I was quick to become a fan of the Makarov, and currently own several of them. I agree with many of the comments made by the author of this article, but have found the Polish P-64 to be a superb firearm too. It is my occasional carry gun, and the truck gun for my wife when we travel, the only down side is the limited magazine capacity.
While I prefer something larger, I do think the Makarov is an excellent choice for a carry weapon for those that operate on a limited budget, great shooters with the exception of the hammer biting my fat hand between the thumb and trigger finger when I am not careful in the way I grip it (I find this true in all of them.) They are great guns, fun to shoot, and factory import ammo is (has been) fairly cheap, for concealed carry I load her up with Hornady 95gr JHP/XTP and pray that I can get the job done with seven shots if needed.
