Baikal MP153 Issue and fix.

[TONY R]

Im a big MP153 fan, one or two of the people i know have seen My Baikal in action and folowed suit and got them themselves, most are just fine, but on mate has been having intermitent jams with his, Bolt locking back solid on Lower powered ammo.

I first saw it jam in South uist last season, it was dark he was shooting duck. I stripped it in the dark knelt up on the foreshore putting the pins bolt handle etc into my hat .

Anyway it all seemed fine, we were expecting geese and he switched to 40 gram reloads no issues.

Over the next few weeks he kept mentioni ng it was locking back not ejecting all seemed fine, I brought it home stripped it it was clean, No reason i could see not to function.

I shot some 1650fps duck loads in it tested it was fine.

This morning it jams again i am right next to him, so i takes it off him, while he gets the duck off the dog, its locked solid, bolt right back, thumped the bolt handle with the palm of my hand.....Solid.

I put my glove next to the action to stop scuffs and tapped the bolt handle with a small piece of drift wood, bolt freed and it seemed fine.

I just stripped it and looked at everything again could see at the rear of the action frame where the carrier runs it had some signs of contact, i could not understand why it was locking up, My 13 year old son was with me in the workshop and started googling for any input on this MP153 fault, he came up with this, i filed the carrier as described and used three gamebore super steels the ammo he had most trouble with in it, and its perfect now.

Take a look at the link, and the pics, he seemed to be having more trouble with lighter loads which tied in nicely with my friends issues with his MP153.

If your having issues of lock back do this little mod it ensures no lock ups occur anymore.

 

http://special.squad.fi/88/

[Cant hit them all]

So far had my one 2 years and touch wood no problems with it but getting a itch to try out the franchi intentsy. So Christmas may come slightly early for me this year lol.

Edited October 8, 2016 by Cant hit them all

[figgy]

Wonder if this fault only affects the more recently made MP 153's. Never seen this problem on forums about the older models.

[TONY R]

Wonder if this fault only affects the more recently made MP 153's. Never seen this problem on forums about the older models.

No idea i dont think its that common a fault ive never seen it before, but it is on the one in the link and my mates exactly so at least those two had this fault. Its lighter tamer ammo seems to lock it up, The more powrerfull reloads or heavier mags seem to have enough force to free it off at the back end, Marks in the reciever where the carier was jaming and the bright marks and burs were clearly vissible. Was a good find by my lad, and just as i was trying to work out why it was sticking back.

[johnnytheboy]

They are complete junk of a gun, you can get spare parts for them and quote a few of the new guns arriving in the uk can't even be sold the delivery defects are so bad!

 

Just like old two stroke boat engines you might be lucky and land on your feet with a good one, but get one with problem or a broken part and it's curtains, they retail for nearly £600 new which is just rediclous for the quality you receive!

[CaptainBeaky]

... quite a few of the new guns arriving in the uk can't even be sold the delivery defects are so bad!

 

We know you don't like them, but please cite your source for this information. Edited October 8, 2016 by CaptainBeaky

[TONY R]

They are complete junk of a gun, you can get spare parts for them and quote a few of the new guns arriving in the uk can't even be sold the delivery defects are so bad!

 

Just like old two stroke boat engines you might be lucky and land on your feet with a good one, but get one with problem or a broken part and it's curtains, they retail for nearly £600 new which is just rediclous for the quality you receive!

I have had mine over ten years now best semi auto wildfowling 3.5 inch gun i have ever encountered in my opinion, i would buy another just the same junk or not.

Edited October 8, 2016 by TONY R

[Big Al]

They are complete junk of a gun, you can get spare parts for them and quote a few of the new guns arriving in the uk can't even be sold the delivery defects are so bad!

 

Just like old two stroke boat engines you might be lucky and land on your feet with a good one, but get one with problem or a broken part and it's curtains, they retail for nearly £600 new which is just rediclous for the quality you receive!

They are not browning or beretta. But they don't claim to be.

I bought my first one brand new for £300. I'm now on my third. The first one was traded against a browning semi auto and I regretted it immediately. The second was bought second hand and had been aftermarket cerakoted so much that it impacted with functionality. The third has functioned flawlessly since i bought it second hand.

The increase in price reflects their success. Remington liked them so much they bought them in from Russia and put their own badge on them as the Remington Spartan in the US.

 

It's made in the same factory complex as the AK47. I think of it as the shotgun equivalent - not pretty but can be maintained using rudimentary skills and doesn't really need spare parts. Just modifications to the parts it came with. Just like this fault.

 

Each to their own, but "complete junk of a gun?"

I don't think so. Neither did remington.

Edited October 9, 2016 by Big Al

[johnnytheboy]

Sportsman gun centre the importer told me, I was trying to get a part, they are at complete dispair with them, they had new guns arriving they couldn't sell and couldn't get parts for them, as was the case for mines!

 

I just can't see that it's the best semi auto 3.5" gun either! I have one over a maxus, I'd equal it to the sx3 but I like the weight of the Baikal buts it's not better than the xtrema I sold to buy it! I just can't see how they can justify the price for that gun with no after sales back up, in this day and age that just seems such a dodgy situation to put yourself in as a new gun buyer.

 

I shoot well with mines, I like the weight etc but not the risk of it breaking and me not being able to repair it!

 

[Cant hit them all]

There is a company in France that sells the m**** and the mp153 they have the chokes bolt handles aftermarket choke and all sorts of parts. Only niggle with my one the plastic magazine tube cap flys off when you undo the forend nut. But this may be due to I think the previous owner was running it with a mag extention tube or modified it in some way

Edited October 9, 2016 by Cant hit them all

[CaptainBeaky]

Interesting - the profanity filter didn't like the MP 155!

The reason your mag cap comes off is possibly that the previous owner has shortened the thread on the mag tube to fit an extension. A couple of the extensions that fit have shorter nuts than the original, so don't lock down onto the forend.

Or it may just be that your mag cap is worn

York Guns may still have some spares as well.

The problem is political, not mechanical...

[Cant hit them all]

The mag cap on my one is just a plastic cap not threaded it just push fit really. You push it in and it sort of holds in Plas by two holes. Then the forend metal nut over the top of that. But other than that's is a beat up battered ugly gun

But has never failed to cycle not even 65mm hull compX . And treed by putting a 3.5 inch in then followed by the hull compX then followed by a 3inch just candela them fine. But seems a tad slower than the beretta I had on then self loading

[TONY R]

IZH in izavesk russia made moskovich cars gaz jeeps various motorcycles rotavators etc etc, they were the soviet productiobn plant for that area.

Tula TOZ and others did similar jobs making soviet block machines guns etc.

The mp 155 is the new model not sure what interchanges but i dont think the uk supliers who handled IZH york guns were that good at dealing with the Russians, it was either the Russians were being awkward or york could not be bothetred im not sure, york had a few issues a year or so ago and i know getting parts for mossbergs was just as difficult from them at the time.

there are many Massy 935 laid dead due to lack of parts and sorry but im guessing that was yorks fault not mossberg.

Now sportsman are handling izh johny says so again how dedicated are they to providing parts ?

In fairness they are available from canada typical bits you need , johnys gun if i remember fractured a bolt assembvly or similar, it obviously happed to him, but i must say its not common i never heard of it before, i know of a few of these things doing the rounds most are pretty bomb proof. However i do acept parts are not that available here at the moment.

Now my own reasons for feeling MP153s are a fantastic Wildfowling gun are based on my own findings in over a decade of regular use, the MP153 is not beautiful its not light its not made of machined castings like say an old Browning A% its a alloy framed basic semi auto with stamped and folded mechanisum parts assembled in a huge eastern block factory, so some will skip through quality control, but inherant simpliciuty of design and sheer physical mass of components offer a degree of inbuilt ruggedness, it cad cam younger slimer sister the M**** can not offer.
The MP153 is the big buxom shot putter of the family the 155 more a balarena by comparison.

And apart from the MP153s bulk which you either like or not accordingly, the designers of the 153 were users of guns they thought about how the magazine latch bolt release worked with ease of function and safetey in mind, ease of clearing a loaded round for crossing streams fence lines difficult woodland etc, just flick the mag catch and its chamberd a round on back in the mag all in one movement, not lots of buttons springs just a simple latch does it all including speed load.

The gas valve is adjustable and you can tune it to soften bolt throw making the guns nice to shoot couple this with the sheer mas of the gun and felt recoiul is very low and with no fancy pads or reducers to help just physics which always work.

The gas valve is a great feature, once you get used to it, but even on factory setting they are still very reliable in function.

Chokes are true choke threads not the most common thread but not the worst either, the nice thin vent rib i like i like the trigger pull the ballance and the ergonomics of the MP153 it fits me perfectly.

The italian made stock made by Breda for IZH is Remington designed for the SPR 453 the remington badged version of the MP153, This stock is tough but uggly, Barrel blacking is poor very incipid and its not long untill its going plumb coloured and rusting, action frame coating is soft and it scratches easy, so its not all good news on the MP153, but overall i think its pretty close to perfect for what i want from a wildfowling gun, and although i have others Brownings Benelli well breda if im in bad conditions thick mud in creeks rain dirt wind blow debris etc, the MP153s inbuilt broad tollerances enssure function, not all semi autos can provide this reliability regardless of pedigree.

The AK47 was the same in the filth of vietnam compared to the americans rifle which had tighter tollerances and failed more often.

I once read a report on A canadian website about MP153s the comparison was made to German tanks and Russian T34s in WW2, the track tollerances on the gereman tanks was too tight and the russian mud is apparently a machine killer, the claim on the canadian site said if anything is made to work in Russia it will work anywhere on earth.

I dont know that i agree with this outlook entirely but i must say i can see it in how they seem to keep going in the dirt, with an MP153 you dont need a pump anymore to keep functioning.

Not everyones cup of tea i agree but i like them, and i can say this my MP153 has never jammed ever, i cant say that of any other semi auto i know of.

[johnnytheboy]

According to sportsman gun centre the volume they are ordering for the UK isn't really been taken seriously enough by IZH

 

The one thing I like about the mp153 is the weight, it's what you need in a Wildfowling gun!

[TONY R]

According to sportsman gun centre the volume they are ordering for the UK isn't really been taken seriously enough by IZH

 

The one thing I like about the mp153 is the weight, it's what you need in a Wildfowling gun!

CDN in canada sell a good few up there have most parts on their site, but remember i tried to get what you wanted a bolt i think it was and they did not list it.

A german company import a lot of russian guns bet they would have all the parts you could ever need danes never seem to moan about parts eiter maybe they get them through Germany. can not remember the name of the company now, but they were Main European importer for Remington, Hull cartridge used to get guns through this firm, and many Remingtons in the early 90s had german proof marks on them as this firm submitted them for proof there and we acept German prof.

[johnnytheboy]

I spoke to several folk at the factory, went right to the horses mouth rather than through a middle man, and everywhere all over the net and it's just a no go!

 

Never the less it's fixed anyway, so you think it's worth doing this mod as a matter of course in case it develops this fault!

[TONY R]

I spoke to several folk at the factory, went right to the horses mouth rather than through a middle man, and everywhere all over the net and it's just a no go!

 

Never the less it's fixed anyway, so you think it's worth doing this mod as a matter of course in case it develops this fault!

Not realy worth doing if the gun is ok Johny because it only a problem on the occasional gun, my mate was just unlucky i guess got a friday just before the buzzer gun may be ... Not sure.

Anyway its fine now. Mine never bound up in the rear of the action nor have three others i see regularly, but this fault as the potential to be there and the simple radiusing explained in that link works for a rougue gun for those unlucky enough to have an MP153 that jams in such a way.