Do You Remember Baikal Rekord Cartridges ?

Well I was given about 75 in 12G black plastic cases with the head-stamp 'Made in the USSR', so it seemed a shame not to use them.
Went out tonight shooting rabbits in the harvest field whilst my pal was combining. For those who remember the Rekord (fondly or painfully), I can confirm that despite their 30 or 40 years of age, they still bang like an artillery piece, kick like a mule and put enough burning crud in the air to risk setting the stubble alight.
Oh and they kill rabbits very well too. Despite ear defenders and using a Browning Fusion gas operated self-loader, I have a headache, ringing ears and sore shoulder. Whatever did the Soviets load them with ? Jolly good cartridges though..... anyone want to try a few, just for old-times sake ?

 

[Fiadh]

Fond memories of the Baikal cartridges, I know a dealer that still has a few tucked away and will use nothing else on driven shoots, it's easy to pinpoint him on the line but his hit quota is up with the best of them.

 

[tika.308]

My dad called them Russian rockets, i also used to get s&b paper cases and i think they had vermin and pest control on the side of them. As soon as the boss gave us some we were into them.

 

[bobt]

they were banned on most clay shoots due to the noise.

 

[paul o']

hahahah o my god do i! the smoke and flames out of my remmy 1100 and that smell yuc n' all the shat that come out looked like a marrage had just taken place ya' could't see the second shot also raker carts from basidon essex now thay were good in 7# 6#'s dame good game loads

 

[ndt man]

good cartridge ( 1 day decoying and 1 week in pain ) the poor mans grand prix

 

[willowbank]

good cartridge ( 1 day decoying and 1 week in pain ) the poor mans grand prix

"One week in pain..." just brought on a flashback, in the late eighties of my father and I going Pigeon shooting over decoys on 1st Jan and me (being younger then) with a humungous hangover, the daddy of them all from a new years eve party the night before, from memory I only managed a couple of S&B,s before I had to pack it in and sit quietly half a mile from Dad under a tree lol.

Regards WB

 

[bazil]

This is spooky while moving stuff around in my shed yesterday a record no4 fell off the shelf just missing my head bazil

 

[willowbank]

They were in a class all of their own. ohh the memories .. I can feel the bruising coming back. But If anybody still has a 1000 in no 6 I'll have them

Just had a look and yes there are five packs of 10,s (50) of Baikal no 6 12g in the cupboard so if anyone wants these fearsome beasties let me know.

Regards WB

 

[bruce w]

for the savage recoil and hard hitting we used them in rough old guns with twist tubes and i never heard of a burst ,though do you all remmber the brass coating on the breech face after a good day, is all this nostalgia good for us or not?

 

[Moonraker68]

Yep, I remember them! Saved up £29 for a Baikal single barrel 12 bore when I was 14, and was given some Rekord cartidges...kicked like hell! After a month, the stock came loose, so I px'd it for a BSA single barrel and downsized to Eley Super Game 1&1/8 oz (or 32gms as we say now). Happy memories, but I'd shudder to do the same now!

 

[Tommo]

"One week in pain..." just brought on a flashback, in the late eighties of my father and I going Pigeon shooting over decoys on 1st Jan and me (being younger then) with a humungous hangover, the daddy of them all from a new years eve party the night before, from memory I only managed a couple of S&B,s before I had to pack it in and sit quietly half a mile from Dad under a tree lol.

Regards WB

Bloody hell I could have wrote that my dad used to buy them (and Records) by the 1000's and we used to seriously go through them lol!!


​T

 

[limulus]

Hateful things. I was given 50 of these for my first ever partridge drive...thought my shoulder was going to drop off and had a headache for days after.

 

[Jimbo 30 06]

Yes i remember them they became popular when the Ely factory went up in smoke. Baikal, S&B, Rocket, Winchester AA, Gevello, Gytorp and the superfast Fob were commonly used while Ely rebuilt the factory. As said the Baikal were very dirty hard on the shoulder but what a hell of a hard hitting cartridge rabbits and pigeons didn't like them or anything else for that matter. Thanks to the op for reminding me.

Jimbo

 

[nell]

Never used them myself , but my pigeon shooting partner arrived with a sack full for a days decoying, we had a great day shooting well over 100, friend ended with a bruise that ran from the top of his shoulder down to his belly

 

[Yorkie]

Used them a lot back in the 80s. We joked that they did not use a Wad but a lump of the 'News of the World'. Got told at a Knostrop Clay Shoot to not bring them again.
We also used a lot of 'Nike' Cartridges back then too.
This post has stirred some happy memories.

Yorkie.

 

[crouch valley]

Blimey I remember these I bought a 1000 for duck shooting needed a good dog as you was blinded by the flash of flames. Kicked like a mule as well. Gave up and bought some victory cartridges

 

[Wildboar1973]

You have to keep the distance while shooting, otherwise you get roasted rabbit already....
Just put some salt and pepper in the muzzle and prepare the rabbit the good old Jamie Oliver style...

 

[Drag1]

OOOOOhhhh the memories the ringing ears the muzzle flash the sore shoulder and the dead things you certainly knew they'd gone off, as i remember they where 40 pence a box of ten some of them bulged with shot others looked half empty

​i only had a single then kicked like a mule MARVELLOUS

 

[Uncle Norm]

Banged off a couple of handfuls of Rekords yesterday evening at pigeon on peas. One shot covered me in 'confetti'. Still sounding like artillery and still killing pigeons though. Whatever did they put in those things ? Thank goodness for a gas-operated self-loader too.

 

[bogtrotter]

As a keeper we were issued with them ((cheap) in one instance I remember opening the gun and removing the brass everything else had disappeared down the barrel.

You think they could kick you should try some of the Italian stuff 36 grm no 9s ( what the !)

38 and even 40 grm heavies OK in a semi which the majority of Italians seem to shoot, try them in a nice light side by side and you will know all about kick.

S&B remember as a youngster "the rabbit clearance society" ( a lot of them about in the 60s) for three Saturdays in February and March supplied free cartridges (S&B) for pigeon shooting the idea being to get as many people as possible out over a large area keeping the pigeons moving and not giving them anywhere to settle.

All that was required was that you kept a record of pigeons shot over the three days and returned any unused cartridges at the end of the period, they never seemed to get very many handed back.