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Baikal Model IJ-70
Scale To:
Gun Dimensions		Width:	No Data
Length:	6.25-in	Height:	No Data
Barrel:	4-in	Weight:	25-oz
Variant 1 of 2

Gun Rankings
Power Factor (95 grain bullet)96330 Recoil Factor (95 grain bullet)2.76 ft-lb Total Capacity9 rounds ConcealabilityGood Defense Factor59%

Gun Specifications
Type:	Pistol
Caliber:	9x18 Makarov
Action:	recoil operated semi-automatic
Trigger:	double-action (DA/SA)
Safety:	slide mounted decock/safety lever
Magazine:	8-round
Frame:	blued steel
Grip:	black checkered plastic
Sights:	fixed blade front, adj. target rear
Notes:

Manufacturer
	Baikal More Info

About the Gun

Compact all-steel DA/SA blowback pistol on the Makarov pattern, sold as a commercial export gun. It has a slide-mounted decocker/safety, a heel magazine release, checkered plastic grips, and an adjustable rear sight. Standard-capacity guns use a slim single-column magazine; the high-capacity variants use a wider double-column frame.

Production

Production ran from 1994 through 1996.

Market value

Last updated: 9/18/2026

MSRP at production was around $325. Current used market value for examples in good to very good condition ranges $350–$500.

Cartridge Specifications
Cartridge:	9x18mm Makarov
Alias:	N/A
More Info

Ballistics for This Gun
Selected Bullet Mass:		95 grains
MV:	1014 ft/sec	ME:	217 ft-lbs

Analysis

Baikal introduced the IJ-70 in the mid-1990s as Izhevsk’s commercial export Makarov. The factory fitted an adjustable rear sight for the U.S. sporting-import rules and offered 9x18 Makarov and .380 Auto, in eight-round and high-capacity frames. The same pistol also reached the market as the Baikal 442. Pistol imports ended in the mid-1990s. Used IJ-70s are the usual Russian Makarov on the civilian market and trade below military-marked PMs.

User Rating

1	User Ratings
1	User Comments

User Comments

The comrade’s choice.
By The5thColumnRed on 05 Apr 2025
Circa early 90s, these were about the best option you had for a budget pistol. Cheap surplus ammo with lots of available parts, a reliable and simple to maintain blowback design, double action with a safety/decocker lever for flexible carry. Combine that with a design with few sharp or square external edges to snag or scrape, and you’ve got a comfortable and effective concealed carry solution that punches above its price range. Nowadays not so much. Russian ammo and parts are banned from import and the examples that made it into the US prior to the bans are either beat to death or at an asking price that has several objectively better new options. Upside, domestic production of ammo has begun with high quality offerings from Hornady in caliber 9mm Makarov. The caliber itself is the most powerful practical round that can be used in a compact and lightweight blowback design; with ballistic performance superior to .38 Special and .380 while not falling too short of 9 Parabellum.