Makarov noobness

[BBSparkle]

So I picked up an IJ-70 from a member yesterday. Looked it over, but didn't bother trying to disassemble it. [It's a combloc pistol, what could possibly be wrong with it?] Anyway, I get home from work an hour or so ago and I decide it's time to take it down and clean it up. Well, I can't get the damn slide off.

Maybe I'm just a huge sissy or something, but the damn thing will not come off. I'm pulling it as far back as possible, and lifting up. I feel like anymore force and the thing will just break [as if I could break steel].

He mentioned it had a new spring or something put in, so I'm wondering if maybe it's just a stronger recoil spring and it's not broken in, making the slide hard to remove.

Any insight from owners would be useful. Maybe there's just a certain finesse to take it off that I'm not getting...

Thanks

 

[Claddagh]

The trigger guard is pulled down (it's hinged at the rear) and moved slightly to one side so that it stays "open". Then the slide is then pulled to the rear and can be lifted off.

Be carefull not to reinstall the recoil spring backwards. The smallest end goes on first and you sort of "screw" it down until it's fully seated.

 

[BlueEagle]

Yeah, make sure you drop that trigger guard down. I have a similar gun, and with very little practice you can field strip it, oil it, and re-assemble it all in under 30 seconds.

 

[Colt556]

Yup, pretty much what they said.

 

[BBSparkle]

Yeah, I definitely have the trigger guard down. I just can't get the damn thing off, no matter how hard I pull it back it just has no give going up.

Is it possible the spring was put on backwards upon last reassembly? Would that prevent me from pulling it off easily?

 

[Steven]

The mag must be removed also.
http://www.makarov.com/tech/assembly.html

 

[Claddagh]

Okay, mag is out, trigger guard is pulled down and secured. Are you lifting the rear portion of the slide up to free it? Once the rear of the slide is off the frame and held there, the slide is removed by running it forward off of the barrel. The barrel is fixed, being press-fit and pinned to the frame. The recoil spring is on the barrel itself. All just like the Walther PP model pistols.

 

[BBSparkle]

Since the problem was OBVIOUSLY not from me not knowing how to remove a magazine I had to keep going in my search. I think I have found the problem. Myself, being an idiot.

This is only the second gun that I've bought that I haven't disassembled and inspected before purchase, and now it looks like I"m going to pay for it.

As you may or may not be able to see, the barrel has a huge ring about 1/3 of the way toward the muzzle. Apparently this is a fairly common occurrence due to 'squib rounds' which I guess are one of the downsides to 9x18.

So it looks like I"m going to have to figure out a way to get the slide off [which is locked back and won't even go forward now, from me pulling on it too hard] and remove the barrel and replace it. The good news is the barrels are cheap, and I suppose I'll just order a 'parts kit' which has a recoil spring and firing pin as well for about $60.

The bad news is I'm a mechanical dunce and it's going to be an interesting journey installing the new barrel. Especially given that the only tool I have that's needed for the job is a punch... Have to get a dremel and some sort of barrel press, whatever that is..

Anyway, I guess that's a lesson learned, ALWAYS FULLY INSPECT A FIREARM BEFORE PURCHASING.

 

[BBSparkle]

Still, though, despite my misfortune I find this to be a very attractive pistol. And I'm glad to have the opportunity to give it some love and make it work again, instead of letting go down the road of so many other great little Russian arms.

[I'll bet it would fire if I wanted it to.]

 

[BlueEagle]

I'd say you're probably right about that; just about can't stop them from firing.

 

[woodsie57]

Not a gunsmith, but have 30+ yrs machinist exp-A pressed in barrel may merit a trip to a 'smith-a lot of force is involved, which, if incorrectly applied, could really screw things up.Have the same model Mak; wifes nightstand gun. Worth fixin'-100% reliable gun!

 

[Claddagh]

Have you tried pushing down on the slide release lever on left side of the frame? Unless something's FUBARed, that should at least let the slide return to battery where you can start the field stripping process over again. Just MHO, but if your slide will run all the way back to lock then it should also come off the frame, ringed barrel not withstanding.

About replacing that barrel: Again just MO, but from long and sometimes bitter experience I've found that, in the longer run, it is almost invariably cheaper, faster and worlds less likely to result in disaster to pay a pro to use his tools and experience on a job like this than it is try and buy your own. Especially if you're, as you say, "a mechanical dunce". There're a good many potential pitfalls to even such a seemingly simple and uncomplicated-looking task as this. Going in blind, as it were, almost garauntees that you'll run smack-dab into at least some of them. It's also been my experience that paying a pro to do the original job is always a lot less expensive than paying him to fix a botched DIY attempt.

In more than a decade of shooting that has run more than a couple of cases of assorted factory ammo through my own Maks I have never experienced a "squib". I don't know where you heard that this is a common "downside" of the 9x18 cartridge; IME this particular problem has been a vanishingly rare occurance in factory-made CF ammo of any caliber. Rimfire cartridges and reloads/handloads are another matter.

The best advice I can offer you is that if you try the above and still can't get your slide to return to battery and/or get it off of your frame - take it to a pro ASAP. Further futzing will most likely only serve to make matters worse (read: more expensive to fix) and believe me, you do not want that!

 

[Steven]

Check around at this forum , the subject has come up there in the past a few times.
The Makarov Forum

 

[BBSparkle]

Appreciate the suggestions.

Have you tried pushing down on the slide release lever on left side of the frame? Unless something's FUBARed, that should at least let the slide return to battery where you can start the field stripping process over again. Just MHO, but if your slide will run all the way back to lock then it should also come off the frame, ringed barrel not withstanding.

I did get it to return shortly after that post. While I can get the slide back beyond even where it should lock to where I'm ASSUMING it's meant to tilt up for disassembly, there is simply no upward give whatsoever.

About replacing that barrel: Again just MO, but from long and sometimes bitter experience I've found that, in the longer run, it is almost invariably cheaper, faster and worlds less likely to result in disaster to pay a pro to use his tools and experience on a job like this than it is try and buy your own. Especially if you're, as you say, "a mechanical dunce".

I have thought about this as well, and at this point I am just as likely to take it to a smith [at the very least to get an estimate] as I am to try going about it myself. At this point, though, I am not aware of any reputable gun smiths in my area, so I'll have to do some research on that as well.

In more than a decade of shooting that has run more than a couple of cases of assorted factory ammo through my own Maks I have never experienced a "squib". I don't know where you heard that this is a common "downside" of the 9x18 cartridge; IME this particular problem has been a vanishingly rare occurance in factory-made CF ammo of any caliber. Rimfire cartridges and reloads/handloads are another matter.

I read that on the few forums I could find where people had similar problems. I wasn't implying it was a reason I would stay away from 9x18, just that, according to the internet, it's a fact of life when shooting old surplus.

All in all, I was pretty buttmad about this, but now I'm just excited to get this working again and get out to shoot it.

 

[Saiga223]

To be honest you will probably end up paying for 2 Makarovs by the time you get a new barrel pressed in unless you got a steal on that one or the previous owner told you there was an issue. I would contact them and negotiate a refund and then buy another one. Don't get me wrong a Makarov is a great little handgun. I had a Bulgy that was flawless, but I'm just saying even if the previous owner didn't know you should still be able to work out something. Maybe they could go half on the repair or something.

 

[BBSparkle]

I got an OK price on it [not OK considering the needed repairs] but I'm kinda screwed now, anyway. I'm not going to sell it off and pretend it's not messed up, and I don't expect the guy I bought it from to help out or care.

Caveat Emptor

I'll be happy if I can get it fixed for under $150.

 

[Hop]

The only squib I've had was when shooting Hornady JHP!!!

 

[pute62]

Don't know where in Indy you are but a gunsmith in Greenfield seems pretty reasonable. I have talked to him before about some work and he was cheap enough and free to talk to.
R A Marks Gunsmithing
108 Ellis Drive
Greenfield, IN 46140
(317) 462-1585

 

[jesse485]

You said in your OP that you bought this from a "member", did you mean a member here? If so, you should at least post about this in the feedback forum. I cannot imagine selling a gun with serious damage to someone else without disclosing. This isn't some minor problem, or something that could have been missed by the seller. I'd sure be ultra pissed if I was in your shoes.

 

[BlueEagle]

Yeah, I would definitely agree with that. Unless there is some sort of weird mitigating circumstance and somehow the guy didn't know about this issue....thats a huge problem.