Baikal Cartridges - made in USSR!

[coneyhunter]

ok people, along the note of me potentially purchasing a Baikal shotgun i have now had 100 cartridges thrown into the deal...

 

They come in boxes of 10 and are of green waxed paper with a cardboard end instead of a crimp, they say on the box " Baikal game load 6, made in the USSR.

 

i must admit they look pretty cool and all are in perfect condition, having been stored in a cupboard for a number of years.

 

now to get down to business, can i shoot these SAFELY? ive had a number of stories about eastern block cartridges, none really been encouraging, such as emitting out huge flaming wads, having the shot rolled around in sand after prouduction, being overly loud , having a kick akin to a bull elephant etc etc.

 

When did they stop making them and was there a good reason for it?

 

I have not shot these cartridges before and am a bit wary about putting them through my guns....

[HDAV]

HAving seen a guy shoot them at a trap club (baikal carts he was given) they are just like the guns....... Loud! odd wadding that looks like confetti, but killed clays. Might be worth more to a cart collector that 250 modern carts?

[coneyhunter]

HAving seen a guy shoot them at a trap club (baikal carts he was given) they are just like the guns....... Loud! odd wadding that looks like confetti, but killed clays. Might be worth more to a cart collector that 250 modern carts?

 

 

Hey i might give one or two a try, i collect cartridges myself and they are in pretty good condition, ive got no idea how much they may be worth, pre 1989 so maybe worth something...

[BlaserF3]

I've shot thousands of the black cased trap version....but I was young and daft then, they have a fair bit of recoil as well as the flames at the muzzle.

 

Aah happy days.

[alfa taf]

I used a couple of boxes some years ago,

not certain of their trade name, as it,s quite

some years ago,but YES ,they did kick

like a mule and YES they were quite loud .

I would not use them if I were you, especially

if I were thinking of my shoulder.!!

[dave1419]

Many years ago when i bought a baikal sxs by mail order [first gun]i received with the gun- 1,000 cartridges-all for £129.00 delivered to my door.The cartridges were all 6s and they were very loud when you fired them and kicked like a donkey-BUT when they hit-they hit and everybody was using them on the pigeon and corvids.Many a good auto was rendered useless after putting thousands of baikals through them,even Beretta's.The caps on the carties were also very hard and you needed a gun with good firing pins and springs.I think it was these carties that put me off Baikal shotguns as the recoil was tremendous!---Dave

[mossy835]

iv used a lot of the record carts,and they are loud but hit very well.not seen any for years.

[dave1419]

I think S&Bs from Europe somewhere are the nearest to the baikal carties now,they are not so loud as the Baikals but certainly hit as hard.The Baikal carties were banned from many clay clubs because of the noise factor if my memory serves me well---Dave

[markm]

They are called baikal records. 6 shot are in a red case and 7 shot in a black case.

 

They are real good for a laugh especially at Xmas. Can I suggest you have a look down the barrels when you fire them and when finished fire a couple of modern carts down each barrel and then give them a good clean.

 

Not exactly sure about the load size, but it will be at least a oz +

[Crouch valley]

That brings back memorys i bought a thousand about twenty years ago they kicked like a mule and you had to wait for the smoke to clear to see if you had hit what you was shooting at. But boy did they kill well.

[pegasus bridge]

i got hold of 1000 of them about a year ago from an old boy retiring - and yes - they kick like a mule, are filthy and they hit HARD. its also fun shooting them in low light conditions - nice streak of flame out the barrel.

 

they also had a pink wad!

[Dr_Scholl]

The only problem with Com Bloc ammo that I know of is a lot of the older stuff is corrosive. So clean your guns very well after each outing.

[coneyhunter]

i think im going to get them just for reasons of amusement, however they will not be going through my auto!

[Bleeh]

I should also add that they are as dirty as cartridges come, and a good cleaning of the barrel is recommended afterwards.

[fenix]

Started my shooting life with those, I inherited a load because nobody else would use them. We had a large importer in Kent at the time so lots of people tried them, they were banned from local clay grounds, possibly due to noise. I mainly shot them through a spanish sbs that had a massive recoil pad fitted, found them excellent on flight pond duck.

[Vince Green]

I bought thousands of them years ago. Great cartridges. Wish we could still get them. I'd buy them no hesitation.

[Fishermanpaddy]

I remember these. As others have already mentioned - they do hit fantastically hard and were

very good for the foreshore before the lead ban.

 

If you do use them then get the wire bore brush out and attach it to a drill because they

will give the inside of your barrells a not so pleasant coating of residue. They are good fun tho

[blindasabat]

i used these cartridges about 40 years ago.when i asked what they were like, my old gunshop owner said...they are like their cars.....they make a big bang and nowt happens !!!!.true,they were loud and a bit dirty but i shot all sorts with them in the old days.this post brings back a lot of happy memories.

[coneyhunter]

i've got them, also some S&B's in S.G, will have a go tomorrow...

[dave1419]

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

[racer132]

Back in the 80's my first gun was a non ejector baikal o/u I was only young and used to buy Baikal cartridges as they were cheap, however I remember shooting at the Kingsferry gun club one day and an "official" walked over to me and "invited" me to purchase some different cartridges from their little shop.

I seem to remember them being quite loud !

[Sprackles]

Ah happy memories......we didn't call them Russian Rockets for nothing.

[dieseldogg]

Sigh

I must be getting old too.

I blattered a wheen of them through a 5 shot 32" barreled full choke Semi auto Franchi as a young man.

In the gloaming the visual effects were most impressive.

Mostly killing cars and sheets o zinc.

I really really wanted that slug barrel.

Sigh

Edited December 17, 2010 by dieseldogg

[Evil Elvis]

If you have a lot of fillings be prepared to have them redone if you fire more than 3 lol.

[P~MX]

ok people, along the note of me potentially purchasing a Baikal shotgun i have now had 100 cartridges thrown into the deal...

 

They come in boxes of 10 and are of green waxed paper with a cardboard end instead of a crimp, they say on the box " Baikal game load 6, made in the USSR.

 

i must admit they look pretty cool and all are in perfect condition, having been stored in a cupboard for a number of years.

 

now to get down to business, can i shoot these SAFELY? I've had a number of stories about eastern block cartridges, none really been encouraging, such as emitting out huge flaming wads, having the shot rolled around in sand after production, being overly loud , having a kick akin to a bull elephant etc etc.

 

When did they stop making them and was there a good reason for it?

 

I have not shot these cartridges before and am a bit wary about putting them through my guns....

 

 

I used to shoot these 25 years ago at ducks at night time flights, they were hard hitting to both the ducks and me but the most unusual feature was the flames that shot out the end of my barrels ~ they were so bright I could see the ducks fallin to the ground I personally wouldn't put them down my good guns now

 

f3