# Russian made 9mm Makarov pistol ammo



## Edwin (Apr 12, 2013)

I am considering buying a Russian made 9mm makarov pistol . However , I was told that I can only use makarov ammo . Does anyone know this to be true ? If not , are there other brands of ammo that will work properly in this gun . Any info would be greatly appreciated .


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## denner (Jun 3, 2011)

Yes, you can only use 9X18 Makarov ammo, however, it's plentiful under normal conditions and made by numerous manufacturers, including US manufacturers.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

To better end the possible confusion:
"Makarov" is merely a type of pistol, named for its designer. The name "Makarov" indicates neither a manufacturer of pistols, nor a manufacturer of ammunition.

As *denner* has already pointed out, ammunition to fit your proposed pistol is made in the US by reliable manufacturers.

Generally speaking, I do not trust the quality of Russian-made ammunition.
Domestically-manufactured ammunition is of much more reliable quality.


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> To better end the possible confusion:
> "Makarov" is merely a type of pistol, named for its designer. The name "Makarov" indicates neither a manufacturer of pistols, nor a manufacturer of ammunition.
> 
> As *denner* has already pointed out, ammunition to fit your proposed pistol is made in the US by reliable manufacturers.
> ...


Big 10-4 on that!

A friend of mine bought a couple thousand rounds of 7.62 a few years ago. He said that it's so funky that he basically doesn't even use it anymore.

By funky, he means not reliable and a lot of duds.


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## Broondog (Feb 1, 2013)

wow, where have i been?

i've run 10's of thousands of rounds of Russian (and other Com-Bloc) ammunition and never run into the problems that "seem" to plague so many people.

to the OP......

yes, 9x18 Makarov ammunition is what you want, *not to be confused* with 9mm Luger. also, every pistol i have owned that used 9x18 Mak actually preferred steel cased ammo vs brass.

when i picked up my first CZ82 i also grabbed a box each of S&B brass cased ammo, Blazer aluminum case and Barnaul steel cased stuff to see what it would like. it ate them all pretty well but it tossed the S&B brass cases all over the place and accuracy was marginal. the Blazer got tossed more consistently with reasonable accuracy. however, the Barnaul steel cased Russian ammo was crazy accurate and all the cases virtually landed in a neat little pile (same 1 foot area).

i've had 4 CZ82's and 1 honest Russian Mak run thru my collection and i fed all of them Russian steel cased ammo exclusively (after the test) and they ate it all and asked for more. Com-Bloc firearms we made with steel ammo in mind.

and after more cases than i can remember of Wolf, GT, Hotshot, and the Bears of 7.62x39 and not having any more issues than i have with domestic brass of any caliber i will continue to run cheap Russian ammo at every given chance.


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