I just can't Trust the hammer rebound safety feature

Dennis · 11-01-2004, 02:26 PM

First off guys I love my makerov and am not "dissing" the PM
as I have spoken about here before
a friend of mine who liked shoulder holsters better than a zippered pocket was rideing his motorcycle on I-405 at about 70 miles an hour.
his makerov dropped out of his shoulder holster,
hit the ground on the hammer, fired, bounced about a hundred feet in the air landed in the on comeing lane of traffic, cartwheeling and then skitered to a stop in some high weeds almost a hundred yards away. nothing was hit by the shot.
They brought it to me like it was a injured puppy.
the sadness in his face and a hopeful tear in his eye.
I had to pronounce that pistol beyond repair.
it broke the guys heart.
he left the carcass with me for disposal.
I florensically began to dissassemble this damaged bulgarian Mak
the one thing that failed miserably
was the "rebound" hammer safety.
this works off the sear and keeps the hammer from striking the fireing pin in the event that the gun is dropped with the slide safety in the off safe position.
the spring loaded sear is pulled forward by the action of the trigger assembly.
when the hammer is at rest (not cocked)it is slightly back away from the fireing pin.
it can even move rather freely up to a point closer to the pin but it can not come in contact with the pin. it wont touch it.
the springloaded sear is (with the trigger forward) pressing against the bottom part of the hammer
there is a groove that when the hammer is pushed forward towards the pin the sear pushes in this groove and stops the hamer from touching the pin (when the slide safety is off safe)
it is a brilliant design, elegant, simple, single parts doing mulitple functions flawlessly.

many that do not understand the mecanical engineering cannot understand how special the makerov design is.

The problem is that the sear is a hardend part that is finely made and the steel is about as thick as your fingernail.
if the Mak hammer where to recieve a STRONG blow
the sear can shatter, the hammer hits the pin and the gun fires.
this is what happend
granted that when dealing with the titanic forces of momentum and tons of impact pressure it would be unreasonable to expect any marerial to withstand such a blow as happend that day.
still
I have changed my carry habits after this incident.
I keep the safety in the on safe position at all times.
this provides a posative block to the hammer and pin.
I have dropped maks testing trigger jobs and have never
seen a sear break like this one did.
The question still floats around in the back of my mind,
there for the change in carry mode.
I am a firm believer in the zippered pocket rather than a holster.
firearm retention when packing is of the utmost importance.
If you wear a holster ya gotta be able to do cartwheels, jumping jacks and any and all sorts of movements
and you retain your carry firearm.
think about how much rough and tumbling you do in a fist fight?
you need to be able to retain your firearm during all of those movements.
the failures that led to the acidential discharge are easily corrected.
first and formost do not drop your pistol.
second keep the frame mounted safety in the "on safe" position.

These conclusions are my personal opinions
The mak is one of the worlds great conceal carry weapons

PAPA G · 11-01-2004, 03:37 PM

is this the same guy i read about a few monthes ago???

Dennis · 11-03-2004, 08:27 AM

yes I am just revisiting my conclusions in more detail

PAPA G · 11-03-2004, 09:08 AM

thanks Dennis, was starting to doubt my sanity, what ever THAT is

11-01-2004, 02:26 PM	#1
Dennis Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 1,877	I just can't Trust the hammer rebound safety feature First off guys I love my makerov and am not "dissing" the PM as I have spoken about here before a friend of mine who liked shoulder holsters better than a zippered pocket was rideing his motorcycle on I-405 at about 70 miles an hour. his makerov dropped out of his shoulder holster, hit the ground on the hammer, fired, bounced about a hundred feet in the air landed in the on comeing lane of traffic, cartwheeling and then skitered to a stop in some high weeds almost a hundred yards away. nothing was hit by the shot. They brought it to me like it was a injured puppy. the sadness in his face and a hopeful tear in his eye. I had to pronounce that pistol beyond repair. it broke the guys heart. he left the carcass with me for disposal. I florensically began to dissassemble this damaged bulgarian Mak the one thing that failed miserably was the "rebound" hammer safety. this works off the sear and keeps the hammer from striking the fireing pin in the event that the gun is dropped with the slide safety in the off safe position. the spring loaded sear is pulled forward by the action of the trigger assembly. when the hammer is at rest (not cocked)it is slightly back away from the fireing pin. it can even move rather freely up to a point closer to the pin but it can not come in contact with the pin. it wont touch it. the springloaded sear is (with the trigger forward) pressing against the bottom part of the hammer there is a groove that when the hammer is pushed forward towards the pin the sear pushes in this groove and stops the hamer from touching the pin (when the slide safety is off safe) it is a brilliant design, elegant, simple, single parts doing mulitple functions flawlessly. many that do not understand the mecanical engineering cannot understand how special the makerov design is. The problem is that the sear is a hardend part that is finely made and the steel is about as thick as your fingernail. if the Mak hammer where to recieve a STRONG blow the sear can shatter, the hammer hits the pin and the gun fires. this is what happend granted that when dealing with the titanic forces of momentum and tons of impact pressure it would be unreasonable to expect any marerial to withstand such a blow as happend that day. still I have changed my carry habits after this incident. I keep the safety in the on safe position at all times. this provides a posative block to the hammer and pin. I have dropped maks testing trigger jobs and have never seen a sear break like this one did. The question still floats around in the back of my mind, there for the change in carry mode. I am a firm believer in the zippered pocket rather than a holster. firearm retention when packing is of the utmost importance. If you wear a holster ya gotta be able to do cartwheels, jumping jacks and any and all sorts of movements and you retain your carry firearm. think about how much rough and tumbling you do in a fist fight? you need to be able to retain your firearm during all of those movements. the failures that led to the acidential discharge are easily corrected. first and formost do not drop your pistol. second keep the frame mounted safety in the "on safe" position. These conclusions are my personal opinions The mak is one of the worlds great conceal carry weapons __________________ Submitted with respect to all

11-03-2004, 08:27 AM	#3
Dennis Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 1,877	yes I am just revisiting my conclusions in more detail __________________ Submitted with respect to all

11-01-2004, 03:37 PM	#2
PAPA G Guest Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: somerset, kentucky Posts: 12	is this the same guy i read about a few monthes ago???

11-03-2004, 09:08 AM	#4
PAPA G Guest Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: somerset, kentucky Posts: 12	thanks Dennis, was starting to doubt my sanity, what ever THAT is