I enjoy surplus firearms. They have a lot of history behind them and can often be had for very reasonable prices. For example right now in the US, there are Bulgarian Makarov pistols available for around $300. 
This Cold War classic is chambered in 9x18mm Makarov. It was made by The famous Arsenal Bulgaria arms manufacturer in 1983. This gun is all steel except for the grip panels which are black plastic. On mine, I replaced them with Bakelite for a more traditional look.
This pistol is a straight blow back design. The pistol has a double action/single action trigger system. The slide locks to the rear on empty mags and there is a slide release lever on the left side of the frame. The magazine is released by pressing heel release rearward. The weight of this gun makes it very pleasant to shoot without recoil being much of a problem.
This gun could be used for defense in modern times if need be. Hornady makes a load for it in their Critical Defense ammo line as seen above. There are even mag carriers available to have extra 8 round mags handy should you want to use this as a carry gun. 
The sights are quite simple in nature with the front being machined out of the slide and the rear being a dovetail style. There is checkering along the top of the slide to reduce glare while aiming.
Grab yourself a piece of history an an utterly reliable pistol to boot.
Wow , you have so many freedoms in your country.
We can get 20yrs jail for having a firearm.
Our country even kicked two olympians off the team for getting their photo taken with a riffle when on holiday in Texas and posting on FB.
We can also get 10yrs Jail if we post any concerns about vaccines on FB.
And we think we are a FREE country in Australia.
It is sad what has become of freedoms in Australia.
REMEMBER WHEN BITCOIN STARTED>> AND YOU COULD BUY ONE OF THESE.>>> ON THIS SILK RAILROAD ??! #HISTORY #DEEPWEB
Nice, I have a Glock 26. I have to go to a gun show and get an old school gun like that.
You can also find them online if you can't get one locally. There are a bunch of sites selling them nowadays.
Yes they have a lot of history
I tend to like these old guns better than modern designs. They have so much character.
nice post!
Thank you!
Cool. I have the Polish P64 Makarov. My father in law has this one. Both are great shooters. I ended up buying 2 of the P-64s.
Nice! I too picked up a 64. The recoil on it is serious. I enjoy shooting the larger Makarov more because of it.
I didnt think the recoil was that bad. I found a tutorial on how to get the trigger pull better by switching out a spring. Works great now.
Yeah the factory pull weight on that double action was terrible. I had to lighten mine up as well.
Great post! I know a few people who carry Makarovs as EDC firearms and some that use them as night stand guns.
Thank you! I wouldn't feel bad at all pressing one of these pistols back into service. Great all around guns.
I'm currently in middle of my standard issue WW1/WW2 collection. So far I have a german mauser and a 42 mosin. Both great rifles.
That's really cool man.
all hail the mosin!
That's a cool rifle.
There’s a more progressive version of this argument, and a more contrarian one, which involves suggesting that an anti-gun position is racist, because crackdowns on guns are criminal-justice interventions. Progressives who might have been able to brush off accusations of anti-rural-white classism may have a tougher time confronting arguments about the disparate impact gun control policies can have on marginalized communities.
These, however, are criticisms of certain tentative, insufficient gun control measures—the ones that would leave small-town white families with legally-acquired guns well enough alone, allowing them to shoot themselves or one another and to let their guns enter the general population.
In Michigan, people are still required to register their handguns which is a policy that came from the bad old days of racism and was implemented to keep black people from owning guns. I hope one day this law will be repealed.
In our country we did not have the permission to buy pistol without licence.
Some states in US require you to have a license to purchase firearms while others do not. In Michigan where I'm from, you have to register any hand guns you buy but not rifles or shotguns.
Nice firearm.
Thank you!
That is a true piece of history right there! The Makarov is to Russia as the 1911 is to the US or the Luger is to Germany. The only downside to the Makarov is the fact it takes the 9 x 18mm round as opposed to the Luger that fires the 9mm parabellum or the 1911 that shoots the .45acp, which are both much easy to get your hands on than the 9 x 18mm. Still though, an iconic piece of history! great buy!
Thanks a lot!
I prefer the walther p38.