The Makarov Ultra CO2 BB pistol.
Makarov non-blowback Part 1
Makarov non-blowback Part 2
Makarov non-blowback Part 3
This report covers:
- The differences
- Disassembles
- The test
- ASG Blaster
- Smart Shot
- Dust Devils
- Shot count
- Trigger pull
- Summary
Today we shift our attention to the Makarov Ultra BB pistol with blowback. This one is also from Umarex but sadly is no longer available. That would normally make this an historic blog, but this series is an exception because we are going to look at all the Makarov BB pistols and the Makarov firearm.
This will be both a Part 1 description and a Part 2 velocity test. Since you already know a lot about the Makarov I don’t have to repeat all of that.
The differences
On the surface this pistol looks a lot like the last pistol we looked at — the one that’s still available. Since this is a replica pistol we expect it to look the same. It would be wrong if it didn’t! The biggest difference is that this one has blowback, so the slide comes back with each shot. That gives the simulated feeling of recoil.
Another difference is that the Ultra has a drop free magazine that also holds the CO2 cartridge. To load the first pistol you pulled the one-piece plastic grip panel back to reveal the stick magazine and the cavity where the CO2 cartridge fits. Because of that, the firing valve was a part of the pistol and not the magazine. And only the stick magazine itself comes out of that pistol.
In the Ultra the firing valve is in the magazine that’s held in the grip by the same rear release that’s found on a Makarov firearm. And the single stack BB magazine is in the front of that drop-free unit. This means the mag can be removed from the pistol without losing any gas.
The drop free magazine contains both the BB magazine and the CO2 cartridge. The firing valve is at the top.
And, just like the firearm, the one-piece plastic grips on this pistol are held on by a single screw in the back.
Grip screws on the Mak firearm (left) and the Ultra BB pistol (right).
Unlike the first Mak, this one does not have a double action trigger pull. When the magazine is in the pistol the hammer must be manually cocked for the first shot or pull the slide back to cock it. After that the slide blows back with each shot, recocking the hammer until there are no more BBs. Then the slide locks back, letting you know to reload. This is exactly what the Mak firearm does.
Disassembles
I didn’t mention it before but both the first pistol and this one disassemble exactly like the Mak firearm, though the firearm’s recoil spring is much stronger. Pull down on the front of the triggerguard and then slide the slide all the way to the rear and pull up. When assembling you have to press the slide down against the hammer that’s in its way.
The Mak BB pistols are apart above the Mak firearm.
The test
Since there didn’t need to be as much explanation up front I decided to do the velocity test today. I’ll use the same BBs that were used for the velocity test of the first pistol.
ASG Blaster
The non-blowback Mak averaged 389 f.p.s. with the steel ASG Blaster BB. The spread there was 11 f.p.s. The Ultra averaged 354 f.p.s. with a spread from 336 to 389 f.p.s. That’s a range of 53 f.p.s. I will come back to this BB for the shot count but for now we’ll move on.
Smart Shot
Lead Smart Shot BBs averaged 341 f.p.s in the non-blowback Mak. In this Ultra they averaged 307 f.p.s. The spread in the non-blowback Mak was 9 f.p.s. and in this Ultra the spread went from 292 to 315 f.p.s. — a difference of 23 f.p.s.
Dust Devils
The Dust Devil frangible BBs was very strange. The first shot was also the slowest — at 274 f.p.s. But the average for 10 shots was 338 f.p.s. The high was 367 f.p.s. on shot two, right after the slowest shot. So the spread was 93 f.p.s. which is huge. And, lest you think as I did that shot one was an anomaly, the ninth shot went out at 276 f.p.s.
Shot count
For the shot count I switched back to ASG Blasters. There were 4 additional shots on the pistol from the first velocity test, so a total of 34 shots were already on this cartridge. Remember we’re back with Blaster BBs. Shot 35 went out at 289 f.p.s. and I thought the gun was out of gas, but shot 36 went out at 365 f.p.s. — faster than the previous average. And here is how the rest of it went.
Shot…………Vel.
40……………357
45……………348
50……………339 the blowback became noticeably weaker around shot 53
55……………338
60……………314
65……………296
After shot 65 I loaded no more BBs because I didn’t want to get one stuck in the barrel. But I continued to release the locked-back slide and fire the pistol. On shot 74 the slide no longer locked back and the gas was almost all gone.
Trigger pull
The Ultra has a single stage trigger pull but one that has a huge amount of slack at the beginning. The Mak firearm has the same slack, but only about one-third as much.
I was surprised to see that the single stage trigger pull averaged 9 pounds 2 ounces. It feels like half that. I was so surprised that I measured the single stage trigger pull of the Makarov firearm. It averages 5 pounds 15 ounces. Yet the two feel the same when I hold them in my shooting hand. However I do feel creep on the first part of the Ultra trigger’s pull (the slack), so there may be some parts inside that need “smoothening.”
Once you hit the wall of the single stage pull the trigger has one more spot of creep, just like the firearm trigger. So, even in this respect the two guns are similar.
Summary
The Makarov Ultra is a very good replica of the firearm it copies. Next up is the accuracy test where we see how it fares. I’m guessing that Smart Shot are again going to be the most accurate.
Good morning, everyone!
BB
Good Morning BB!
Sorry. I cannot say I am very much interested in this thing. The only gas pistol that has grabbed my attention is the pellet shooting Webley MKVI.
Have you seen the 7.5mm gel guns? Are any of those airguns? Never mind, all I found were electric.
Oops!
When the magazine is in the pistol the hammer much (must) be manually cocked for the first shot or pull the slide back to cock it.
RR,
Fixed. Thanks,
BB
B.B.,
I’m very interested in this series, so much so that it has me pulling out my old non-blowback Umarex Mak BB pistol and shooting it every day without rain. (Here in the Chicago area we’ve had a lot of rain.) When I briefly owned the Umarex blowback model, I just couldn’t deal with the trigger. It was heavy and as creepy as I can imagine a functionng trigger could be. Even worse was that the three or four “stages” were inconsistent from shot to shot. In a word, it was terrible. It sounds like yours is much less bad than mine was. I’ve read the Gletcher one (unlicensed) has a very good trigger, but they are very hard to find, perhaps even discontinued.
At the end of paragraph five, “losing” not loosing.
Michael
Michael,
Fixed. Thanks,
BB
B.B., “can be removed from the pistol without loosing any gas” is still there. (Although depending on what I have for lunch, sometimes I loose gas myself! ;^) This software you have to struggle with is really a problem. Is P.A. shopping for something better?
Michael
Michael,
I fixed that this morning and it was fixed. When IO went there just now it told me there was a more recent version that was ready to be posted. WordPress!!! Arrrgh!
BB
Me too! I’m also interested to read how these Makarov lookalikes review (and compare).
By the way, Gletcher Makarov blowbacks are still being offered for sale (for example on Schneider-Versandhaus, a german website).
hihihi,
I’ve seen them on amazon, but I think those are not authorized dealers.
The always can get a larger assortment of cool air guns Europe! It’s not fair. I’ve been looking for an affordable Tell 2 pistol for years. They are a pence a dozen in the UK, but in the States they are rare and when they do show up overpriced.
Michael
Michael, maybe the way to overcome local shortages is to identify a mailing company that is happy to forward airguns from whatever source of interest.
I thought I had found such a company. They certainly successfully delivered various packages across borders to me.
However, my latest forwarding request (2 days ago) was denied because, apparently, in their small print, all weapons, even non functioning lookalikes, are “prohibited goods”. Sigh…
I have yet to find someone else, who is neither frightened of airguns, nor of authoritative pen-pushers, to deliver these ‘toys’ to me in France.
So-called adults, eh?! 🙂
PS I admit to being completely ignorant as to a Tell 2. Apart from it being an odd looking old air pistol, I know nothing. What about it has captured your interest?
hihihi,
The Tell 2 is the smallest spring air pistol of all time, along with the same-sized but extraordinarily rare Clarke’s Bulldog. They are approximately 5.75 inches long. The Tell 2 has an ingenius cocking system and is reportedly fun to shoot. It is also woefully underpowered (under 200 fps. and pretty innacurate.
It also was the type of air pistol found in the cabin of the captain of a captured WWII German submarine. I’ve seen that submarine in person at The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
Michael
Thanks Michael, for the interesting (!) description, history and picture of the Tell 2.
Good that it can shoot different types of BBs; the Umarex MP40 can only fire steel ones. Apples and oranges, FM.
This blowback Legends model was my first adult airgun purchased as a trainer for my .380 Bersa model 83 (pre Thunder). I read your Makarov and PPK reviews along with those of Dennis Adler’s Airgun Experience hosted by Pyramid Air and concluded the Mak was the better choice . I went with the blowback to provide a little bit more realisim to my indoor shooting. The Mak has a relatively strong recoil simulation and is reasonably accurate for defense training at 3 to 7 yards. The trigger works for me as it has a quite similar feel to the heavier 1st shot of the DA/SA Bersa 83 trigger. It’s held up pretty well and started a bit of Aquusition Syndrome leading to the Umarex S & W 586 pellet revolver with both 4 & 6 inch barrel, Glock 19 blowback airsoft, S&W TRR8 revolver, and Umarex Beretta 92fs non-blowback pellet all because I was enabled here…Thanks to BB and all you commenters.
Remarq,
Wow! That’s a REAL test, folks!
Thanks,
BB
As a plinker, I find this one interesting and fun. Could be my first CO2.
Ah, the accurate one is the blowback version, which isn’t sold anymore. I wonder which CO2 BBs on PA are accurate.
B.B.,
Thanks for the review, it’s interesting to see the two Macarov air pistols, compared to the firearm. The lower velocity of the blowback model verses the fixed one shows that the blowback action robs a little power from the shot, but it’s not such a bad thing when you’re out plinking feral cans in the yard.
After reading this blog, I often get the bug to go shoot and I’ll trot downstairs to the basement to get a few shots in. I am a terrible shot on paper with a pistol. So to try something different, I pushed the lid of an empty pellet tin into the face of the duct seal target backer, like a cookie cutter and shot at it. From 20 feet offhand, or even 10 meters rested, using my P17 pellet pistol, I made more “hits” than I’m accustomed to! Shooting at the reactive target was way more fun than grimly not grouping well on paper.
It doesn’t matter where the pellet strikes the tin, a hit is a hit. If I ever hit the tin every time, then I might pop some paper again.
So what I’m saying is that once you know that your pistol shoots accurately, then shooting “right sized” reactive targets instead of paper targets is much more enjoyable for those who shoot pistols only occasionally.
Enjoy!
Will
I had a Mak blowback once upon a time but returned it when it wouldn’t hold air. I have 4 PPKs that I am very happy with.