Browse all new and used FEG Pistols for sale and buy with confidence from Guns International. Toggle navigation. Rifles Shotguns Handguns Pistols Revolvers NFA Gun Parts & Accessories Services. An updated version of the Hungarian Model 48, the FEG PA-63 chambered in 9mm Makarov was adopted by the Hungarian Military and Law.
Gentlefolk,After an idiotically long time thinking I had an FN clone of a PP, apparantly I have an Hungarian clone of a PP.I have not found a site dedicated to the FEG PA-63 or the AP9, so thought I would try here.My FEG is chambered in 7.65, and fires well, but I get a lot of blowback thru the ejection port. I dont get bothered with it, but a friend was singed with burning powder.and it does but on quite a display with flame coming out the ejection port.Is ths a recoil spring replacement fix or something else I need to look at?Thx! Thank you, LD;The ammo being used is commercial.32 ACP. The provenance of this piece is uncertain. The person who sold it to me said it was an FN clone of a PP, based on the stamps on the receiver, so I am kinda floundering with it, working with scant knowledge, and really only my SmithWalther PPK/S as a reference.Woud a place like Wolffs Springs have a specific recoil spring for this, or would I replace with a Walther PP recoil spring?AND.am I correct that I am even dealing with an FEG AP9, or something else??
(see attached photos)And finally.how did the FN markings get stamped on this guy?Many thanks.Don. Pier23:Is the frame marked as an FEG made in Hungary and the slide is marked FN from Belgium? If so, that is weird.
Some one made this gun up if that is the case.Blowback guns are a balancing act. The force of recoil has to be absorb by the inertia of moving the slide, the force required to cock the hammer, friction, and the force to collapse the recoil spring. The balance point is reached if the slide travels all the way to the rear and just kisses the slide stop, without banging into the frame hard.
If any part of the equation is changed then the equation may be un-balanced. Changing to a different slide may have upset the equation and a heavier recoil spring may be necessary.I'd get a replacement FEG spring and test its force against the spring you now have. If the FEG spring is stronger then I'd try it in the gun. If not I'd contact Wolff to see if they can give you a stronger spring than the stock FEG spring.If all of the gun is FN then I'd search out a FN replacement spring.I have an FEG PA-63 in 9mm MAK. It is not a fun gun to shoot.
It gives me hammer bite if I use a standard high hold and my hands are best described as small for my size. The trigger was terrible and I had to do a trigger job on it. Today I'd pass on buying one as well as the Walther PPK.LDBennett.
I have an Eibar Echasa GZ, a Spanish manufactured copy of the Walther, looks pretty much identical for the most part, also chambered in.32. I had the same problem, it was the recoil spring.
I bought one from Numrich and compared it, the 'new' one was almost 1/2' longer than the old one, not sure if the one in it had been replaced by a PO or just compressed. I was getting a carbon coating over the magazine and would often notice a spark as the slide cycled as it was fired, as if the slide was opening too soon. That slide wasn't done by FEG, it may not even be a FEG slide, You can tell by the finish that it doesn't match.
Your gun is just one of about a half dozen unauthorized copies of the Walther PP made by various different makers in various countries. There have even been several American copies as well. Again on the slide, I have no ideal of what the purpose of the counterfeit markings were for. No one could really be fooled in believing that it was a Browning /FN product, at least I don't believe so. Could be wrong.
My understanding has always been that these were FEG pistols made for FN because FEG could make them alot cheaper then FN could. Just simple outsourcing. In the 50's and 60's, the 32cal was still a popular police pistol in many parts of Europe. The FEG model name is AP7, not AP9, 7 for 7.65mm which is the same as.32. The AP9 was a.380 or 9mmshort. The FEG Hungarian police version is the PA63 which is 9x18 Makarov.They are stout, well made pistols.
If you told Wolff that you need the spring for the.32 version, I'm sure they'll get you the right spring. It may even be the same spring for the AP7 or AP9. I've owned one, found it to be reliable and accurate.If you have a good gunsmith nearby, it might be worth letting him check it out. These guns may be 40-50 years old.
A good cleaning, and detailed inspection can't hurt. Put in the new springs, have him check the hammer spring, trigger spring, and the spring in the magazine. It'll be like having a new gun. Good luck.BTW, AP stands for 'Automatic Pistol' but in Hungarian, which I can't speak anyway.The Firearms Forum is on online community for all gun enthusiasts. Join us to discuss firearms of all kinds, gun accessories, legal issues and more. Membership is free and we welcome all types of shooters, whether you're a novice or a pro. Come for the info, stay and make some friends.
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Disclaimer: This article is for entertainment only and is not tobe used in lieu of a qualified gunsmith. Please defer all firearms work to a qualifiedgunsmith. Any loads mentioned in this article are my loads for my guns andhave been carefully worked up using established guidelinesand special tools. Theauthor assumes no responsibility or liability for use ofthese loads, or use or misuse of this article. Please note that I am not a professional gunsmith,just a shooting enthusiast and hobbyist, as well as atinkerer. Thisarticle explains work that I performed to my guns without theassistance of a qualified gunsmith. Some procedures described in this articlerequire special tools and cannot/should not be performedwithout them.Warning: Disassembling and tinkering with your firearm mayvoid the warranty.
Iclaim no responsibility for use or misuse of this article. Again, this article is for entertainment purposesonly!Toolsand firearms are the trademark/service mark or registered trademarkof their respective manufacturers.IntroductionI have a concealedcarry permit (CCP) for the state of North Carolina, butsummers here get pretty hot and humid which precludes wearingjackets, vests, or any other long garments to cover a holster. A convenient method for summer-time carry is aspecially designed fanny pack. They’re easy to use; I can carry my wallet, keys,spare magazines, and a gun, and are so common that they’revirtually invisible. However,they are not designed for full-sized guns; therefore I neededto find a small, lightweight pistol suitable for carrying in afanny pack.I had beenreading an abundance of positive information about theEuropean Makarovs being imported into this country.
The 9x18 Makarov guns themselves are fairly inexpensive($100 - $250) depending on where you buy. 9x18 Makarov ammo is like a.380 Auto on steroids, so Idecided to search for a Makarov. While visiting a local gun store with a friend I founda Hungarian FEG PA-63 in 9x18 Makarov caliber. This gun is almost an exact copy of a Walther PP(larger than a PPK or PPKS) andlooked like it would fit my needs well.TheMilitary standard PA-63 version sports a two-tone polishedaluminum frame with black slide, grips, trigger and hammerassembly.
To meit’s an attractive little pistol. Although the reflective frame was unusual for militaryuse, it was chosen due to its relative cheapness as well asquicker build time. Problemsrelated to the durability of the aluminum frame were resolvedprior to the development of the PA-63 in 1961 with theproduction of the FEG R-61 Police Pistol. Theaddition of 0.1% titanium to the aluminum alloy solvedpremature alloy frame wear problems inherent in the earlierFEG aluminum framed pistols.
This development was thenapplied to all aluminum framed FEG guns including the PA-63.InitialDisassembly and InspectionThe first thing I do with a new gun is to completelydisassemble it. Ifollowed the disassembly instructions for a Walther PP, whichworked very well. Icleaned and oiled everything and did some preliminaryinspection, not only for fit, function and wear, but also forareas that could use some improvement. This particular gun looked like it had not been firedvery much.
Duringmy initial inspection it looked like someone had clipped a fewcoils off the hammer spring. One end of the spring was flattened and compressed likeit comes from the factory. The other end was unevenly flattened, but notcompressed; a sure sign that someone had been working on it.MagazineWellThe magazine well was perfectly straight and made inserting amagazine an exacting chore. True this is not an IPSC or competition gun, but sinceI plan to carry it for personal defense I wanted to improvethe ability to insert a magazine. I put the frame in the machinist vice with the magazinewell up and leveled.
Iused the cone cutter from my high-speed rotary tool to bevelthe inside of the magazine well. Aluminum is very nice to work with, but I was carefulnot to cut too deeply. AfterI did the rough-cut on the mill I polished the bevel with320-grit wet/dry paper on a Popsicle stick.Notall 9mm’s Are AlikeThere are three types of 9mm ammo available for consumers. They cannot, nor should not be used interchangeably. They are:. 9x19also called 9mm Parabellum, or 9mm Luger developed inGermany.
This is themost widely known and popular of the 9mm cartridges, andis the most widely used cartridge used by military andpolice. It isalso the most powerful of the three. Most modern firearms manufacturers have at leastone handgun model chambered for this cartridge. The bullet diameter is.356.
9x18Makarov – This cartridge was designed by Nikolai Makarovafter WWII for eastern bloc countries as an alternative tothe 9mm Parabellum. Itwas the largest cartridge that could be used in a directblowback pistol. Thebullet diameter is.363 -.365 so standard 9mm bulletscannot be used.
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Itis more powerful than a.380 auto, but less powerful thana 9mm Parabellum. 9x17,sometimes called 9mm short, 9mm Kurz, or better known asthe.380 auto was designed by John M. Browning and wasintroduced in 1908 by Colt. This is often considered the minimum caliber forself defense and is commonly used in what are sometimesreferred to as “pocket pistols.” The Walther PPK made famous by James Bond iscommonly chambered in.380 auto. The bullet diameter is also.356.At a localgun show I purchased 500 rounds of Brown Bear 9x18 Makarovjacketed hollow-point ammo manufactured inRussia. This ammo isloaded a little hotter than standard Makarov ammo and Iintended to use this ammo for defense. Myfirst trip to the range exposed some problems with the PA-63and the Brown Bear ammo:.
Thegun kicked like a mule! The felt recoil was pretty serious. This was due in part to the lighter aluminum alloyframe and the heavier load.
Thedouble-action trigger pull was very heavy and stiff. This makes that first shot very inaccurate.
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A friend once offered to sell me a real Walther PPKbut I decided not to purchase it because of the very stifftrigger. Thesharp edges on the rear of the slide cut the web of mythumb after only five rounds. Ouch!. Thesights were very difficult to pick up and use. Thebullets of the Brown Bear ammo were not all seated to thesame depth which caused feeding problems!All ofthese problems can be fixed; can you say “project gun?”AmmunitionFirst I addressed the bullet seating problem. With my calipers and a box of ammo I found most of therounds were seated to the same depth.
A few rounds were seated out too far which caused thefeeding problems.I purchaseda set of Lee 9x18 Makarov reloading dies and set the seatingdie to the shortest round. I ran all of the remaining 500 rounds through thisseating die to ensure they were all at the same overalllength. This tookcare of the feeding problems, and should result in betteraccuracy since consistent bullet seating gives more consistentignition.PartsThere are a couple of resources for parts for this littlepistol. Springsare available fromor. I purchased Makarov recoil springs and Walther PPhammer springs. Wolffmakes a recoil spring set for the Makarov with 15#, 17#(factory), 19# and 21# springs. They also make a hammer spring set for the Walther PP with16#, 17#, 18#, and 19# low power springs.does not have specific parts for the FEG PA63,however, they do carry parts for the Kassnar PMK.380 whichappears to be the same pistol.
Reports indicate that most of the parts will work inthe PA63. Ipurchased a spare firing pin, firing pin spring, andejector/slide lock for my spares kit.is now selling springs for the PA-63; hammer, recoil, andmagazine springs. Although the springs are listed forthe 9x18 Makarov, they will also fit the.380 Auto model.When I wrote this article in 2010 I had to mix and matchsprings as listed above, but if I was to do it over again, Iwould purchase the Wolff FEG PA-63 springs.Double-ActionTrigger PullTrigger pull can often be improved simply by replacingsprings.
Asmentioned beforesells a Walther PP hammer spring pack made by Wolff. It comes with four springs; 16#, 17#, 18#, and 19#weights. Wheninstalling lighter springs, I always test reliability ofignition with an empty case primed with a CCI primer. CCI primers are somewhat harder than other primers; ifthe gun will ignite a CCI primer every time, it will prettymuch ignite any other type of primer.I had todisassemble the frame to replace the hammer spring. I followed the NRA takedown guide for the Walther PP. I found the 16# spring wouldn’t even dent the primerat all, even with multiple strikes!
The 17# spring took 4 or 5 strikes to fire the primer. The 18# spring was erratic; it sometimes took 1,sometimes 2 strikes to fire the primer, but the 19# springfired the primer every time. So, I left the 19# hammer spring installed, and foundthe double-action trigger pull was significantly lighter. Unfortunately, my trigger pull gauge doesn’t go highenough to measure the pull weight, so this was strictlysubjective on my part. However,at a recent range session, a guy in the bay next to me alsohad a PA-63 in.380 auto, and after trying my pistol, hewanted to know what I did to lighten the trigger pull!FeltRecoilThis gun has a basic blowback action exactly like the originalWalther.
Althoughthe 9x18 Makarov is weaker than the 9mm, the pressure is stillpretty high for a straight blowback action. To improve reliability, reduce wear and tear on thegun, and reduce felt recoil, I installed a heavier, Wolff 21#Makarov recoil spring also available from.Installingthe spring was a simple matter of removing the slide, slidingthe original recoil spring off of the barrel, sliding the newspring onto the barrel, and reinstalling the slide. Using the Brown Bear ammo, the gun cycled and fedreliably and felt recoil is somewhat reduced. It required a little more muscle to pull back the slideand charge the first round, but this was an acceptabletrade-off to controllable, comfortable shooting.Roundingthe Rear Sharp Edges of the Slide(or How to Prevent Needing First Aid to the Web of My Hand!)The bottom rear corners of the slide where the vertical backedge meets the bottom rails were left very sharp. Because this gun doesn’t have much of a beavertail,recoil would cause the gun to flip up, causing the rear of thegun to depress deeper into the web of my hand so when theslide came back these sharp corners would cut open my hand.I removedthe slide from the gun and placed it upside down in a paddedvise.
Using ahigh-speed rotary tool with a fine sanding drum I carefullyrounded the two sharp corners at the bottom rear of the slide. I then used a Craytex bit to polish the newly roundededges, then cold-blued the exposed metal.
After running 50 rounds through the gun my handsurvived with no cuts, scratches, or gouges.BetterSightsUp to this point modifications have been just replacing parts,and performing some minor contouring to reduce the sharpedges. Now it’stime to do some real milling. I purchased a set of white-dot fixed sights from. Unfortunately, they no longer sell parts, but similarsights can be purchased directly from. Novaksells fixed sights that fit a Colt Mustang or.380 auto whichwork great on the PA-63.
Theyalso sell a number of front sights with different heights; theheight I purchased was.180.InstallingFront SightThe dovetail of the front sight was 65 degrees x.330 x.05. Using my I determined that I should use a 0.25 squareend bit to mill the pilot slot.I removedthe slide from the frame, put painters tape on the sides, andsquared it in the machinist’s vise on my mill. Using a dial indicator I positioned the center of thebit 0.325” back from the front edge of the slide and 0.05”down from the top and made a pass through the slide. The original front sight was cast into the slide, so Ijust milled it off.
Thiscut the pilot slot for the dovetail cutter. This pilot slot prevents the dovetail cutter fromloading up and possibly breaking.Aftercutting the pilot slot, I removed the square end bit andinstalled a 65 degree x.330 high speed steel dovetail cutteravailable from. I positioned the quill of the mill so the bottom of thecutter was resting on the bottom of the pilot slot. I set the RPM to 540, and using a lot of cutting oil,and moving the cross slide very slowly, I cut the dovetail.I removedthe slide from the machinist’s vise and put it in my benchvise.
I used a 65degree dovetail file to carefully open up the dovetail justuntil the front sight would start in the slot. I cleaned the bottom of the sight and the dovetail slotwith acetone, then applied a drop of Loctite 609.
I used a nylon-tipped punch to drift the sight into thedovetail until it was centered. The sight came with a roll pin to anchor it in place,but since the sight fit tightly in the dovetail, and I usedthe Loctite 609, the sight was not going to move so I didn’tuse the roll pin.InstallingRear SightThe dovetail for the fixed rear sight was 65 degrees x.300and fit in a Novak-style cut. I again squared the slide in the machinist’s vise. I used a.25” square end bit to mill the rear of theslide down to the bottom of the original sight dovetail. Although the original rear sight was supposed to bedrift-adjustable for windage, I couldn’t get it to move, soI just milled it off. Imoved the center of the bit 0.70” in from the rear edge ofthe slide, and down to a depth of 0.075” below the flat Ijust milled. Iagain made one pass through the slide; this cut the pilot slotfor the dovetail cutter.Again,after cutting the pilot slot, I removed the square end bit andinstalled a 65 degree x.300 high speed steel dovetail cutteravailable fromand cut the rear dovetail as before.
I then used the 65-degree dovetail file to final-fitthe rear sight. Itook the gun to the range and discovered that it was shootingleft, but elevation was right on. I drifted the rear sight a bit to the right andtightened the set screw, now it shoots to point of aim.SummaryThis little gun is now a pleasure to shoot. The sights are easy to pick up, trigger pull is smoothand much lighter, recoil is less noticeable, and it doesn’tcut my hand during recoil.Because of the fixed barrel, this gun is also fairly accurate,and even with fixed sights, shoots to point of aim with theBrown Bear ammo. Someday, if I can find a set of adjustable sights I mayinstall them, but since the gun is hitting to point of aim, Imay just leave everything as is.I recentlyfound an article onregarding how to further improve the trigger of the PA-63. This will probably be a forthcoming article.© Copyright 2010 -2017 RoySeifert.
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