I recently saw an ad for some Polish Radom P-64, 9 X 18 Makarov caliber and they were listed as C&R (Curio and Relic) firearms, listed for slightly less than $200.
A $200 pistol sent right to my front door? How you gonna beat it?
It came in a few days and I opened the box like a kid at Christmas. It was just as advertised, used, but with only a little wear on the bluing. It had been shot, but was almost "New in Box."
Here it is, in the shipping box.
It comes with two magazines and is a fine looking little pistol.
The P-64 is a double-action, blow-back pistol
It is in "9 X 18 Makarov" caliber, but the design is not a Makarov.
The 9X18 Makarov cartridge is slightly less powerful than the 9mm Luger cartridge, but is more powerful than the .380.
With the best ammo, it will make the FBI minimum penetration standard of 12 inches.
The pistol was designed for use by the Polish Army and is similar to the PPK design.
I don't know why an Army officer would carry such a small pistol into combat, but it would be great if someone wanted a small pistol, small enough to fit in their pocket.
I took it out of the box and gave it a thorough cleaning, as I do with any new firearm.
To break it down for cleaning, you simply pull down on the trigger guard and then pull the slide back and up and it comes right off the pistol.
I noticed that the feed ramp wasn't as smooth as I like them,
So decided to do a throat and ramp polishing job on it before taking it shooting.
I use some jeweler's rouge and a polishing bob with my Dremel tool.
I just get some of the polish on the bob…
And then polish the feed ramp.
We don't want to remove any metal, but only polish up the ramp as smooth as we can get it.
Here it is after the polishing job.
I expected that it would feed without any problems and sure, enough, it did.
This pistol is about the size of the Russian Makarov or the PA-63 Makarov.
It is slightly smaller than either of the other two.
It has a grip slightly shorter than the PA-63.
And the barrel is slightly shorter.
Well, let's see how it shoots.
I took it to the range and ran some Wolf factory JRN Ball rounds through it.
It functioned well, but the recoil was almost painful with the small grip.
One thing that surprised me was the absolutely atrocious double action trigger pull. It bet it takes 30 pounds to pull the trigger double action.
Amazingly, the single action trigger pull was both light and crisp. I will usually be shooting it single action at targets, so that isn't a big problem.
And the stiff double action trigger pull would act as a great "Safety" if carried with the hammer down and the Safety engaged. The shooter sure isn't going to "accidentally" pull that double action trigger.
The sights were very small, but it shot pretty close to point of aim.
I shot some handloads I loaded up with round nose lead bullets over a light charge of WW-231 powder. These were much more pleasant to shoot and shot accurately.
Here's a group of 12 shots.
Conclusion:
A very nice pistol for the money, and fun to shoot and easy to clean and maintain.
Negatives:
1. Very stiff double action trigger pull (I understand that Wolff Springs are available that will help with the trigger pull.)
2. The small grip is painful to shoot with full-power loads
Positives:
1. It is an accurate pistol
2. Well worth the price paid for such a firearm
3. Easy to conceal
4. An interesting piece of history
If you've been looking for a small and inexpensive carry piece, give this one a look.
Besides... Shooting stuff is fun.
A $200 pistol sent right to my front door? How you gonna beat it?
It came in a few days and I opened the box like a kid at Christmas. It was just as advertised, used, but with only a little wear on the bluing. It had been shot, but was almost "New in Box."
Here it is, in the shipping box.
It comes with two magazines and is a fine looking little pistol.
The P-64 is a double-action, blow-back pistol
It is in "9 X 18 Makarov" caliber, but the design is not a Makarov.
The 9X18 Makarov cartridge is slightly less powerful than the 9mm Luger cartridge, but is more powerful than the .380.
With the best ammo, it will make the FBI minimum penetration standard of 12 inches.
The pistol was designed for use by the Polish Army and is similar to the PPK design.
I don't know why an Army officer would carry such a small pistol into combat, but it would be great if someone wanted a small pistol, small enough to fit in their pocket.
I took it out of the box and gave it a thorough cleaning, as I do with any new firearm.
To break it down for cleaning, you simply pull down on the trigger guard and then pull the slide back and up and it comes right off the pistol.
I noticed that the feed ramp wasn't as smooth as I like them,
So decided to do a throat and ramp polishing job on it before taking it shooting.
I use some jeweler's rouge and a polishing bob with my Dremel tool.
I just get some of the polish on the bob…
And then polish the feed ramp.
We don't want to remove any metal, but only polish up the ramp as smooth as we can get it.
Here it is after the polishing job.
I expected that it would feed without any problems and sure, enough, it did.
This pistol is about the size of the Russian Makarov or the PA-63 Makarov.
It is slightly smaller than either of the other two.
It has a grip slightly shorter than the PA-63.
And the barrel is slightly shorter.
Well, let's see how it shoots.
I took it to the range and ran some Wolf factory JRN Ball rounds through it.
It functioned well, but the recoil was almost painful with the small grip.
One thing that surprised me was the absolutely atrocious double action trigger pull. It bet it takes 30 pounds to pull the trigger double action.
Amazingly, the single action trigger pull was both light and crisp. I will usually be shooting it single action at targets, so that isn't a big problem.
And the stiff double action trigger pull would act as a great "Safety" if carried with the hammer down and the Safety engaged. The shooter sure isn't going to "accidentally" pull that double action trigger.
The sights were very small, but it shot pretty close to point of aim.
I shot some handloads I loaded up with round nose lead bullets over a light charge of WW-231 powder. These were much more pleasant to shoot and shot accurately.
Here's a group of 12 shots.
Conclusion:
A very nice pistol for the money, and fun to shoot and easy to clean and maintain.
Negatives:
1. Very stiff double action trigger pull (I understand that Wolff Springs are available that will help with the trigger pull.)
2. The small grip is painful to shoot with full-power loads
Positives:
1. It is an accurate pistol
2. Well worth the price paid for such a firearm
3. Easy to conceal
4. An interesting piece of history
If you've been looking for a small and inexpensive carry piece, give this one a look.
Besides... Shooting stuff is fun.
