Talk:FEG PA-63

Rear notch sight adjustment

While I do own a PA-63 I'm unsure if the rear sight is indeed adjustable. It does appear as though one could slide it back and forth by tapping with a small hammer or such there are no discernable screws or such that would make such an adjustment permenant nor allow it to be delicate enough to be useful. I'm fairly certain there's nothing of this nature on the underside of the slide as well, simply the firing-pin mechanism.

Can someone with either a PA-63 manual or simply more firearms expertise verify the adjustment capabilities? For the time being I've removed the note from the info-box though I'll put it back once more info is obtained. Shan 01:47, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

It sounds like the rear sight is drift adjustable. You can take a mallet and drift left or right as required to properly center the group. The sight will be held in that position by the interference fit of the sight itself in the slide. But in most cases I wouldn't refer to this as an "adjustable" sight.

Unattributed copyrighted material

This article uses direct quotations from Gene Gagnarosas "Complete Book of Compact Handguns" without attribution.

The section of the book from which the quotations are taken is as follows:

PA-63

FEG began making close copies of the Walther PP and PPK in the late 1940s. The first of these -the Model 48- was nearly identical to the PP, differing only in the location of its loaded chamber indicator pin, the shape of its manual safety lever, and the configuration of its magazine floorplate and grips. Chambered in .32 or .380 caliber, the Model 48 served Hungary's military and police forces, along with several foreign nations (notably Egypt), and sold well commercially throughout Western Europe as the "Attila."

In the late 1950s, FEG grew adventurous and departed more boldly from the original Walther design. Its much modified PA-63 in 9mm Makarov caliber became a standard Hungarian military and police sidearm. The PA-63 had a larger frame with more curved backstrap for a better hold. It also dispensed with a loaded chamber signal pin altogether and replace the steel frame with one made of lightweight aluminum alloy, reducing overall weight by several ounces.

Reducing weight to the absolute minimum made sense in a pistol meant to be concealed in one's pocket. Moreover, the reduced strength of the light alloy frame was not considered a problem in low-powered calibers, as it can be in pistols chambered for 9mm Parabellum and other larger, high-pressure rounds. FEG later made the PA-63 in a .32 ACP version for commercial sale and police use, and as .380 ACP versions: the Models AP9 and PMK-380.

In its 9mm Makarov military version, the PA-63 sports a brightly polished aluminum frame. Although the military does not ordinarily care for guns with such conspicuous finishes, having the two-tone finish saved the time and expense of an extra process for these cost-conscious buyers.

Whereas the AP9 and PMK-380 are more reminiscent of the Walther PP, the PA-63 is more competitive with the Soviet-designed Makarov. With its more powerful cartridge, the PA-63 has more felt recoil than either of its .380-caliber variants. This, combined with its small sights and heavy trigger, hurts the gun's accuracy. A five shot, 25-foot offhand group, using Norinco 94-grain FMJ, measured exactly 2 inches. And from a distance of 50 feet, it was very difficult to fire an acceptable group, the best try measuring 5.6 inches across. There were, however, no failures in feeding, firing or ejecting three different brands of 9mm Makarov ammunition. The PA-63 was imported in large numbers by K.B.I., Inc., of Harrisburg, PA.

Cbyrneiv 05:32, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Needs an overhaul

The whole article is needing an overhaul; especially given that what I added originally meant to be placeholder text (that Cbyrniev is referencing - though I found it on Makarov.com, which I linked at the end of the article); I never got a chance to fix. And while I agree with most of the "Problems" section (I own one, I see the problems every time I shoot it) it is largely original thought. Atleast until some references are put in.

As evidenced by my complete lack of fixing my above mistakes, I don't have time to sit and fix this.....

Shan 17:24, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

The so-called "veteniary demonstration horse" of firearm design errors

This pistol was designed for one simple reason: politics. During the COMECON era trainloads of bauxit ore mined in Hungary were taken to the USSR, where it was refined into metal AL using cheap and ample hydroelectric power. The ingots were shipped back to Hungary and made into refined products locally, to show the might of "socialist international co-operation". Of course making a full AL pistol was a great way to demonstrate the "comrade-ship in arms" of Hungary and USSR, two "strong bastions in the defensive wall of WARPAC".

Sorrowfully the result is pure junk. The lifetime of the receiver is only 5000 shots and after just 1000 shots the metal tends to blunt at edges visibly. The upwards motion of the barrel tip upon firing a shot is so severe, it becomes difficult to make good hits in close succession. Unless you manually pre-tension the external cock-hammer, it is very difficult to repeatedly fire the PA-63 using just finger force on the trigger, many ladies are unable to do this. Upon firing the slide will hit the area besides your thumb violently, sometimes with injury. The pronounced thumbrest on the plastic grip makes left-handed use a nightmare, yet it does not help much for a good right-hand grad.

The built-in "passive safety" tilt mechanism for the firing pin looks advanced on paper, yet a reliability hazard for practical appliactions. There was good reason to replace the PA-63 with jewsish made CZ-75 clones in hungarian police service, although the PA-63 remains in use with some security guards for companies. The successor P-9RC, a clone of the 59 for military use, is also junk, owing mostly to degraded manufacturing quality at the FEG company. 91.83.3.66 (talk) 18:52, 1 November 2008 (UTC)

This gun was the permanently concealed carry-on of full time GDR StaSi agents and was feared by the wearers for its unreliability of the material. It was a well known fact that this handgun would not withstand any duration tests because of the aluminium carcass. An eventual heavy use, i.e. a longer firefight, would result in the barrel blowing to pieces and other unwanted and highly dangerous effects. The main reason to decide for this gun for this group was that it was fairly lightweight.

Type of rounds and clips

Mine says it’s 9mm but has a 380 clip in it?y 2600:1700:2F90:D060:D8FE:6578:5BB6:7565 (talk) 06:23, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

The firearm uses a 9.2 by 18 Makarov round. Extremely reliable. Blowback designed handgun. 2601:642:4C02:878:50B8:738B:EC80:4615 (talk) 23:23, 25 October 2023 (UTC)

It will also work without a problem with a 380 acp. It’s a 9 by 17 9mm cartridge. It has much less recoil and sounds much different from the Makarov round. This is because of the rounds becoming less relevant to production in the early days of the firearm production. The Walter PP and mainly the capacity it can fire the mak and 380 acp blowback design cartridge. Both the 9 PM (Pistolet Makarova) and the Walter PP are blowbacks. The Feg Hungarian police and military pistols also work well with many different kinds of 380 acp. Do not put any +p or +p+ 380 amo in the firearm because it is to hot of a round and might explode in your hands. A big no-no. It’s not how much power it’s how much expansion and pressure the round creates to expel the bullet. 2601:642:4C02:878:50B8:738B:EC80:4615 (talk) 23:40, 25 October 2023 (UTC)