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I really like the FEG, personally.

I have heard a lot of people complain about the recoil, but in my experience this is because they are running ammo that's way too hot for this gun. It isn't designed to shoot anything over 95 grain, and most of the people I hear complaints from are running 110 or 115 grain through it. I accidentally bought a couple of boxes of Wolf 100 grain, and realized when I shot it why people complain.

Considering that the gun only weighs 21 ounces in the first place, it's fun to shoot, and much more accurate than you'd expect from a very light aluminum gun. DA trigger pull is quite heavy (upwards of 18 lbs), though there are inexpensive springs you can buy on Makarov.com that can change this quite easily. I ordered one of these (11 lbs), as well as a new recoil spring (13 lbs as opposed to the stock 11 lbs) to save on slide wear and reduce recoil and ejection distance (right now my cartridges end up at about 4:00 8 feet away).

My only complaint about the gun is that it was not designed for people with big hands. I have pretty large hands, and because of the way the grip forces my thumb upward, I get a little bit of slide bite. I ordered new grips without the thumb groove, and I think this will fix the problem for me - we'll see on my next trip out to the range.

Stock, the gun is inherently right-hand only, due to the thumb groove. Also, the safety/decocker and magazine release are both designed for right-handed thumb operation, so if you're a lefty, this might be a concern.

All these things considered, the gun is fun out-of-the-box, accurate, and is nice and affordable. I ordered mine from aimsurplus (http://aimsurplus.com) , and it came with 2 magazines, a cleaning rod, and a manual. I believe I paid $130 for it, plus shipping and FFL transfer costs. I ordered 5 extra magazines from J&G Sales (http://jgsales.com/) for $15/ea.

9mm Mak ammo is a little hard to come by in local shops, but not impossible. I know of 2 shops in Austin that carry it, and you can find it online in lots of places. Hornady JHP (which I'm told feeds flawlessly in the PA63) seems to be out of stock in most places online, but one of my local shops carry it. Hornady ammo is expensive, though - $15 for a box of 25. FMJ ammo is really easy to come by, and aimsurplus has lots Sellier & Bellot FMJ surplus for sale at a good price (I ordered 1200 rounds for $199 shipped). I've never had a feeding problem with any of the FMJ I've tried (Wolf, Silver Bear, Winchester, Sellier & Bellot). You probably won't find 9mm Mak at most of the box stores, but Cabela's seems to carry it.

Hey everyone,

I am about to be in the waiting room for a new CHL (class is on March 3rd), and am looking for some good defensive rounds for my pistol.

I've got an FEG PA63 chambered for 9mm Makarov. I've shot mostly FMJ out of it, but several boxes of Silver Bear JHP have shown me that it is not a reliable load for this gun - it tends to jam when trying to chamber. I've checked several forums, and seen the Hornady JHP recommended. I've also read interesting things about the Glaser Blue Tip Safety Slugs and the Pow'rBall rounds.

The Safety Slugs seem like an interesting approach, but I don't think I could bring myself to spend enough money (at $15 per 6 rounds) to give them a good testing at the range to justify carrying them in a daily carry weapon. I hear the blue tips are good for not overpenetrating and for stopping power.

The Pow'rBall ammo seems to be a reasonable alternative to the Safety Slug, and is supposed to mushroom well, even through thick clothing. I have heard a couple of reports that these also tend to overpenetrate (as seems to be reported for Corbon ammo in general).

As it stands now, I'll probably be going with some Hornady JHP (after some range testing, of course), as it has been reported to feed flawlessly through the PA63. My only concern with this is effectiveness through clothing, as well as reports that 9mm Makarov JHP is less than optimally effective in situations other than a frontal, unobstructed shot.

Anyone with experience with this caliber or any sort of constructive input, please feel free to comment below with your thoughts and/or recommendations.

Thanks in advance.