One question I get asked often is "Which are my favorite airguns?" or "What are my top 5 gun choices?" I have done my best to avoid answering this question because it's a very hard question to answer and to be truthful on any given day I may come up with a different selection of guns as there are just so many great airguns out there!
So today I took a bunch out and shuffled through them all to see if I could come up with five of my top picks, well at least for today that is, and I'm pretty happy with my selection (Umarex Desert Eagle - ASG CZ 75 P-07 Duty - Baikal MP-654K Makarov - Cybergun Tanfoglio Witness 1911 - ASG Dan Wesson 6 Inch Sliver). I know for a fact they are some excellent choices and if you happen to own or plan on buying one then I'm sure you will agree wiht me.
So checkout this Vimeo Video Review where I go through them and explain what I like about each gun, and why they made my Top 5 Airgun Pick.
Type: Pellet air rifle. Manufacturer:Baikal. Model:IZH MP-61. Materials: Metal & plastic. Weight: 4.3 pounds. Barrel: 18.5 inches, metal-rifled. Propulsion: Spring piston. Action: Repeater. Ammunition Type: .177 caliber pellets. Ammunition Capacity: 5 rounds. FPS: 490. Trigger Pull: The trigger pull on the IZH MP-61 is a nice light 1.4 pounds and the release stage is also adjustable, you actually need to be careful of accidental shots as the trigger is light enough to go off before you are ready to shoot. Accuracy: Very good, I was not so sure when first using the IZH-61 with my initial scope and pellet setup but my second open sight test with different pellets yielded a very tight 1 inch group from 30 feet out in a standing unrested position.
Build Quality: This is a no-nonsense gun made Russian style, it is built to be cost effective so there are parts that could be made with metal that are plastic but there isn't anything on this gun that feels cheap or poorly built. Baikal also doesn't cheap out on the plastic as not all plastic is the same. I actually dropped the IZH MP-61 right on the front hooded sight without any adverse effects, cheap plastic would have cracked and broken. Realism: Since the Baikal IZH-61 is not a replica gun, I can not really compare it to any existing one rifle out there, but it does look very tactical in design, much more so then your standard spring piston air rifle. Purchased this rifle from: The Replica Airguns Store.
Pros:
Inexpensive spring piston rifle.
Very unique looking air rifle.
Side pull lever design.
5 round magazine/clip.
Right on the money with FPS.
Adjustable Stock.
Adjustable Trigger.
11mm dovetail rail mount for scopes.
Very light weigh and easy to cock.
Made in Russia
Cons:
Plastic stock seems to mark up easy - kind of part of the utilitarian look.
Mechanics takes a bit of getting use to.
Scope rail mount is a bit short.
Comments: The Baikal IZH MP-61 is a really nice low cost yet full featured air riffle! You really get a lot of rifle for your money: You get an efficient side lever design with a 5 shot magazines for quick repeat shots, a very light weight and adjustable trigger, an adjustable stock, a rail mount for a scope and one of the more tactical looking air rifles available on the market. The Baikal MP-61 also takes the FPS right up to the limit without going over so no license or PAL is required to own this one in Canada. This air rifle is designed for target shooting but could also be used for small pest control if your marksmanship is good enough to hit the vital kill zones of your prey.
My YouTube Video Review for this Russian made Air rifle:
The Baikal IZH-61 has a very interesting style and design, it is compact, lightweight and a truly affordable air rifles that offers a unique blend of attributes inherent in hi-class sporting weapons such as a five way adjustable trigger, an adjustable stock,an adjustable rear sight and fully hooded front sight. The Baikal IZH-61 also has provisions to mount a scope or red dot sight.
Some other interesting design element are a fixed barrel with a heavy duty side cocking lever and a 5 shot pellet magazine fed into the barrel by a slide feeder ensuring high pattern results.
