Magazine Spring

robhic said:

Tony,

I noticed in the thread you put in the "Gunsmithing" sub-form you ordered a (back-ordered) mag spring. Is the B380CC an 8rd mag or a 7? I know the standard Thunder 380 is 7 rd but I might want a bit longer spring for replacement use in some old Polish Military surplus Makarov 9mm guns I bought. The mag spring is almost identical to my Thunder 7rd spring, just a coil or 2 longer. I'm thinking a larger (CC) mag spring could be adapted to use in my Polish babies if needed.

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Hi Robhic, How is everything going in your neck of the woods.
The BT380cc mag holds 8 rounds but I have never compared the springs to see if there is a difference. Going to the range this weekend for a little practice with my Firestorm 22lr since I still have a bunch of 22lr ammo and do some gun cleaning including my BT380cc so I will check the spring size. Will let you know.
Is the Makarov 9mm just another toy or are they a very good gun and one that is very popular?

Tony1990 said:

Is the Makarov 9mm just another toy or are they a very good gun and one that is very popular?

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Tony, all is well, thanks for asking. These Polish Maks are a FAR sight from toys! 9X18 (full 9mm is 9X19) and as close to a full 9 as you can get. Built in the 60's-70's and available in very good shape for as little as $199 with 2 mags. Six round capacity and I LOVE EM!!! Polish Military surplus, all steel and accurate as all get-out! Thin, single-stack and pretty darn powerful. Bought one, loved it and got one each for my 2 granddudes! (Who's got the coolest grandpaw in the world?!?! ) Wolff makes springs for them (original trigger pull is around 30 lbs!!!) so you can refurbish them for around $11 and they are sweet.

If you've got $199 and know someone with a FFL to accept delivery and background check, I'd recommend this puppy! New leather holster available for $25 and they eat cheap steel-cased ammo like CANDY! Also, Hornady makes 2 HP rounds, FTX and XTP all brass that would kick a** for concealed carry.

All Steel 9mm for $199. with 2 mags. Cool. I have a conceal carry pistol but I sure can use another great shooting range pistol. I used to use my BT380 as my carry pistol but with 16,000 rounds fired thru it, it is now my range gun. I carry my BT380cc. So another pistol that I can enjoy on weekends would be great. However I still have my heart set on a BT9cc sometime when the price is right.
Where did you get the Makarov 9mm from. I know a FFL that I have purchased guns from before so that is not a problem.
However with a 30 pound trigger you really do not need a safety, just a strong finger. I have gotten springs from Wolff springs before so thats not problem either.

Thanks

Tony, the two dealers I used were: https://www.classicfirearms.com/ and AIM Surplus The pistols varied in price at different times from $199 + shipping to $250 FREE shipping so check both for the best deal. Shipping was only around $6 so no big deal. The Wolff hammer spring(s) to lower that horrid 30# are available in 17, 18, 20, 22# weights for $4. I tried the 17 but had light primer strikes in one pistol so changed them all to 18# and all good so far. New recoil spring is 18, 20 or 22# for $7 (if you want/need to change it). It's well made, old-school craftsmanship in an all steel pistol built like a tank! Copied a little by the Poles from the Walther PPK design (look closely at that picture...) and used by their Military and Police until production ceased in 1977. If you do end up getting one, you might decide you don't want that Bersa 9! Note: Double-action pull is whatever spring you use. Then, single action goes down to around 3-4 lbs. Has a safety/de-cocker. Might be listed in "Curio and Relic" section under P-64 Polish Radom pistol.

Thanks, I will check into it but not this weekend. I was going to have a 3 day weekend and was hoping to get some range time in, however today I found out that I have 4 days off. I will be able to enjoy firing my Bersa 22lr, Bersa 380cc, Bersa 380, Bersa 32, Ruger SP101 38/357 revolver and my Ruger LC9s it will be a great weekend.

Here is a picture of both a Bersa 380 and 380cc.

I tried to turn the attachment right side up but I could not do it. Hope you can download it to see it better.

The springs are the same size and both feel like the spring tension is also the same. They may be interchangeable. Even the mag size is the same.

Hope this helps Robhic.