The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Hide > The Dave McCracken Memorial Shotgun Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old September 9, 2014, 11:18 AM   #26
Gunfixr
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 10, 2007
Location: East Coast, USA
Posts: 360
WD40 is not a very good lubricant. Also, over time it eats bluing.
Use Ballistol instead.
Gunfixr is offline  
Old September 9, 2014, 01:06 PM   #27
Skans
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 20, 2008
Posts: 11,132
Regarding WD-40, I understand that it's not a great lubricant (not exactly bad either). However, it is a great Water Disbursing agent. This is what I use it for when my hunting arms get wet and I don't have the immediate ability to dry and lube all of the exposed parts.

I have not had any problems with it eating bluing, but I'm not doubting this either. This is why I only use it on my field arms - guns that cost less than $500. It's easy to spray WD-40 into the nooks and crannies where wood meets metal - these are the areas I worry about rusting. The stuff really does work.
Skans is offline  
Old September 9, 2014, 01:21 PM   #28
Grant D
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 14, 2011
Location: Brazos County, Texas
Posts: 1,038
I had two gentlemen join a friend and I one morning for a round of skeet.
I had to loan them my Browning Citori to finish the round, because both of their Baikal O/U's failed to finish the round.
I think I would rather look around for a good used gun instead of buying one of those.
Grant D is offline  
Old September 9, 2014, 02:06 PM   #29
Skans
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 20, 2008
Posts: 11,132
Quote:
because both of their Baikal O/U's failed to finish the round.
If you don't mind my asking, did anyone determine what the problem was? If I can determine what the problems are, then I can make a reasonable guess as to whether most of them are fixable, or simply futile.
Skans is offline  
Old September 9, 2014, 02:25 PM   #30
BigJimP
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 23, 2005
Posts: 13,195
Getting parts is going to be your biggest issue in my view.....

Baikal's I've seen with issues were mostly internal....ejectors breaking, firing pins breaking, spring issues, broken parts in the safety....stuff like that.../ I did see one at the club where the spot welds for the rib broke - rib fell off. I heard of one having a cracked stock...but I don't know what caused it / could have been neglect - or stress in the way it was put together ( the "ears" on the wood stock that fit into the back of the receiver on a Over Under can be thin and weak on a lot of lower priced shotguns ...and prone to cracking ).

Barrel regulation....where one barrel hits high right ...and other one hits wide and low left....were an issue on a couple of Baikals.../ one was way off with a 12" spread at 21 yds....one was a little better... /... barrel regulation would be prohibitively expensive to fix.
( but I've seen most of the same issues on the entry level priced over unders from TriStar's, Huglu's, Mossberg and Ruger in the last 10 yrs or so )....
--------------
You know what a used Beretta costs...so when someone is selling a new gun for under $ 750 .../ you have to ask yourself about the internals, quality of parts, quality of steel, etc.../ barrel regulation...( all the stuff that you know Beretta and Browning do very well )...
-------------
You can't tell by looking at them ...which one is good or bad...you might get lucky and the Baikal will be ok ...and run well for 5,000 shells.../ or it may be junk...and then you're stuck with it.
BigJimP is offline  
Old September 10, 2014, 10:47 AM   #31
Grant D
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 14, 2011
Location: Brazos County, Texas
Posts: 1,038
Skans...
It was awhile back, but I remember at about station four, one would not fire from either barrel, some kind of internal problem I suspect.
The other one at about station six he opened it up to reload and parts went flying.
They had just bought them brand new and were pretty disgusted with them and said they were going straight back to the gun store with them when we were done.
Grant D is offline  
Old September 10, 2014, 12:06 PM   #32
Skans
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 20, 2008
Posts: 11,132
More bad stuff said about the Baikal shotgun than good here. I got it....I've been warned!

Ok, so if I get one, I know it's a gamble. Eyes wide open, thanks to everyone here, and I really do appreciate everyone's input. Still, I figure that if I can get one for just under $300, and if it breaks (and parts are scarce), then I should be able to recoup most of my money by parting it out to other Baikal owners.

I'll know in the next few days whether I'm going to buy one or not. If I do, I promise to report the good, the bad and the ugly. If it doesn't work out that I end up buying the Baikal, or if it breaks, then I'll relegate my search for an economy O/U probably to a well used Beretta Onyx.

In fact, I see that there is a pretty rough looking older Beretta o/u 12 on gunbroker for $399 - pretty ugly, and $100 more than I want to spend....????

Last edited by Skans; September 10, 2014 at 01:15 PM.
Skans is offline  
Old September 10, 2014, 02:25 PM   #33
Panfisher
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 30, 2010
Location: Missouri
Posts: 1,337
I would take the older beretta for $100 more in a heartbeat. Its already beat up so you won't feel bad about adding more character marks to it. Operation and balance should be similar (huge plus), and it should last a LONG time yet. I have never bought anything off gunbroker but if I find a good used browning/beretta OU in a gun shop for that price I am gonna own it unless there is something majorly wrong with it.
Panfisher is offline  
Old September 10, 2014, 02:30 PM   #34
eastbank
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 7, 2008
Location: pa.
Posts: 2,450
my guess is the ugly beretta will be chugging along, long after the baikal goes tits up. eastbank.
eastbank is offline  
Old September 13, 2014, 12:38 AM   #35
OkieCruffler
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 9, 2001
Location: Denison Texas on the banks of Texhoma
Posts: 1,556
I don't know where you are but if you're near an Academy they sell Yildez O/Uers in your price range. I've had two and had zero problems with them. Had 800+ rds in one. I completely understand wanting to have a "beater". Anyone who hasn't dinged the wood on a gun hasn't spent very much time in the field. I hunt rabbits in the deep dark thickets where my Citori isn't allowed to go. My old beat up 870 is right at home.
__________________
John A. Monroe, Never Forgive, Never Forget, Blood Pays Blood
OkieCruffler is offline  
Old September 13, 2014, 05:27 AM   #36
Virginian
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 11, 2012
Location: Williamsburg, Va.
Posts: 1,528
Good grief. "WD-40 eats bluing." Some really great folklore on here.
I do not own any beater shotguns, but since I do not beat anything with my shotguns I have had no problems. I have a 1963 semi auto that is still my 12 gauge clays gun, that has over 115,000 rounds thru it, and was a waterfowl gun for most of it's life. Not a sit in a manicured blind all day gun either, but a crawl along muddy ditches gun. I had it reblued this past summer, but aside from some silvery edges it was fine. Maybe I am just lucky, but it doesn't cost me 5 minutes a trip being a little extra careful with my guns. In the beginning I had to work hard for everything, so I took care of what I had. It has stood me in good stead all the way.
I had a Baikal 12 gauge 3" SxS I bought to try for waterfowl. It fired shells fine. My impression of them is that they are hell for stout, and very light on aesthetics. Apparently 95% of the consideration the Russians give a gun is will it go bang, and the other 5% gets devoted to minor things like looks, handling, balance, etc. It was not my cup of tea and it left.
__________________
What could have happened... did.
Virginian is offline  
Old September 13, 2014, 10:52 AM   #37
jaguarxk120
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 28, 2008
Location: Michigan
Posts: 2,618
As someone signs off with "Life is too short to hunt with a ugly gun".

This is so true, if you take care of your guns they will last several life times.
jaguarxk120 is offline  
Old September 14, 2014, 11:36 AM   #38
Husqvarna
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 7, 2012
Location: Sweden
Posts: 1,000
I can't fathom the answers I am getting

maybe different stuff are sold under the baikal name in the US as compared to Europe?

baikal has got a good reputation here.

Lanber, churchill, lincoln, altay(any of the turks really), legend etc are to be avoided at all costs if buying used AND NEW, they can be unusable after as little as a couple of hundred of shells.

Baikals you can even buy regardless of how cheap they are used because they will work and practically can't be worn out. the regular baikal o/u sold over here is named 27 mach. they are ugly, heavy and got no soul but they work ALL the time, as a paddle to.
twice the shotgun lanber is for the same price.

if you happen to stumble over a Baikal MC you buy it. they are the more expensive model and were used by soviet clay shooters, one guy used his his whole 30year career
Husqvarna is offline  
Old September 14, 2014, 12:00 PM   #39
WIN71
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 28, 2005
Posts: 729
Quote:
Almost all of the Baikal's I've seen were junk....
There's nothing wrong with a cheap Baikal, Big Jim.

Any gun manufactured by fat Russian women in tiny back yard blacksmith shops can't be all bad................
__________________
Air goes in and out. Blood goes 'round and 'round.
Any variation on this is a very bad thing.
개인 정보를 보호하십시요
WIN71 is offline  
Old September 15, 2014, 11:06 AM   #40
BigJimP
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 23, 2005
Posts: 13,195
Well you made me laugh....so that's a good thing...
BigJimP is offline  
Old September 22, 2014, 08:52 AM   #41
Skans
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 20, 2008
Posts: 11,132
Follow-up: I decided to buy the Baikal IZH-27. It was a used shotgun which appeared to be in 95% condition and the guy was selling it for $300.

I used it to shoot a couple rounds of skeet on Sunday. It worked flawlessly. I could hit clays ok with it (misses are my problem, not the gun's). I was surprised that it actually opened and closed fairly smoothly. The trigger could use some smoothing out, but it was ok. Having to click off the safety each time was a little annoying, but I understand this can be remedied. The screw-in chokes that came with the gun screwed in/out easy enough.

The one thing that I found impractical was the method of selecting top barrel first - pushing the trigger forward. This was awkward and too difficult to fool with. The ejectors do toss the shells about 15 feet - gotta be careful there. Who knows how it will hold up over thousands of rounds, but I do feel that I got great value for $300. Maybe I'm just lucky...so far...
Skans is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:00 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.06003 seconds with 10 queries