Baikal MP442 Makarov review

Baikal MP442 is perhaps the best concealed carry weapon available in Pakistan. Having Russian origin, it's design has the history of reliability and ruggedness. The gun is available in two versions: one accomodates single stack magazine housing 8 rounds and second accomodates double stack magazine with the capacity of 12 rounds.

12-round vs 8-round version:
As I was looking for a conceal carry weapon, I opted for the 8-round version because it's dimensions are equal to Makarov PM (the official sidearm of Russian army). The 12-rounder is wider and longer than the 8-round model.

Baikal MP 442 comes in a plastic box. The package contains one gun, two magazines, one cleaning rod and a user's manual.

Specifications:
Cartridge: 9mm*18mm (9mm Makarov)
Action: Single action/ double action.
Safety: One safety button on the left side of the slide does three functions (Blocks firing pin, decocks the hammer, and locks the slide and the trigger)
Dimensions: 161x127x30.5 (mm)
Barrel length: 93.5 mm
Sights: Fixed
Weight: 0.73gms
Operation: Blow back

Upon unboxing, the controls were found to be a bit stiff. The safety was really hard to move and double action was not working at all. The hammer would go rearward but would not break. I did the complete dis-assembly of the gun, cleaned the factory lubricant and oiled the gun lightly. I assisted the rearward motion of the hammer with my thumb a couple of times and it was breaking crisp. The built quality is very strong, the bluing was good, and the plastic grip is below average.

I have a habit of dis-assembling my gun to bits. It has three benefits.

1. You understand how your gun works, 
2. You get to appreciate the design and manufacturing of the internal parts. 
3. And you always learn new things.

The dis-assembly is so easy that even a child would do that.
Like all Russian guns, Baikal MP442 has an exceptional design.
The gun has very few parts. Of which two pronged leaf spring is most amazing. The spring has three purposes: it gives support to trigger, hammer and serves as a catch for magazine. I told my friend about the amazing spring design and he joked,

"Had the gun inventor consumed one bottle less than his daily dose of vodka, he would have found a way to use the leaf spring for managing recoil as well."

 The magazines have thumb loading notches on them to ease the ammunition loading. The gun is as small and as accurate as a conceal carry gun should be. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to have a good conceal carry gun in a decent price.