The P-83 Wanad. More 9x18 pistol-craft from Radom

The P-83 Wanad, a Polish blow-back pistol was the successor to the P-64 and used by both the Polish military and police.  Produced by the venerable Radom factory,

As with all standard-issue East Bloc pistols of the time for military use, it is chambered in 9x18 Makarov.

It has an eight round box magazine, a two round improvement over the P64.  The magazine release is located on the butt of the pistol, and pressing the release drops the magazine quite smartly out of the pistol, unlike most other such releases, making it easy to quickly reload without having to grab the empty magazine to get it out of the way.  The hammer has a large curved spur, making cocking into single action simple as compared to the small hammer on the P64. The sights are small but functional.

Both the double and single action trigger modes on this pistol are superior to that of the P64.

Interestingly enough, the safety is pushed down to take the gun off safe, instead of being pushed up to fire as on most Walther PPK and East Block Makarov chambered pistols.  As a result, getting a firing grip on the pistol is marginally faster as the thumb proceeds from swiping off the safety right down into a firing grip rather than the up-down motion on similar pistols.  The slide can still be moved with the safety on, unlike the typical Makarov pistol.

The Wanad has a clever takedown scheme. Instead of pulling down on the trigger guard, a lever inside the guard is pulled down with the trigger guard remainign a slid part of the frame. Dis-assembly then proceeds like most other east block pistols, by pulling the slide back and then up and removing it from the frame, then  remove the recoilspring from the barrel and you're all set to clean.

In terms of size, it is slightly larger than the P-64 but feels lighter in the hand.

The P83 fits the hand and points quite naturally, and is a welcome addition to my 9x18 collection. The pistol will fit easily into a front jeans poacket and a Desantis Nemesis type holster would be recommended for such a carry method. Shooting at the range today, the difference between it and the P64 is readily apparent. Felt recoil was much less than the P64. Instead of it smacking the hand between the thumb and forefinger, right into the web,, the P83 instead distributes the recoil better, making it much more pleasant to shoot. The P83 proved to be quite accurate, knocking down plates with ease even with the small sights.

Continuing the Natasha scale of firearms, the P83 was rated only slightly below the CZ-82 for ease of trigger usage in double and single action modes and was only slightly harder to draw back the slide than the CZ82.  Its lighter weight compared the CZ82 was a plus, as is its thinner grip due to its single stack magazine.

The P-83 also has gained literary fame, prominently being used by the protagonist Lisbet Salander in Stieg Larsson's book The Girl Who Played with Fire.  I haven't seen the movie yet so i can't tell you if the Wanad gets a role on the silver screen or not.

For an East Bloc piece of history under $200, you really can't go wrong with a P-83.

Radom - Polish for Good Gun

I just acquired a Radom P-64 pistol in 9x18 Makarov.

Designed by the storied Łucznik Arms Factory factory in Radom, commonly known to non-Poles as Radom for pronounciation reasons. The pistol was developed by the design team of W. Czepukajtis, R. Zimny, H. Adamczyk, M. Adamczyk, S. Kaczmarski and J. Pyzel.

The pistol is reminiscent of a Walther PPK in size and take-down procedure and holds 6 rounds in the magazine. It is a double action, blow-back design. The magazine release is located on the butt of the pistol and there is no external slide release. Like the PPK, on the last shot the magazine raises the internal slide catch to hold the slide open.

Adopted in 1965 as the standard sidearm for the Polish army to replace the Tokarev pistol. It is an interesting choice for a military sidearm. A pistol that is small, light, and easy to conceal is typically not the specifications for a military sidearm, and it is, as far as I know, the smallest Warsaw Pact adopted as a standard issue military pistol.

The pistol came with a spare magazine, cleaning rod, and leather holster.

Interestingly, my Radom, dated 1972 (a nice coincidence as I was born in 72) does not have the triangular trigger spur that makes the P64 look so distinctive, but instead has a rounded spur that is almost completely blended into the frame. This makes it rather snag free but hampers quick cocking of the action, which is why I can see they went to a new design as the double action trigger on this pistol is hardly what anyone would characterize as light.

While the double action is a fair bit lighter than the double action on my FEG PA-63, that really isn't saying much, and it takes some significant finger pressure to get the double action shot off. It is not nearly as nice as the double action on the Bulgarian Makarov, but it was still possible to keep the shot on a silhouette target at 7 yards.

The sights on the pistol are very small, yet very usable.

The first six rounds fired at seven yards, two handed standing looked like this:

The sights were very usable and single action mode was simple with a decent trigger that was easy to use for rapid aimed shots.

Notice where the double action first shot went on a subsequent string:

Reliability was excellent- 150 rounds fired - 100 Silver Bear hollow points and 50 Brown Bear FMJ rounds. No stoppages or failures of any kind were experienced.

Recoil is not bad at all with this pistol. The P64's size, shotability and performance with hollow points it makes a great CCW firearm. The P64 easily dissappears in a pocket and between the safety and the extra-heavy double action first shot its rather secure for such a discreet carry option.

While the Kahr PM9 is a better choice for CCW as it is slightly smaller in barrel length than the P64, and fires a 9mm Luger round and has better sights and a consistent action trigger, there are positive aspects to the P64, namely cost and reliability, not to mention history.

You could buy two P64s and 1000 rounds of ammo plus a hundred or more Hornady 9x18 hollow points to carry for the price of a Kahr PM9 and still have enough left over to go out for dinner. Not everyone can afford a Kahr for CCW and the P64 will suffice with practice.

In addition. the P64 makes a fine addition to a collection of Cold War firearms and is a welcome addition to my 9x18 collection.