FANCY A BIG MAK'?

John Milewski studies the Makarov’s bigger brother - the APS

The Automatic Pistol Stechkin (APS) or simply Stechkin was adopted in 1951 by the Soviet Union at the same time as the Makarov and fired the same 9 x18mm cartridges. The Stechkin was issued as a Personal Defence Weapon (PDW) to drivers and tank crews instead of submachine guns. Individuals could then defend themselves with a weapon that was small enough to keep handy in the tight confines of a vehicle, whilst offering fully automatic firepower. The Stechkin was hard to control on full auto and fired the relatively weak 9 x18 Makarov cartridge, so was not the best performer. It was replaced by the short-barrelled AKSU in 1975, which fired an assault rifle cartridge, but still came in a small package.

A suppressed Stechkin known as the APB was later used by Soviet Special Forces in Afghanistan and apparently the original Stechkin, or a locally-produced copy remains in use by North Korea. The Makarov saw far more widespread use and as millions were made, is the most prolific service pistol in history.

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