Baikal double rifles

cockerdog

Well-Known Member
Does anyone have any experience of them, I have some empty slots on my fac and fancy something a bit different.
I would like a set up for boar due to an invite for some driven pigs next year and already have lots of bolt actions.

CD
 
i have enquired about them ,i fancied one in 30-06 ! the only problem i found when i did my enquires through the sportsman centre , is thats the russians will send a list through of what they got and thats it !
i wanted an o/u and couldnt have one because they only had s/s .
and they couldnt tell me when they could get me one untill the next list came through, thats if there is some on the list , if that makes sence :confused:

cheers lee
 
Have a look at www.yorkguns.co.uk for Baikal they have a 30.06 and a 9.3x74R o/u advertised, also advertised on guntrader is a .45-70 second hand side by side. The reviews on Baikal double rifles on U.S. websites are very mixed, rifles there are sold under the Remington spartan name.

George Wallace had a .45-70 side by side at the midland game fair and it didn't look as bad in real life as I expected it to look. Probably with a little work on the trigger it would make a reasonable cheap pig gun, not up to the standard of a good express rifle but useable.
 
I had a look in York guns at the Baikal 30-06 double and thought otherwise. It would probably do the job but looks like a true baikal.
Very tempted by a Fabarm asper double but just a tad too much money to hide from the long haired commander.
After lots of cosideration I have snatched from Northallerton a Tikka T3 lite in 30-06 including optiloc mounts and a treaded barrel in mint condition for £550.
when I win euromillions the double shall come!
 
cockerdog I know what you mean about the Baikal over and under, just a bit to agricultural, though the side by side isn't too bad in the looks department for the price.

Double rifles have become far more reasonable in this country of late (european ones of course), so don't assume that they are all megabucks.

Following a visit to the Browning factory in Leige some 30 years ago where I saw rack after rack of .30-06 model 25 double rifles being finished, I just set my heart on one. So two years ago I finally ran out of excuses and bought my first double. The shopping around and research was part of the fun and a couple of trips to France resulted in me buying a 8x57 Unifrance Solitaire.
Developing loads to match the load that it was originally regulated for has added a certain amount of interest, matched with an equal measure of frustration. However doubles do become addictive, and so as long as you remember that they were intended for two rapid shots at close range with generally a heavyish calibre and don't try to compare them to a bolt action you won't regret buying one.
In fact I have just bought my second, a side by side in 9.3x74R. Perhaps an indulgence but then some guys buy motorbikes when they reach a certain age, instead I treated myself to a Chapuis and don't regret it at all.

One thing not to forget is the cost of running something like a 9.3x74mm.
Ammunition is expensive even in countries like France where the calibre is very popular. If you intend to shoot more than the odd box per year you will have to reload, and shop around on the internet for components.
 
I was psyched up to buy a Baikal a few years back when Remington first started marketing them as "Spartan" guns. I was at the S.H.O.T. (Shooting , Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show) in Las Vegas, Nevada and got to handle one... I decided that for half the money, I'd take it. Otherwise I'd pass; it felt a little "tinny" to me.

As an aside: I worked along side a gunsmith many years back who would reline heavy, cross-bolt locking Spanish double barrel shotguns to make double guns. He turned the liners eccentrically and would insert them temporarily into the barrels using a set screw to hold the barrel liner in place for test firing. He would regulate the barrels by rotating the liner inside the barrel and then setting the screw. Because the liners were turned on a tapered eccentric, rotating the liner would alter left and right, as well as up and down, point of impact. When the bullets printed to the desired point of impact he marked the liners position and used fiber-glass to epoxy the liners into place. It was an ingenious system but he would only build them in low pressure express cartridges like 45-70, 45-90, or 45-120. The people he built them for were very pleased with the results.

Ok. That was a digression.....~Muir
 
I actually had one in 12g & 223cal , something diffrent i thought too ! A handy alrounder..I found it very poorly finished, with lots sharp edges & at first novel. Then after walking around with it , for a mile or 3 as we do..too heavy & inconsistant with shots.. lacking accuracy with the rifle.

With a little fettling up, deburing , polishing & bedding, i found it satisfactory for the money, but still way too heavy...
 
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