Last night I learned how to field strip my Makarov. Sure makes cleaning easier. The Makarov is pretty easy to strip, although there is a stiff spring needed to make the blowback work, so some hand strength is required. The best part is that no springs or small parts suddenly leap out of the gun and get lost. Here are the steps:
1. Don't point the gun at anyone or anything you don't want shot at anytime during the process.
2. I can't emphasize point one enough.
3. Remove the magazine.
4. Safety off.
5. Work the slide to eject any round in the chamber.
6. Pull back the slide and make sure the chamber is empty.
7. I can't emphasize points one and six enough.
8. If there is a round in the chamber, you forgot to remove the magazine. Start over at step one, which I can't emphasize enough.
9. The safety should be off and the gun cocked at this point. If not, you forgot some steps. Start over at step one, which I can't emphasize enough.
10. Pull the trigger guard down. I moved mine slightly to the side, so it would catch in the open position.
11. Pull the slide to the back and up to start removing it.
12. When it pops up, slide it forward to clear the barrel end.
13. Remove the big spring around the barrel.
14. Clean the barrel using your favorite method.
15. Restore the big spring to its former place around the barrel.
16. Are you being careful where you point your gun?
17. Pull the slide back over the spring and the barrel.
18. Pull it back and down into the same position it is when the action is open.
19. The tricky part on mine was getting the slide into place so that it would slide forward till the action was closed. Extra rearward pressure while pushing down seemed to help, but I'm still not sure exactly how I do this.
20. Restore the trigger guard to its normal position.
21. Now you are ready to load the gun for ready use or to store it. I leave the magazine out and lock the action open for storage. It occurs to me that someone with more expertise may tell me that this is bad because it may put a set in that big spring, which would ruin it. I better ask someone about this.
Update: Kevin points out in the comments that my storage method is all wet. He says: "Close the slide and drop the hammer. It's best to store the gun with the springs at rest."
