The Russian/ snobbery in firearms.

[John Gryphon]

I have had the Russian for 46 years now and I dont use it much at all but at one time it fed my family.

The Russian is a Baikal single barrel shotgun,it boots like a mule,has a barrel that was surely bored out of a truck axle and will give you cheek welts after a lot of shots.
Its choke is so tight that at 30 yards a charge of shot barely imprints a half yard circle.
Back in the early 80`s when fox pelts were bringing decent dough for the time I used the Baikal for walking up foxes on windy nights.
A six volt m/bike battery that was nestled into a carpet lined 5 litre oil container was my power source for an old watco spotlight.
A length of seat belt attached made it easy to carry and I would find a fox with the vehicle spotlight and leave on foot and follow the fox and generally head shoot it at quite close ranges. The windiest of nights are are always the best.

Right now this is where the vank comes into it.
I was handing firearms to a mate one day direct from my safe for him to look at and then I pulled the Russian out and handed it to him.

"wtf have you got that old clunker for? I didn't realise that you had any schitt guns"

" you know that old piece of **** shot me 400 foxes in the last few years,walking on them with a light"

"those 400 foxes averaged $30 a skin,thats 12 ****ing grand you goose,how many has your ****ing Perazzi shot?"

"oh it does look like its been a good old gun mate"

Vanker!


I have to add that the last three shots fired were under an Angus Bull that refused to budge from my house garden.

 

[6pt-sika]

I had a Remington Baikal 12 gauge SxS with 20” barrels screw in chokes and single trigger . I put a Pachmayer decelerated pad installed as well as swivel studs . While it’s not a high dollar gun it worked nicely for skeet and it patterned buckshot very well . I bought it new for a good buyer price and after keeping a few years sold it and recouped every dollar I had in it including the add on items .

 

[enfieldspares]

At some time or other I've pretty much had either a Greener GP or similar single barrel in my cabinet and I'd agree. A Baikal does what it says, works, and does the job without fuss. That's 'class' in itself!

 

[Laurie]

I used to do work for York Guns which imported, distributed and sold a lot of Baikals, also developed their own integral 410 sound moderated conversion on the single barrel model. Despite all the nasty jibes about the budget single barrel guns it turns out lots of their customers coming in to view pricey Berettas or whatever had not only started out with one of these but still owned one.

(YGL was the Yorks & Humber regional retailer for the upmarket Beretta Premium line of guns which cost IIRC over £30K in some cases and that was years ago, and had a lot of other things in the >£10K range. I've not been in for years, but I wouldn't be surprised if this continues today and they still sell Baikals.)

Even with these products and customers, it was interesting how often people looking at £3-5,000 pieces would tell you that they had a Baikal single in the cabinet and that they'd never part with it. YGL also carried some parts including timber buttstocks which I presume were prone to crack at the wrist or where the tangs went into the rear of the action and there was a steady stream of calls about these. The problem was that Baikal had changed the rear end of the action and the front of the stock wrist maybe 20 years before and by the early oughties only made the newer version. Those examples in the warehouse wouldn't fit these older guns and people got really upset and cross that unless they could find a cheap older junker somewhere with a good buttstock they'd have to scrap 'Old Faithful'. It was usually an extremely bad idea to suggest it was 'just an old cheap gun' so they should simply replace it.

What many people might not know (to paraphrase a famous English actor) is that Baikal's budget single shot rifles in 223 Rem and 308 Win among others were simply rebarreled conversions of the shotgun (as were the various doubles including 30-06 and 9.3X74R, combination gun models on the appropriate shotgun action, trigger and buttstock assemblies. Tougher cookies than they look!

 

[bogtrotter]

Have a Baikal 35 years old not a single but a double needed nothing done to it in those 35 years ,still as tight
as the day it left the factory,whats not to like.

 

[Pedro]

If it works.....

 

[User00047]

I’ve got a beautiful Baikal side/side non ejector. A fine wooden (possibly high grade walnut?) stock and with some exquisite engravings of some ducks and what could possibly be interpreted as a woodcock. It cost £75 when I bought it and it’s the only shotgun I have ever owned and I enjoy shooting with it. It’s great because I don’t worry about it getting scratched up when rough shooting in the thick stuff

 

[alberta boy]

I've owned a few Baikal shotguns over the years , absolute tanks . I'm down to one now , an IJ-18 single shot that's had more rounds than I can remember through it . It's still tight as a drum and has never had a problem , a keeper . They're not pretty , but they always work . I've been looking for an open choked Grouse / Bear deterrent SXS lately , one of these would be perfect . Thanks for reminding me .

AB

 

[John Gryphon]

Thanks for reminding me .

I ran Sellier & Bellot solid slugs through my full choked gun. Shot one of my biggest ever boars with one he was way off and the S&B entered in the fold behind his left ear.I couldn't find the entry for ages but I can tell you Steve he dropped like the proverbial bag of schitt.
They are like a threaded piece of metal rod enshrouded in a very hard plastic......I cracked the stock after a while but it would shoot them 100`s of yards surprisingly flat too.....maybe the compression helped ha!

 

[East Coast Lifeboat]

Ive never had a Biakal but certainly can relate to the beater/working shotguns. I have a old Remington 870 pump that is my go to gun for dirty rough jobs. I dropped it in salty mud whilst fowling years ago. Took it home stripped it in the bath for a good wash and oiled it up for next time... no drama. Like you Baikal. Being able to not worry about a scratch on you gun allows to relax and focus on the shooting.

 

[John Gryphon]

Being able to not worry about a scratch on you gun allows to relax and focus on the shooting.

That goes for any of my rifles its use but not abuse and if one heads out into our bush deer hunting often then there will be pain. Best to ignore scratches and dents imo.

 

[alberta boy]

Ive never had a Biakal but certainly can relate to the beater/working shotguns. I have a old Remington 870 pump that is my go to gun for dirty rough jobs. I dropped it in salty mud whilst fowling years ago. Took it home stripped it in the bath for a good wash and oiled it up for next time... no drama. Like you Baikal. Being able to not worry about a scratch on you gun allows to relax and focus on the shooting.

I've had the same 870 for many years , it's been used hard and definitely shows it . It gets carried a lot when I'm out , great old gun . Stalker308 uses it for Grouse when he's out hunting with me , he managed a double on Ruffed Grouse with it . He's a convert and will be taking one home with him next time . I like a nice shotgun , but durability and reliability are more important than how it looks .

AB

 

[Scapegoat]

My first ever shotgun was a BSA Snipe.... horrible looking thing, alloy action and a stovepipe barrel, but it was incredibly pointable. We used to shoot clays with it at a mate's farm, and it seemed like it couldn't miss. It also accounted for an enormous number of rabbits. I wasn't sad to see it go, it hardly engendered "pride of ownership" but as it had cost me a tenner back in the eighties I reckon in terms of pounds spent for targets hit it was up there with the best of them!

 

[John Gryphon]

I poked a lot of holes in a lot of pigs with mine, it really has done some good work.

 

[SDC7x57]

We have a chap in our local shoot who has used a Baikal O/U for as long as I've known him. It is VERY old, and VERY used, but he cleanly kills some very respectable pheasants with it. He did have a rush of blood to the head a few years ago after too many people wound him up about his Baikal and telling him they wouldn't poke the fire with it......so he bought a Beretta. Half way through the next shoot, he phoned his wife.....'Bring the proper gun, quick!'
The Beretta has never been seen again.

 

[Sonicdmb73]

I have had four Baikals. An O/U first tough old double trigger thing you couldn’t take the barrels off without taking half the action in bits. A second one the same lad gave me (they were his Dads) but it wasn’t safe to use. I stripped it for spares and scraped it. I have just given the first one to a mate funnily enough I have never used any of the spares.
I had a single barrel with a short stock and higher cheek pad the kids learned with. Given to another mate for his kids to use.
The final one was a 222 which is the same action as the single barrel shotgun. Took quite a few foxes with it. My Photon sat on it till I changed it for another rifle.
Not the best fit as far as shotguns go or the rifle for that matter with a scope (perfect for open sights though).
I still have a beater shotgun in my hatsan. Non of my rifles are safe Queen’s anyway so not worried too much about scratches

 

[scoby270]

Great memories of my 1st 12 bore, same as you Baikal single barrel, stock held together with thick tape due to splits in it, missed very little with that gun.

scoby270

 

[alberta boy]

I've always liked the Baikals , good value for the money . I've been looking for one of the single shots in 7.62x39 for some time now . Our government has imposed an import ban on any Russian firearms so they're re getting a bit hard to find . It would make for a very handy light-weight deer and , with subsonic cast bullet loads , small game rifle .
I also have an urge to put together a poor mans double like Muir has . Pretty straight forward , shorten the barrels to 20 to 22 inches , so a cylinder bore , install sights and it's good to go . Regulation will be off , but that's OK . I'll adjust the sights to which ever barrel shoots slugs more accurately and put buckshot in the other . A very handy thing to have in camp , or to shoot ditch chickens ( Ruffed Grouse ) with . I like a SXS but an O/U would work just as well , maybe even better in regards to regulating the barrels for slug use . Excellent , a new project .

AB

 

[A Guy Out West]

Ditch Chickens, that's new one on me.

 

[Harry mac]

Ditch Chickens, that's new one on me.

You think? I was trying to read it without my glasses and thought it said "hitch hikers"!!!!!