Maybe I'm just a wimp but I was at the range the other day and both guns were painful to shoot. It was my first outing with them and I knew they would be snappy but that was more than I expected.

Shortly before I shot my CZ 82 for the first time. That too had a sting to it but later I started gripping tighter and that helped quite a bit. That was still nothing compared to the P64s.

I got what seemed like a good deal on both of them. They both had springs from Wolff that made the trigger better and I hoped would help with recoil. They also came with grips and extended mag catches from Polish Iron Works. I did put one set of original grips back one just to try. Of course the set I took off had a beaver tail and may have helped my issue. They felt and functioned pretty good and are in much nicer condition that what i have seen elsewhere.

I was shooting some old Norinco ammo that I found and had a partial box I wanted to use up. I remember reading that this was a hotter load. Maybe that was my issue. I also brought some aluminum cased ammo but I think I shot most of that in my CZ 82. I think this ammo was a little gentler.

One of my 4 magazines had trouble feeding but I think it is just a bur on the feed lips that needs to be smoothed out. I had to keep taking the slide off the push the round out with my multitool. Then I could drop the mag, reassemble and try again just to get the same results.

One of the guns kept needing to pull the trigger twice to get it to fire. Maybe it was hard primers with the Norinco ammo or maybe it was the weaker hammer spring. I can't remember which one because my hards were hurting too much to care.

Finally on both guns the magazine kept releasing in the middle of shooting. A lot of click and no bang, pull again for the restrike and nothing. I check the mag and it is 1/4in sticking out.

After typing this it seems like several of my issues will go away or be better if I put the factory hammer spring back in. I will just have a heavy DA pull.

Am I doing something wrong? I consider myself a competent shooter but these blowback 9mm MAK guns are making me wonder what is going on.

Try here - http://www.p64resource.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=3

It can be a long road to work out all the kinks in a P64.

Polishirongrips.com

Even the one P64 that had a grip from him didn't help, it didn't have a beaver tail. I'm hoping that when I put the grip with the beaver tail on that it helps. I'm still debating on putting the original hammer spring back it to see if that helps.

I have a pretty busy holiday season so I won't likley get out to try it until January.

Up the recoil spring weight, I went up several pounds and it didn't affect function besides making recoil drastically better. Buy a spring pack from Wolff and use the heaviest that will cycle reliably. I have a 22lb recoil spring and the lighter hammer spring and it's a pussy cat to shoot.

>>Maybe I'm just a wimp but I was at the range the other day and both guns were painful to shoot<<

No, it's not just you. I had one a while back and after one trip to the range I decided there was no good reason to hold on to it, so out it went. It wasn't just me either, as a couple of my shooting buddies gave it a go with similar results. There are plenty of other guns out there that are a joy to shoot, so why torment yourself with the P64?

Agreed, they just suck in the egronomics department.   I've kept mine just to have one in the collection but after one range trip to "Verify" it works never again

Hi there,
Russ with polishiron grips here.
I think we can help.
Ill be around awhile.
Russ...
https://www.polishirongrips.com/

If a milder hammer spring was installed without a stronger recoil spring to compensate, part of what you are experiencing might be battering as the slide slams into the frame stop. Try the stronger recoil spring as already suggested, unless of course it already has it.

The P64 is just a snappy little pistol. It was designed for concealed carry by Communist enforcers who would occasionally actually shoot one of the dissidents they were strong-arming. It is not a target pistol or a "fun" shooter. For the most part, it is what it is, like owning a pet Rattlesnake.

That being said, I find that having a proper grip (as in how you are holding the gun) makes a World of difference. You definitely don't want to hold it loose in the hand. Try a FIRM grip with your trigger hand. Squeeze that tiny grip area with your two middle fingers, NOT the pinky. With your support hand pull up and back keeping the base of your palms parallel to each other. Follow through on the trigger pull and don't allow the trigger to reset until the sights return to where you left them.

Could also explain the double strikes required to make some of that ammo go bang.

Not just you OP. One of only two handguns I did not like shooting was a P64.
I had the stronger recoil spring, lightened hammer spring and firing pin spring. Also had aftermarket grips. Still disliked it.
Sold it for what I had paid for it.

I have a couple of P-64s and agree they can be quite snappy. I shoot one on a fairly regular basis and it has the PolishIron grip with the beavertail. I still need to put a Bandaid on the webbing of my hand to avoid a blister after around 80 rounds, but the recoil is manageable.

I like these little steel guns and both of mine are very accurate. I will likely be changing to Ross's newer rigid grip once he releases them. There is sometimes a tendency for one to squeeze the grip too tightly when firing that causes a failure of the trigger to reset. The rigid grip eliminates this issue.

with the correct recoil spring the P64 is not snappy, at all

From the factory they have a horrendously underweight recoil spring at 18lbs. This is to make it easier to quickly cycle the slide since they were intended to be carried with an empty chamber (this is also why the DA trigger is awful, it's not meant to be used regularly). This allows the slide to smack into the back of the frame with great force.

Get a Wolff 22lb recoil spring and the gun will change drastically. Very easy to shoot. Just be sure to flatten the front edge of the spring or it won't work properly. If you look at the front of the factory spring you'll see what I mean. You need to use a dremel with a grinding head to flatten the new spring before it'll install correctly.

I haven't noticed any recoil problems with my PA63, including with the original factory set-up. Now, the Kel Tec 9mm P11 has a stout recoil, but neither one of these pistols is designed for shooting more than one or two mags at a time. In fact, the Kel Tec P11 with its big fireball and loud report is one of my favorites and is the one I carry the most.

Any small pistol is going to be a snappy dance partner. But you brought her to the prom because she fits in your pocket.

My LCP II .380 is snappy, my PPK/S .380 is snappy, and my Walther PPS 9mm is snappy.

And my P-64 is snappy. It's the nature of the beast.

But my P-64 is built like a tank, it runs perfectly, and is extremely accurate despite having sights that are so small that I can't even see them.

I shoot it a lot. It's one of my favorite handguns.

And definitely get with http://www.p64resource.com

Lastly, ammo choice will probably make a difference.

These guns were designed to eat cheap Russian ammo. Mine likes steelcased Silver Bear.

I shot PPU 9x18 ammo through it once and, though it functioned fine, it was very unpleasant. Members on p64resource.com told me that PPU was too hot. And I noticed that all the spent brass was Glocked (bulged) where the case was unsupported.

I have one of the Polish Iron grips and they do work very well. I have also use the issued grip panels with a hogue slip on grip and that also works very well.
I also changed out my hammer spring to a 19 pound spring (I think that's the weight) to lessen  trigger pull and that helped. I then added 22 pound recoil spring and that helped a little with the recoil. My P64 is my most acurate pistol, inspite of the non existant sights. To help with my sights I painted the front sight red, which makes it easier to pickup. It's a great carry pistol when loaded with Hornady CD ammo.