Thank you for sharing your expertise with us. :thumbup:
How would you compare the modern Sig P232 with the modern Walther PPK (made by S&W now?)? Also, how would you compare the Makarov design with the mentioned pistols? Any South American designs that you recommend, similar to these guns?
Thanks.
You are welcome.
I have little experience with the P232 or the new S&W made PPK outside of handling them. They both seem to be well made, and I understand that they are both reliable pistols. However, my own preference would be for the SIG, which has a rather interesting history. (To me, anyway…
The P232 - was based off of the earlier SIG P230, which was designed to fill a German police requirement (due to the 1972 Olympic Munich massacre) for a more powerful blow-back pistol than the commonly issued .32 caliber Walther PP and PPK. The P230’s original caliber was "9mm Police", (aka "9x18 Ultra", a pre-WWII German cartridge design) which was a more powerful cartridge than either .32 ACP or .380 ACP, but NOT as powerful as a full-sized 9mmP, which was thought to be too over penetrative for use in crowded German cities. (BTW - Walther also developed a pistol chambered for the 9mm Police called the “PP Super”.) However, this experiment with a proprietary “police-only” caliber did not last long. The high incidents of terrorist attacks in Germany during the late ‘70’s convinced the German police to switch to full power 9mm pistols. This lead to a series of trials in Germany to find the “best of the best”, which led to the development and introduction of pistols like the H&K P7, the SIG P225, and the Walther P5. The adoption of these pistols made the 9mm Police concept obsolete. SIG, wishing to keep the P230 on the market, rechambered the pistol for .380 ACP. As I mentioned in my earlier post, the “cutting-edge” design of the P230 took many of its features from the earlier Sauer 38H. The new P232 is a product improved version of the P230.
The Makarov - Following the end of the Second World War, the Soviet Army stripped Nazi Germany of much of its extensive small arms manufacturing capabilities. Entire factories, such as the Walther plant in Zella-Mehlis were literally dismantled, then shipped to Russia. Advanced designs for ammunition and weapons were seized, as well as state of the art machine tooling and metal forming equipment. In addition, many captured German arms technicians were sentenced by the USSR for various "war crimes" and forced to work for Soviet state armament factories. The impact that captured German personal, technology and manufacturing techniques had on Russian weapons design was radical. By the early 1950's a entirely new family of small arms like the RPK, the AK47 and the Makarov had been developed and introduced into the Soviet military. These German influenced designs were years ahead of previous Russian small arms, and rivaled or bested the most advanced Free world weapons of the time. The handgun that replaced the Tokarev TT33 pistol in Russian service was the PM, or "Pistolet Makarov". Designed to be both more reliable under battlefield conditions and easier to manufacture than the Browning derived Tokarev, the PM entered service with Soviet military forces early in 1951. The PM shares a close resemblance to a scaled-up Walther PP. And like the Walther, the Makarov is double action and blowback operated. Because of this, and the excessive mania Communist Russia had for keeping its weapons secret, lead many Western ordinance experts to dismiss the Makarov as nothing more than a direct Walther copy. There is no doubt that the PM was influenced by the Walther PP/PPK, as the method of takedown, the placement of the safety and the recoil spring are the same on both pistol designs. However, internally the Makarov is very different and is much simpler, with only 25 parts to the entire weapon, compared to 42 for the Walther PP. The slide mounted hammer drop safety blocks the free floating inertial firing pin. Unusual for a safety of this type, the Makarov system also locks the slide. In addition, it works opposite of the standard Walther or Smith & Wesson pattern, moving up for safe, and down to fire. The magazine release, which doubles as the hammer mainspring, is located on the butt. Field stripping the Makarov duplicates the Walther PP/PPK pistols. The quality of these pistols is surprisingly good to excellent, especially considering the low prices that they were sold for. The East German Pi-M is generally agreed to be the best in terms of manufacturing quality and finish. Newer manufactured Russian, Bulgarian and Chinese guns are a little rougher in fit and finish. Trigger pulls on the Makarov vary greatly depending on the country of manufacture, with the East German pistols being the best in this regard, followed closely by the Bulgarian models. The trigger pull on my German Pi-M is a smooth 9 1/2 pound double action, and 6 pounds single action. Chinese and Russian guns commonly have slightly heavier and rougher triggers. However, Makarov triggers are generally lighter than the trigger pulls normally found on the Walther PP/PPK. Typical accuracy is excellent for a pistol of its type, most examples averaging 2 1/2 to 4 inches at 15 meters.
The 9x18mm cartridge - Following the usual post-war Soviet element of standardizing on cartridges used by no other country, the PM is chambered for the unique 9x18mm round, derived from the German 9mm Ultra ammunition experiments of the 1930's. Mild recoiling in the Makarov and quite accurate, the 9x18mm was intended to obtain maximum ballistics from a simple blowback design. However, the standard 9x18 cartridge is in reality much closer to a .380 than the 9mm Parabellum in actual performance. Bullet weight in the full metal case military load is 95 grains, and has a optimistically claimed velocity of 1050 fps out of the PM. Designated a 9mm, the Makarov bullet measures .363 inch compared to the .355 inch diameter bullet of a standard .380 or 9mm. Also, the 18mm case length, being 1mm longer than the common .380 ACP (9x17) and 1mm shorter than the NATO standard 9mm Parabellum (9x19), ensures that neither round will properly chamber in the Makarov.
The Argentinean Bersa pistols base their design off the Walther PP/PPK. Good quality, but nowhere near as expensive as the Walther. About the only complaint, (outside of rough triggers and the odd feed problem) is that some folks find that the multitude of safeties on the pistol (slide, frame and magazine) can make the pistol hard to get into action quickly.
TR Graham
The Glocksmith
