[stand watie]

Friends,

I just ordered a P-64 Polish pistol in 9x18mm caliber from CLASSICFIREARMS.COM.

When I called their customer service department, I was told that MANY of these small pistols were never issued & are "as new" from the famous Radom Arsenal.
I also found out that IF you CALL the company (Phone: 704-774-11020) that the CS folks will see to it that you get one of those "hand-picked" rather than just "one out of the big pile".

NO, I don't work for the company. = This post is just "G2" for those of our members, who like PPK-sized handguns for CCW & want a pocket-pistol with more "steam" than a .32ACP or a .380ACP will ever have.
(The Critical Defense round out of the P-64 short barrel exceeds 900FPS & 200PME.)

yours, sw

 

[Kevin Gibson]

P-64's can be thought of as a 9x18 Mak chambered PPK; the two pistols are so close I'll bet some parts even interchange...okay maybe not, but they're for all intents and purposes, the same pistol.

Being Com-Bloc, the P-64 is crude in comparison, but completely reliable and every bit as accurate.

The one's I have fired all had horrendous DA trigger pulls, but typically very light SA pulls. The sights reflect the pre-war minimalist philosophy. The standard grips are rather uncomfortable and seem to focus the considerable recoil into one little spot on the hand. As such, it's kinda like a LW J frame; something you carry often, but not something you want to target shoot with.

One of the ones I shot had some very nice looking wood grips, but I couldn't tell you who the maker was. But they were more substantial in the backstrap, looked fantastic, and made for a much more pleasant range session. The 3 I shot would all shoot light's out if you did your part. The very light SA trigger pull assisted in that greatly.

On the one with the wood grips, the owner had installed a reduced power mainspring that seemed to bring the DA pull much more in line with an out of the box PPK (which still isn't great, but it's certainly acceptable).

By modern standards it's a little big and heavy for a .380 size/class pistol, but I found they dropped into the front pocket of my Wrangler jeans just fine. In fact, I was downright intrigued with the little pistol and I'm probably going to pick one up at some point just to play with. I'd like to see if my gunsmith skills can be applied to make this very high quality, military grade pistol a little more user friendly.

I think they're a fantastic deal. Hope you enjoy yours sir.

 

[SpecialEd]

Some info from the great but moribund Makarov.com

 

[stand watie]

Kevin Gibson,

Fyi, I have ordered the Wolff springs for my "ersatz PPK". = The trigger pull should improve a LOT thereby. - Maybe 14# DA & 6-7# SA.

I will load it with seven HORNADY CRITICAL DEFENSE rounds.

ImVho, the P64 is a SELF-DEFENSE, CLOSE RANGE, "person saver" & should NOT be expected to be more than that. = I think of the P64 as a THIN/FLAT 7-shot S&W J-frame.
(Imo, any job that needs more than 7 HP bullets is a job for a Model 870/buckshot & "back-up".)
The Polish National Police Manual says that the effective range of the P64 is 25M.
(I doubt that I'll ever fire more than 50 rounds per year with it.)

Inasmuch as I've hung up my badge & creds for good, I've become a CORNERED CAT, who NO longer must "stay & fight". = Come for me & I'll BITE, SCRATCH & LEAVE, with the thug all clawed & bloody.
(Readers who don't know what I mean would do well to consult: Cornered Cat | If you have to fight, fight like a cornered cat.)

Btw, the wooden grips that you saw are LIKELY the MARSCHAL ones made in SERBIA. = They cost (suggested retail) 89.oo plus S&H.
(A guy on ebay.com sells the grips, for just ONE vendor.)

yours, sw

 

[stand watie]

Kevin Gibson,

Pardon me for pointing out that a 95 grain JHP bullet at 1100-1150FPS is NOT anything like a standard .380ACP.
(SOME of the OCONUS factory-made 9x18mm ammo is 1200FPS & uses a 110 grain jacketed bullet.)

SOME published 115 grain JHP hand-loads EXCEED standard 9x19mm Luger ballistics.

yours, sw

 

[csmkersh]

stand watie

They've got full auto stuff we don't have IIRC.

 

[stand watie]

csmkersh,

TRUE. - Nonetheless, the Polish National Police's handbook on the P64 says that ALL of the 9x18mm ammo from Poland works acceptably in the little pistol, including their "buzz-gun" ammo, I would presume.

That said, I suspect that the recoil from some of the REALLY HOT loads in the P64 wouldn't be a barrel of fun to shoot very many times per session. = The recoil with standard Polish military loads is described as "snappy"; it IS a quite small pistol.

yours, sw