Dana Booth wrote in a message to Roy J. Tellason:

 DB> Roy J. Tellason wrote in a message to Dana Booth:

 DB> my CZ75 9mm, a really good gun for the money.

 RJT> A guy I used to work with,  also a gun enthusiast,  spoke very
 RJT> highly of those,  he had one as I recall.

 DB> I've been very impressed with CZ. They also put out an excellent
 DB> hunter called a CZ-550 which retails for under $400. Beautiful gun
 DB> with a Mauser action and the machining and accuracy are
 DB> outstanding. Has a great set trigger.

Sounds good to me...

 RJT> I had *one* problem with the one I've got,  but that's about it. 
 RJT> It's a "FEG" Hungarian model.  I have seen some others,  like some
 RJT> Russian-made ones,  but wasn't as impressed with the quality of
 RJT> the work.

 DB> A FEG PA-63 I'm guessing. 

That number sounds familiar.

 DB> Not a Makarov per se, 

No?

 DB> shoots 9x18 "Makarov" ammo. 

Yes.  Shoots .380,  too,  I'm told.  I was at a range once and found a live
round laying there on the ground,  tried it,  and yeah,  it did.

 DB> Authentic Makarovs were made in Russia, East Germany, and 
 DB> Bulgaria. They all look the same with slight differences in grip 
 DB> logos and such, and you can find them in every condition you can 
 DB> imagine!

I did look at one that was at a dealer once,  it was Russian as I recall, 
and it wasn't made that well from what I could tell.  Not that I'm any kind
of expert or anything like that,  it just felt "rough" in terms
of parts moving against each other.

 DB> I have several, in all conditions... A Bulgarian of mine is 
 DB> beautiful and is a sometime carry gun. My worst is an East German 
 DB> which looks like hell, but they all work flawlessly, Thousands of 
 DB> rounds through my Maks, never a jam, misfeed, stovepipe, nothing.

The one I have got slightly rough,  didn't want to fire properly,  and when
I asked at the dealer about a smith the guy there removed one of the grips,
 shimmed it with a thin layer of paper,  and the problem went away!  I
don't know what that bit of the action is that's right underneath that
grip,  but apparently it was binding just a bit,  or something.

Other than that minor hassle (which unfortunately had to happen when I had
taken my lady out to the range to get her into it :-( ),  the thing has
shot flawlessly at least 500 rounds,  somewhere between that and 1000,  I
dunno.

I've also had people call it "surprisingly accurate" for what it is.

 DB> Chinese model 59's look identical to eastern European Maks, but 
 DB> have very slight dimensional differences. Russian Maks typically 
 DB> have the rear of the slide machined out to accomodate an 
 DB> adjustable sight which was originally for import as a "target 
 DB> pistol", what a joke. :) Russian models without adjustable sights 
 DB> bring a very high price. While some Maks don't look all that 
 DB> great, some look real good, and I've had such good luck with 
 DB> those. Also, they just about have a cult like following... :) Try 
 DB> out www.makarov.com

Next time I get near a computer with web access,  yeah.

 DB> Maybe some think that they're underpowered, but nevertheless, I 
 DB> think that they're great concealed carry guns.

 RJT> A lot easier to slip into a pocket than some other things I can
 RJT> think of! 

 DB> Yeah, and another thing to consider is that a citizen carrying a 
 DB> concealed weapon for defensive purposes is much different than a 
 DB> cop or similar. In personal defense, the whole idea is to disable
 DB> the purp and remove yourself from the scene as fast as possible. A
 DB> cop needs to disable the purp and arrest him, an offensive role, 
 DB> and so ripping half a lung out of the purps backside on the first
 DB> shot is a little more comforting. I can assure you, though, that a
 DB> 9mm to center body mass will give you and others plenty of time to
 DB> remove yourself from the scene. :)

Works for me!

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