Re: What is a good price on a Russian Baikal IJ-70 9mm Makarov? Thanks for the input. I saw one in a LGS, and if I remember correctly, I think it was priced at $325.00 in VG to Excellent condition. During the 1990s, Baikal marketed various Makarov-derived handguns in the United States under the IJ-70 model. Included were handguns in both standard and high-capacity frames. They were available in.380 ACP in addition to the standard 9 mm Makarov round. Description: Russian made Baikal Makarov IZH-70.380 ACP This sleek PPK modeled sidearm was the stardard issue for Soviet police and military from 1951-1991. While East German, Chinese and Bulgarian models have flooded the markets in recent decades the discerning collector demands only the original Russian made Baikal lake version. IJ70-18A = (its a commercial Makarov, chambered in 9x18 makarov, standard capacity) Serial Numbr = A CP 0653 Import Serial number = H609427 3 import marks = A horseshoe looking mark with a P in it, A circle with an arrow pointing up, and a Circle with a mark that looks like a 'n'. Baikal is a brand developed by IGP around which a series of shotgun products were designed from 1962. After the collapse of the USSR, commercial gun manufacture was greatly expanded under the Baikal brand. During the 1990s, Baikal marketed various Makarov-derived handguns in the United States under the IJ-70 model.

1. Baikal Ij-70 Makarov Serial Numbers Explained
2. Baikal Ij-70 Makarov Serial Numbers Chart
3. Baikal Ij-70 Makarov Serial Numbers Lookup
4. Baikal Ij-70 Makarov Serial Numbers 222
5. Baikal Ij-70 Makarov Serial Numbers

RUSSIAN BAIKAL MAKAROV IJ-70 9X18, Orange County,No Shipping: $1200: 08/24 18:48: Calguns: Need Makarov magazines por favor: 08/24 17:02: The Outdoors Trader: FS Makarov CZ-82 (three guns) all Czech Rep guns: $3: 08/24 07:05: Armslist (St. Louis) Bulgarian Makarov + Ammo and Extras: $450: 08/23 18:28: Armslist (Athens) Radom Makarov P64.

The Baikal IJ-70 (Makarov) Pistol

By Chuck Hawks

'Baikal' is the name of a large lake in Siberia. It is also the trade name of Ishevsky Mechanichesky Zavod (SUP IMZ), a large Russian arms and ammunition manufacturing plant founded in 1942 as part of the Russian National Defence Industry. This was the darkest year of the Second World War in Soviet Russia, and guns were desperately needed to fight the invading Germans. European American Armory (EAA) of Sharpes, Florida is the exclusive importer of Baikal products at the time of this writing.

The Russian-made Baikal IJ-70 pistol is often referred to simply as the 'Makarov.' I call it 'The gun that lost the East,' since it was the service sidearm of the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War. At present the IJ-70 is not being imported into the U.S., having been discontinued in 1996

What we have here is basically a Russian copy of the famous Walther PP (Police Pistol), which was widely used all over Europe by both Police and civilians at the time the leaders of the Soviet Union decided to replace their aging Tokarev service pistol. The new pistol was to serve as the duty sidearm of the various branches of the military, as well as the police, the KGB, and all other government agencies. It would become the service standard for the entire Soviet Union and its satellites.

Locked breech designs were rejected in favor of a simple blow back mechanism in order to hold down manufacturing costs. The result was the adoption of the famous Makarov pistol, which is a slightly simplified Walther PP with an enlarged trigger guard. Russian cops and soldiers need to be able to reach the trigger while wearing heavy winter gloves.

Baikal Ij-70 Makarov Serial Numbers Explained

It was chambered for a Russian version of the .380 ACP (9x17mm or 9mm Kurz) cartridge, since that was the most powerful round that the basic Walther PP design could accommodate. The new Russian cartridge used an odd diameter .364' (approximately 9.2mm) bullet in a case 1mm longer than the .380's, and became known as the 9mm Makarov or 9x18. Ballistically it remained a near twin of the .380 ACP.

Like the PP, the Makarov pistol has a fixed barrel, a plus for accuracy. It is a conventional double-action/single action semi-automatic pistol with a hammer drop safety on the left side of the slide (up for 'safe' and down for 'fire'). The Mak has a rebounding hammer, and it is safe to carry an IJ-70 with the safety off and the hammer lowered over a chambered cartridge.

The IJ-70 is a smallish service pistol, about the size of a Glock 19 in height and length, but slimmer due to its single stack magazine. The steel magazine holds 8 cartridges and is released by a European style heel clip. The empty weight is .73 kg (about 25 ounces).

Most of the various Communist countries produced Makarov pistols locally in their own factories. Quality and workmanship varies depending on the country of manufacture. The East German and Russian Maks are generally regarded as the best, and the Chinese as the worst.

The Makarov pistols produced in Russia . . . Mac os x external hard drive read only ntfs. were available in either .380 ACP or 9mm Makarov caliber. The IJ-70 is an all steel pistol with a polished blue finish and a fully adjustable rear sight. It came with two magazines and sometimes other accessories, such as a cleaning tool and a service style holster.

My IJ-70A Mak, the test gun for this review, is chambered for the .380 ACP cartridge. It is a reliable and well made pistol that feeds modern JHP bullets without a problem.

When brand new the actions of IJ-70 pistols are a bit rough, but they smooth up nicely with use. I have shot a lot of service autos with worse triggers.

The ballistics of the .380 ACP and 9mm Makarov cartridges are pretty well known, nearly identical, and I have covered both in some detail in my series of articles on pistol cartridges. Suffice to say that with top JHP factory loads the .380 has proven to be a surprisingly reliable man stopper, about equal to the .38 Special revolver cartridge when fired from a snub-nosed revolver.

Shooting a Mak is a straight forward proposition. The magazine is loaded by simply pressing each cartridge down on top of the last. When a loaded magazine is inserted into the pistol the open slide can be released by pressing down the slide release lever. The slide will strip the first round from the magazine as it runs forward, and the pistol is ready to shoot.

The double action trigger pull is quite heavy if it is used for the first shot, but for subsequent shots the hammer has been cocked by the rearward movement of the slide and the pistol functions in single action mode . . . As with any blow-back action pistol, the slide return spring is pretty stiff, and it takes a fair amount of effort to retract the slide manually.

Baikal Ij-70 Makarov Serial Numbers Chart

The accuracy of the IJ-70 pistols I have fired is good compared to most .380 pistols. The owner's manual that came with my IJ-70 states that the pistol is intended for shooting at ranges up to 50 meters.

The Mak has a good, solid feel in the hand, especially with the optional rubber grip. I have found that both men and women enjoy shooting the IJ-70.

For this article I tested my Baikal IJ-70A at 25 yards from a bench rest with three different factory loads. Functioning and reliability during testing were 100%, as they have always been with the Mak pistols I have fired.

A couple of warnings may be appropriate. According to the instruction manual, the safety of the IJ-70 should not be rotated upward to the 'on' position when the slide is back (open). When the slide is in this position the safety could inadvertently be pushed past the upper detent, allowing the safety lever and firing pin to come loose. This is, in fact, how they are disassembled. Another warning is not to allow the slide to slam closed with the safety on. In other words, set the safety only when the slide is all the way forward.

The owner's manual is actually pretty good. The IJ-70 is easy to field strip for cleaning without tools.

The Baikal IJ-70 is not only an interesting piece of Cold War history, it is a well made, reliable, and accurate autoloading pistol that is well suited for home defense or daily carry.

Note: A complete review of this pistol can be found in its entirety on the Product Reviews page.

The year of manufacture is readable in the serial number. Russian Makarov Information Compiled Repost. The first is a Baikal. It has IJ-70 on it, There are two stenciled serial numbers. The Baikal IJ-70 (Makarov) Pistol By Chuck Hawks. Photo courtesy of Gun Broker. Shabloni bukletov dlya publisher pdf. Baikal Shotguns. Also, boxed K100, serial number is matching.

Serial # prefixes, generally considered lot codes, don't get a lot of discussion because the commies kept production numbers to themselves. The East Germans kept good records, but the published list for EG Mak prefixes is incomplete, as examples show up not listed. Without representing a number of guns produced in that lot; and the year of manufacture marked on the weapon, the prefixes are just 'there'. Cyrillic is cool to see on some examples, but I don't know what it means on a Makarov, so my brain just falls asleep. Ran across this info from some notes from Makarov.com-IIRC there is also an example of an EG with a 'DD' prefix; not listed, probably others (dated list).

Note that this table is not complete and there appears to be a sequential pattern, so don't panic if yours doesn't fit into the ones listed. East German production codes Production year Letter Code 1958 S 1959 J, K, L, N, U 1960 B, F, G, H, M, T 1961 AP*,AR, AS, AQ, AT, AU, AV, AW, AX, AY, AZ 1962 BR, BT, BU, BV, BW, BX, BY, BZ 1963 DA, DB, DE, DF, DH, DK, DL, DP, BO, BP 1964 ES, ET, EV, EX, EZ 1965 ER, FB, FH, FF * One person noted that his gun was marked 'AP' and '62,' so there appear to be inconsistencies.

China Not terribly much is known about these, except that they were brought in as Norinco Model 59. Not many are available, so they often command a premium over other Makarovs. On the whole, the quality of these is not as good as some of the others, but there have been notable exceptions. Very rarely you may run across a Type 59 with an Arsenal mark (number) in a triangle. Most common found are 56 and 66.

These were Military pistols that were remarked and packed for Commercial Export. A Chinese Makarov with 'SHI' mark is of Military issue, and normally if found in the USA means it was a War Trophy 'bring Back' from some conflict, and commands a Premium price.

Baikal Ij-70 Makarov Serial Numbers Lookup

Bulgaria The Bulgarian Arsenal Makarovs are the only ones that are currently being imported into the country. Miltex had an exclusivity agreement with Arsenal before they decided to get out of the small arms business.

Baikal Ij-70 Makarov Serial Numbers 222

Many other Bulgarian Makarovs are out on the market including some military surplus. As the Bulgarians start to switch to other guns as standard police and military issue, these should continue to pop up everywhere and can be purchased at a very good price. Fortunately for US shooters, these are very nicely done and some interesting variants were delivered by Miltex. Again, since Miltex is out of this business, collectors might want to consider picking up one of the Miltex 'Special Edition' Makarovs still floating around on the market.

Baikal Ij-70 Makarov Serial Numbers

In recent years, the Bulgarians have held the most market of all the Makarovs. As such, there are variants among these, primarily in grips and markings, including police, military, commercial, and even mis-marked Russians. Bulgarian production codes To find the Year of Manufacture of your Bulgarian 'Circle 10' Military Makarov, look at the serial number (S/N), normally found on the left side of the frame, above the grip.

The first two letters are the Production series, the next two digits are the Year code, see list below. The last four digits are the unit number in that production series. Please note, the 1970 date is start of all Production at this plant using the 'Circle 10' code, the Makarov was first produced under Russian supervision in 1975, and first year of Production under Bulgarian control was 1976. Download philippine history and government by gregorio zaide pdf free. Some Bulgarian pistols made in 1975 will have the Russian Date format, with the full year in place of the later date codes. Year Code Year Code Year Code Year Code 1970 = 10 1971 = 11 1972 = 12 1973 = 13 1974 = 14 1975 = 15 (Begin Makarov Production under Russian Supervision) 1976 = 16 (first year Makarov Production, under Bulgarian supervision) 1977 = 17* 1978 = 18* 1979 = 19* 1980 = 20* 1981 = 21* 1982 = 22 1983 = 23 1984 = 24 1985 = 25 1986 = 26* 1987 = 27 1988 = 28 1989 = 29* 1990 = 30 1991 = 31 1992 = 32 1993 = 33 1994 = 34 1995 = 35 1996 = 36 1997 = 37 1998 = 38 1999 = 39 2000 = Date codes dropped, year of production added after S/N. Production Series dropped to one letter, S/N moved from 4 digits to 6 digits to 9 digits, with leading zeros used as placeholders. *= Limited or interrupted production years Some Late 1999 Production models may be found with a '39' S/N code and the Year 2000 after the S/N.