Would you carry a Military Surplus Handgun?

I met some people at a gun show recently and quite a few admit carrying MS guns. I usually carry a J-Frame but one of my CC handguns is a CZ 82 (which is in fact, a modern gun). A good friend of mine carries a Makarov. Does the term MS makes you shy away from those guns? Just curious.

I am personally not a big fan of Russian stuff, be it rifle or pistol. I wouldn't disagree that they have engineered some "interesting" items, but I personally find little interest in either owning or shooting, or certainly carrying any of them.

I have before expressed my aversion to AK's. It is a personal thing. On a less personal level, I find I tend to view stuff from Russia to be cruder, less refined, less well made, and (because of that) overall not so desirable.

I would hasten to state that I DON'T really care if others do, indeed, own and shoot Commie stuff. I even know that a gunsmith that I have high regard for, has gone from making 1911's to tuning AK's for police use. You have to make a living. Doesn't change how I view them.

For me, it all comes down to my opinion that there are much better options than old mil surp handguns out there. Whether it is a glock, xd, m&p, sig, etc... I believe they are all better than the mil surps. They have better ergonomics, capacity, spare parts, balance, etc... However, if that's what you got, go ahead and carry it.

Interesting comments guys. I carried a XD-45 C for more than 4 years on cold seasons on a Cross Breed holster (awesome gun). When I was introduced to the CZ-82 I was amazed by the reliability, capacity (12+1) and ease of concealment (even easier than a G26) . My sidearm in the Military was the Beretta 92 and this gun gives me the feeling of a smaller full one. I have put more than 800 rds through mine with no problems. I don't regard the CZ's the status of less quality  stuff. It is in fact a good gun. It is unbelievable what you get for 245 dollars (now around 265). All guns mentioned above are excellent but to the budget minded and short on money gun enthusiast a gun like the CZ-82 does the trick.  When it comes to carrying,  I wouldn't say the same about the 40 years old Maks. Not sure I would carry those.

CZ is a Czech weapon. The company has an excellent reputation and has designed and produced great weapons. They sell any number of different ones here in this country and they are fine weapons.

I do not consider CZ to be Russian "mil surplus". I look more at Makarov and M-G's, AK's as mil surplus. I actually have a CZ 75 and like it.

Czechoslovkia was always a "conquored" nation, not really part of the essential USSR. Much like Hungary or E. Germany. Although I have to admit so was Bulgaria and their stuff rather stinks.

True. And it is interesting to see how it became a Milsurp item.
According to Wikipedia:
The vz. 82 was added to the US government's "Curio and Relic" list with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) in February 2007, after an individual wrote a letter to the ATF attaching a letter from a federal museum curator who stated that the vz. 82 had "museum interest" as a curio and relic.[1]

Allow me to share with you my first experience at the range with the CZ-82

I also own a CZ 75 and love it.  CZ makes some good stuff.  When people talk about mil surps, I usually think they are referring to tokarev's, nagant revolvers, and makarov's.  Is the CZ 82 considered a makarov? How much did your CZ 82 run you?  How plentiful are spare mags? How plentiful is the 9x18 ammo?

No. CZ is not considered a Makarov pistol. But shoots the 9mm mak round. There is a CZ 83 line of pistols in America (not surplus) offered in 380 cal and if I am not mistaken in 32 Acp. Interestingly enough the 83 in 380  and 82 in 9mm  share the same mags. I bought mine for 219 dollars and I saw it last time for 269 at Classic Firearms website.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/126691/cz-magazine-cz-82-83-380-acp-9x18mm-makarov-12-round-steel-blue
I was able to retrieve original mags on a gun show for 19.99 each. Those mags are well made. My local gun shop has plenty ammo from seller belliot and CCI Blazer Ammunition 9x18mm for 22.00 a box. I carry Hornady.
Midway USA:
Take a look at the rates 4.8 out of 5
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/990277/hornady-critical-defense-ammunition-9x18mm-9mm-makarov-95-grain-flex-tip-expanding-box-of-25?cm_vc=ProductFinding
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/341183/cci-blazer-ammunition-9x18mm-9mm-makarov-95-grain-total-metal-jacket-box-of-50
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/82/products_id/13660

MAC channel on youtube makes one of the best reviews on the CZ 82 and comparison to the Makarov Pistol on this video;

Looks nice, LH. As I said, CZ makes good stuff.

So now we have 9x17, 9x18, and 9x19. The latter look down on the 9x17. Yet the 9x18 is still a blowback gun, and only a mm shorter. So I wonder where all this takes us.

I am firmly of the opinion that 9mm is 9mm. I seriously doubt there is real difference between the various rounds in real world performance. Especially today when you can get +P and +P+ stuff. However, the blowback design is more questionable as the rounds get more powerful. There is a reason for locked breach designs. I wonder if the same can be said for the 9x18. I for one am really pleased to see the 9x17 locked breach stuff starting to show up. I am expecting to get my hands on a G42 in the next month, and that will make 2 locked breach .380's.

Are you on a waiting list for G42? I saw some on the shelves here in NC. I does look really nice and compact. But I have a personal policy on new models. I wait at least a year after the gun is released on the market. The reason for that is I was one of first average guys in US to have a Ruger LCP back in 2008. Had so many problems with mine and ended up trading on a 642. I heard the G42 has had some ammo sensitivity. I will be looking forward to your posts on that one. Just recently, folks who bought their XDS and Shields had their share on what I call the "recall headache". I like Kahr Arms and truly think I would prefer a CM9 or CW9 over the G42. But I need to shoot the G42 first to see how the gun runs on my book of handguns. But caliber wise I think Kahr made the single stacks Glock should have made centuries ago.

I used to carry a Makarov: an accurate, totally reliable pistol. I now carry a Glock 26, which uses a better cartridge with much better self-defense ammo available. The Glock is lighter, carries more rounds, and has a better trigger for the first shot than the not-so-good DA trigger of the Mak.

If the Makarov was all I had, however, I would not feel unarmed to have it with me! It's a solid pistol and fairly practical.

All my best,
Dirty Bob

What type of SD ammo is available in Mak? Is it loaded with the new generation of hollow point bullets? That'd be a huge determinator of the mil-surps suitability.

LHUSBY wrote:Are you on a waiting list for G42? I saw some on the shelves here in NC. I does look really nice and compact. But I have a personal policy on new models. I wait at least a year after the gun is released on the market. The reason for that is I was one of first average guys in US to have a Ruger LCP back in 2008. Had so many problems with mine and ended up trading on a 642. I heard the G42 has had some ammo sensitivity. I will be looking forward to your posts on that one. Just recently, folks who bought their XDS and Shields had their share on what I call the "recall headache". I like Kahr Arms and truly think I would prefer a CM9 or CW9 over the G42. But I need to shoot the G42 first to see how the gun runs on my book of handguns. But caliber wise I think Kahr made the single stacks Glock should have made centuries ago.

I was hoping to get a deal on one, but that fell through. I am not really looking anymore, as my daughter chose the Ruger I had gotten earlier. Not sure what I would do with yet another .380; my PPK works fine and does its job as a CCW.

At the time I carried it, I had to go with Russian hollowpoints! There may be some 9x18mm Mak today with modern JHPs, but the available ammo choices was one of the things that drove me to other choices.

All my best,
Dirty Bob