The 918mm cartridge is a practical cartridge in blowback-operated pistols producing a respectable level of energy from a gun of moderate weight and size. In blowback designs, the only force holding the slide closed is that of the recoil spring upon firing, the barrel and slide do not have to unlock, as do locked-breech-design pistols.īlowback designs are simple and more accurate than designs using a recoiling, tilting, or articulated barrel, but they are limited practically by the weight of the slide. The Udav fires 921mm Gyurza rounds which are claimed to pierce 1.4 mm of titanium or 4 mm of steel at a 100 meters. North Korea and Vietnam also use PMs as standard-issue pistols.

In the U.S., surplus Soviet and East German military Makarovs are listed as eligible curio and relic items by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, because the countries of manufacture, the USSR and the GDR, no longer exist. Variants of the pistol remain in production in Russia, China, and Bulgaria. The pistol was therefore selected in 1949 for further development and optimization for mass production.Īfter many major design changes and tweaks, the gun was formally adopted as the 9mm Pistolet Makarova, or PM in December 1951. The lower pressures of the cartridge allowed practical straight blowback operation (reducing the cost and complexity of the weapon), while retaining low recoil and good stopping power.Īfter stringent handling, reliability, and other tests, Makarovs design, influenced by the German Walther PP, 7 8 stood out from the others through its sheer simplicity, excellent reliability, quick disassembly, and robustness.ĭuring April 1948, Makarovs pistol experienced 20 times fewer malfunctions than the competing Baryshev and Sevryugin counterparts, and had fewer parts. Semin, was the best round suited for the intended role. It was later judged that the new 9.218mm cartridge, designed by B. Therefore, the TT3033 was unsuited for such a role, as it was heavy and bulky.Īlso, the Tokarev pistols omitted a safety and magazines were deemed too easy to lose.Īs a result, in December 1945, two separate contests for a new service pistol were created, respectively for a 7.62mm and 9mm pistol. The adoption of the future AK assault rifle relegated the pistol to a light, handy self-defence weapon.

Baikal Makarov Serial Numbers