Baikal Model MR221 .45-70 Govt. 799.00

45-70 barrel inserts for SxS coach guns. 400.00

What are these imposters all about? Sabbati's
are just low cost doubles w/issues. These others must be dangerous experiments in terror.

With double rifles being so "hot" now, everybody is trying to hang 2 barrels on a stock to cash in on it.

The 30-06 Biakal I played with was accurate and hell for stout. The triggers were very heavy and the comb was too tall for using the iron sights. It's a very basic entry rifle that you can drag thru the mud and have fun with W/O worrying about scratches.

Appears to be the same importer for both Sabbatti and Baikal....those Bastions of Customer service.....EAA

I owned a Baikal in 30.06. Triggers were stiff, as was the action but it was tight as a drum and shot well. Wood was quite nice too. I would hardly call them imposters. They are rough but servicable rifles. They do not pretend to be a fancy English double with engraving or fancy wood.

I've had a couple in .30-06 and one in .45-70. They work! My last one, the .45-70, had lovely wood, and all three were tight and smooth. The triggers were horrible, but improved with cleaning and proper lubrication. They were all accurate, each barrel printing very respectable groups, and they were all user-regulatable, in a very crude way that was nontheless effective.

I didn't lose money on any of them, because I looked for (and found) great deals on used guns that had left their owners disillusioned. I guess they managed to forget how inexpensive the rifles were!

I grudgingly let the last one go in partial trade (along with a few other favoured toys!) towards a "real" double: a Merkel SxS in .30-06. Those cheap Baikals gave me a good basic understanding of what to expect and how to deal with the ideosyncrasies of a SxS, which I expect will pay off when I start to play with the Merkel (picking it up this week!).

If you expect it to be an H&H or Westley Richards, you are in for disappointment...but if you keep firmly in mind what the gun costs versus the fun and knowledge you gain by playing and experimenting with it you will be a happy camper. If I stumble across another .45-70 Baikal at the right price, I'll grab it in a heartbeat.

John

I see by your personal info that you only just joined our merry little band of double lovers; welcome .

I purchased my Baikal double in 45-70 at the astronomical sum of $1300.00 CDN . That was last year, and I am only just getting on to the range with it now.

Like most things Russian, it is crude yet functional; remember the AK.

This gun isn't as pretty as my Merkel or Antonio Zoli but it shoots. And if you really think it's an imposter, I don't think you will mind standing down range catching the 420 grain bullets it's pretending to shoot.

Kind regards,

Carpediem

I'm having a freak'n ball with my "45-70 inserted double rifle"

It gave me a wonderful taste of what it is all about for $600. Now I'm a customer when one of you folks shooting "real" DRs wants to sell one.

Certainly nothing wrong with that!









And it shoots easily minute of small pumpkin at 50 yds!

RoyB, get rid of that crude, agricultural-grade SxS shotgun and inserts, and move up to a real Baikal Artemida double rifle!

Seriously, for very little extra money (they are on sale for greatly reduced prices versus one year ago) they shoot phenomenally well. Same action and stock as your gun, but slimmer, lighter, and user-regulatable! You can get it shooting minute-of-grapefruit or even orange, with a little bit of pleasant tinkering.

I just got home with my new-to-me Merkel SxS rifle, for which I traded several guns including my Artemida...and that's probably the one that I will miss the most.

John

Roy, where did you get that setup?

Bought it off one of the forums from a fellow in PA.

EAA still has the tube inserts for sale. They sell them direct. Finding the proper shotgun is the issue. The EAA website has the details

Roy, that little sucker is probably more comfy to shoot than the Remington-imported Baikal double in .45-70. Boy that gun was light!

With 425g cast bullets at 1600fps.......it REALLY gets your attention! I had the pleasure of shooting a Holland 500 Nitro Express a few weeks back and because of how well the rifle fit me, it was quite pleasant to shoot. This shotgun conversion with a stiff load is far from pleasant....