45
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I have 22 Mak mags, All are military, EG, Bulgarian and Russian. I can't recall ever having a problem that was mag related and only had to replace a trigger bar on one of my pistols.

I would try the spring from the magazine that functions right and go from there...being that there are only 4 parts to the magazine it should be easy to narrow down what part is exactly causing the problem.

I suspect the spring or could be something binding the follower when the mag is fully loaded. many of these were packed in cosmoline which can get hard and sticky over time and attract other matter and be stubborn to remove or removed incompletely. So, give it a good cleaning/degreasing before anything and try it again.

I might add this. When field stripping a Makarov magazine for cleaning the easiest way to do it is to place the mag with feed lips on a hard surface and depress the spring so you can slide the base plate off. Using this method over time can bend the feed lips in and cause feeding problems. I either do it without the feed lips touching anything or place them against a surface with some "give" before depressing the spring.

Last edited by JJ45; September 6, 2018 at 07:51 PM.
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Old September 7, 2018, 02:09 AM   #3
Model12Win
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Double check the mag is assembled properly.

These guns are normally about as trouble free as they come.
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Old September 7, 2018, 03:31 AM   #4
Jdin8455
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Thanks for the tips. I did clean them, I'll try swapping springs to test.

It's assembled correctly, as said, when it only has four or five, they're flawless.

Really enjoyed this pistol BTW, very happy with the purchase.

Thanks for the help!
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Old September 7, 2018, 03:54 AM   #5
Model12Win
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jdin8455 View Post
Thanks for the tips. I did clean them, I'll try swapping springs to test.

It's assembled correctly, as said, when it only has four or five, they're flawless.

Really enjoyed this pistol BTW, very happy with the purchase.

Thanks for the help!
I have a combined approx. 3000 rounds through my two Bulgarian Makarovs.

They have NEVER jammed, not once, all cheap steel cased ammo. If you still have issues with that magazine, chuck it and get a new one. Life is too short to try and fix magazines. In the military if a magazine is giving us issues we take a large hammer and beat it flat and throw it out!

M12
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Old September 7, 2018, 04:09 AM   #6
JJ45
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Model12Win, to chuck it would be the military solution where you have easy resupply but these mags, that used to be about 5 bucks, are now at least 5 time that amount at the minimum with the usual "black market" prices which happen when demand begins to exceed supply.
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Old September 7, 2018, 04:15 AM   #7
Model12Win
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JJ45 View Post
Model12Win, to chuck it would be the military solution where you have easy resupply but these mags, that used to be about 5 bucks, are now at least 5 time that amount at the minimum with the usual "black market" prices which happen when demand begins to exceed supply.
I wish I could check it out for you. Post pictures if you still are having bad problems with it, that could help us narrow it down.
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Old September 7, 2018, 06:17 AM   #8
jar
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And make sure the spring is oriented correctly.
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Old September 7, 2018, 08:26 AM   #9
donkee
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It is a used firearm. First thing is to clean it, second thing is to replace the mag and recoil springs. You have no idea how long those springs have been in use and what their true condition is. My money is on the mag spring. Maybe pickup a couple more while you can. AIM Surplus had some that were reasonably priced (well, considering current prices anyway) last time I was on their site.
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Old September 7, 2018, 10:00 AM   #10
TailGator
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It's assembled correctly, as said, when it only has four or five, they're flawless.
That would make me look for some irregularity, roughness, or dent on the inside of the bottom half of the mag, something that would make the follower hang up a bit down low.
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Old September 7, 2018, 10:43 AM   #11
Jdin8455
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Thanks for the insight guys. Magazine looks good, no dents. I don't want to get rid of it though just because the serial number matches the gun. I've contacted Classic, waiting to see what they do, hopefully ship me a spring or new magazine all together. I'm going to swap the guts between the working and non-working. I'll probably order one or two more magazines either way.
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Old September 7, 2018, 11:24 AM   #12
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Is there a burr on the inside edge of the feed lips?
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Old September 7, 2018, 02:53 PM   #13
Jdin8455
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So I completely swapped the guts, and the same magazine is still giving me the exact same problem. Jammed up with full capacity, works great when it's down to five. I cannot see any defects on it, I've contacted Classic, will see what they say. I'll probably order more mags in the meantime anyways.

Thanks for the tips, everyone!
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Old September 7, 2018, 04:49 PM   #14
Model12Win
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It's probably a burr or pinch inside the magazine or the same on the follower.
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Old September 8, 2018, 06:52 AM   #15
JJ45
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Yeah probably a burr or obstruction of some sort or hardened cosmoline on the inside of the mag down below the five round mark (or above it ...not the follower because he swapped that out from the magazine that functions correctly...jdin8455 I wouldn't give up on the mag even if it wasn't matching to the pistol...I know you say you cleaned it but I would give it one more try with some solvent and a brass brush that fits the mag body and clean the spring and the other parts the same way.

Also, the mag body may be constricted or squeezed in down where the rounds stick...maybe try to widen it out somehow. If the geometry of the mag body is off spec it might only take a small adjustment to correct the problem...what do you have to lose by trying...Classic is going to tell you the same thing we suggested but hopefully send you another mag (or two

Last edited by JJ45; September 8, 2018 at 06:58 AM.
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Old September 9, 2018, 12:35 AM   #16
Model12Win
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You could take the mag apart and try and slide a round up and down the magazine body to see if it hangs up. Also push down on the follower with a pencil or something with the mag unloaded to see if it snags or if the spring binds at a certain spot.
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Old September 9, 2018, 03:11 PM   #17
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So, I stripped, cleaned (again), wire brushed/sanded around the lips, cleaned, reassembled. The pistol will now push a round out of the magazine when it's fully loaded. I cannot strip a round out unless it's five or less in the magazine. I'm still gonna replace springs and buy at least one more mag....maybe my thumbs are starting to get weak.
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Old September 9, 2018, 03:56 PM   #18
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That's not that unusual. It's very hard to strip cartridges from any of my Makarov magazines by hand. But that does not seem to create any problems when used. I use both flat and humped Makarov magazines with my EG Mak but do find it near impossible to push a round out by hand when fully loaded.
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Old September 9, 2018, 07:30 PM   #19
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The Mak I gave my daughter was really hard to get the last round in and the 2 extras I bought were even worse. As I recall I cut off at least one loop from the mag springs and they still work great.

The gun is one of the commercial Russian .380 models and the 2 extra mags were military surplus... All the mag springs were too long.

Tony
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Old September 10, 2018, 05:21 PM   #20
Jdin8455
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This one is still impossible to unload, as the round points down and catches the front of the magazine. But the gun is stripping it, so I'll take it for now.

Hmm, good to hear an alternate solution, but I'm not gonna try cutting til I have more springs. My last round goes in o.k., just doesn't like coming out.
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