Baikal IZH 18-MN - Am I convincing myself to buy a bad rifle?

[Mr B]

There is no trigger that can not be improved.

Been tempted many times.
Any issues with the dovetail rail can be fixed with an adjustable mount or get it drilled and tapped.

Have you fired a Steyr AUG? Those thinks are horrid!

 

[Mr B]

You’ve not stated what your budget actually is. For deer I’d personally always want a follow up shot available. For boar I’d like straight pull for speed and simplicity. A Blaser R93 can be had for sensible money these days.

I also happen to have a LH R93 in with Edinburgh Rifles at the moment!

 

[kenbro]

You’ve not stated what your budget actually is. For deer I’d personally always want a follow up shot available. For boar I’d like straight pull for speed and simplicity. A Blaser R93 can be had for sensible money these days.

I also happen to have a LH R93 in with Edinburgh Rifles at the moment!

 

[ColinJ]

I had a Baikal .308 single shot. The trigger was horrible, but I had Peter Sarony at Armalon clean it up.
I struggled to find scope rings that would stay on and maintain zero so I gave up and sold the rifle.
If I was doing it again I’d have a picatinney tail fitted and mount a scope to that.

 

[LeftHandGuy]

You’ve not stated what your budget actually is. For deer I’d personally always want a follow up shot available. For boar I’d like straight pull for speed and simplicity. A Blaser R93 can be had for sensible money these days.

I also happen to have a LH R93 in with Edinburgh Rifles at the moment!

Thanks! I resolved this particular dilemma some time ago however. I understand that Ed of @Edinburgh Rifles is a top gent and most likely find a good home for your Blaser, though even if I was back in the UK they just don't do it for me (one of those Baikal doubles in 30/06 or 45-70 would be much more my taste for boar).

I struggled to find scope rings that would stay on and maintain zero so I gave up and sold the rifle.

I seem to remember that there was a dedicated ring mount from a Czech company with a name like Kozap that was steel and was all I could find as something that would not move when paired up with 308, but the fact that obtaining one would have cost as much if not more than the rifle itself was one of the things that held me back.

If I was doing it again I’d have a picatinney tail fitted and mount a scope to that.

I hadn't even shot a deer back when I started this thread and didn't think I would have the confidence to shoot deer with open sights. These days the ability to mount an optic is not very high on my list of priorities. Might be a good candidate for a red dot, holographic or prism sight though.... And the smaller calibres like 7.62x39 or 222 might be a bit more forgiving with the rimfire size dovetail....

 

[kenbro]

I had a Baikal .308 single shot. The trigger was horrible, but I had Peter Sarony at Armalon clean it up.
I struggled to find scope rings that would stay on and maintain zero so I gave up and sold the rifle.
If I was doing it again I’d have a picatinney tail fitted and mount a scope to that.

I don’t know if the Baikal break barrel rifles have a dovetail for sights, but if they do there are plenty of Dovetail to Picatinny mounts available.
They’re used on air rifles a lot.
Ken.

 

[Edinburgh Rifles]

I have :
.222/.223/.243/7.62x39/.308
Another one bought recently can’t recall the calibre

Missed out on a .45-70 double

awesome rifles!
Shot the all and they are very accurate with open sights let alone scoped

Most people can’t reload or make decisions fast enough for follow up shots to be called “follow up shots” and not, “ wait till it stands again 100m further on second shots”

You’ll be fine with one shot in .308

 

[drone]

I'll just lob in my £0.02, get a late 80s or 90s winchester made mod 94 in 30/30 with the angle eject, ok it lobs the case to the right but will your right eye notice? Well into your price range or, if that doesn't appeal Browning BLR in 308 same set of circumstances.
Swallow your brand pride and save a bucket of money and fit a cheap chinese scope on top including rings it'll be less than £100 ( you can pick up one of the winchesters within your budget at one of the auctions, ditto BLR ditto Ruger #1.
In case someone bellyaches about the 30/30 not being up to your intended quarry either use factory loads from hornady in 160 grain ftx or reload and use Barnes TTSX 130 grn bullets loaded near maximum, both will see off most boar except, maybe, for those hippo sized ones. (MUST be TTSX as they have polymer tips to keep everyone happy in tubular magazines though see the image below which shows how 30/30 spitzers lie in tubular mags )
The TTSX and FTX will both expand reliably out to at least 200 yards and I wouldn't begin to pretend that I'm good enough to hit stuff in the right spot any further including with my 308 but there are those that suggest the 30/30 will be effective much further.

 

[JTO]

After our handguns were handed in, we were permitted to get rifles in the same calibres. I fancied a Harrington & Richardson break barrel in 357 Magnum, but never found one.

 

[kenbro]

Bergara B13 s go for little money sometimes….they do when I’m selling them anyway.
Ken.

 

[LeftHandGuy]

After our handguns were handed in, we were permitted to get rifles in the same calibres. I fancied a Harrington & Richardson break barrel in 357 Magnum, but never found one.

Henry do one, actually looks pretty decent although I have not shot one.

 

[KimE]

Seriously, I have an irrational attraction to "budget" single shot rifles. I am scratching that itch, more or less, with a Savage 219 in 30-30. One of these IZH18s in 7.62x54r would be perfect though as it's a round I already have some experience with and a decent stock of brass and bullets for.

As lefthanded I went with a cheap Bergara BA13 singleshot in 300blk(close to 3030) 81cm long.