Heads up. J&G is offering Polish P64 (chambered 9x18 Makarov) starting at $200 for a "good" condition, 1 mag. http://www.jgsales.com/-c-16_385.html These little monsters are neat guns and are a good CC option if you're on a budget. And if you're not on a budget, they still make a decent CC option. Peace favor your sword, Kirk
They're nice little guns. The 3 biggest shortcomings they have are 1) heavy DA trigger 2) stiff recoil 3) low magazine capacity for the weight of the gun (by modern standards, anyway). But it's accurate, all steel, and well made. Peace favor your sword, Kirk
I like shooting mine less than my Makarovs, but more than the FEG PA-63. That price is good, that's what they were 2-3 years ago.
They're great guns but parts can sometimes be difficult to locate. GREAT single action triggers...double action, not so much. The P64 is one of the most accurate compacts I've ever fired and is built very well. Recoil is painful and the design is unfortunately prone to biting the web of your hand. I keep hearing that the PA63 is more painful to shoot but in my experience it is the opposite. The P64 used to bruise the palm of my hand, while the PA63 is just mildly uncomfortable. $200 is a very fair price and is probably the best you'll do on one at present time or in the forseeable future.
Here are a couple good deals on concealed carry pistols. http://palmettostatearmory.com/index.php/firearms/cw-380acp-2-barrel-black-cw380.html Buds Gun Shop has this gun for just a few dollars more, it you prefer to deal with Buds. https://www.firearmsforsale.com/product/0602686177313/a/0
I like both but they do shoot different. I did the spring changes on my P64 and it brings the DA down to human levels but it also lightens up the SA. If I had put the lightest springs in the SA would be unacceptably light; hair trigger. Recoil became a bit more manageable when I changed out the stock grips for a pair of Marcshall grips. I think that part of the reason for the heavy recoil is how low on the grip the arch is for the web of the hand. If you grip it where it was intended, you don't get slide-bite but it increases felt recoil. Modern training methods also teach a higher grip which increases the chance of slide-bite. I'm glad I bought one. Peace favor your sword (mobile)
Heavier recoil springs can help with that. There's a lot of leeway there, just don't over spring it, or it can fail to feed. Biting your hand? Shoot it like they do in the old movies, and it won't do that. It's not really an IDPA gun, high grip isn't good, and two hands don't fit well.
I love my 63, but I paid less than a hundred bucks for it. I do not find it uncomfortable to shoot with 95 grain loads. BUT if you shoot sub machine gun loads 109 grain IIRC hurts like hell. I do not collect, so 200 is too much for a 64 when there are so many subcompacts available in the same price range new.
That's a good point, fer sure. Some hot modern .380 would definitely work as well as, or better than, the 9X18, in most situations. And those guns are light, easy to carry, and easy to get parts for if needed.
Heavy loads have been linked to frame cracking in the aluminum framed PA63. "Just say no." Only one I can think of in at that price point is the Taurus TCP on sale or maybe the new Denali. Everything else is 25% more expensive as a starter. But, yeah, parts availability, new manufacture, smaller, lighter, etc., all count (for some people, sometimes ). Peace favor your sword, Kirk
It's hard to get anything but a high grip on the P64 for me. I'm not alone. The P64 also bit the web of my wife and brother.
