Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Rem. Double Rifle?

they are really, really crudely made....I'd like to see someboy get one to really regulate and stay regulated. The stock pattern is really ugly.....its just a typical Baikal gun. I'd love to hear from somebody who got a good one they're happy with, but not holding my breath.

Looks like junk.

I have a Baikal O/U in 30-06 that is a typical product from their plant. A friend hunted stags in Russia with one, & liked it very much, & I was able to obtain at a good price. There is no good price on a Baikal. I could shoot about a 2-3" group with shots from both barrels using a red dot scope. Action was very stiff but, I was able to smooth up some. I used on a boar hunt & shot 2 for meat. Its a very utilitarian rifle. I have many rifles & intend to sell at the first opportunity.

Well now, I don't know whether perhaps the rifles you get in the US are different, but I bought a Baikal IZH-94 in 9.3x74R here in Australia earlier this year, and I'm very happy with it. Sure, it is a utilitarian sort of firearm, but mine handles surprisingly well, is fitted and finished to a standard about as good as any other base model firearm nowadays and it has proved reliable so far. These Baikal firearms have a good reputation here in Oz for being robust and rugged tools, and my rifle seems to be forged on the same anvil.



I fitted a 4x Leupold and loaded up a batch of 286gn Woodleigh RN bullets and within 20 rounds had two rounds from each barrel forming a 4 shot group 1" across at 50 yds, so I certainly wouldn't complain about the accuracy nor about the ability to regulate using the jackscrew.

Admittedly it doesn't like the Woodleigh PPs quite as well, but still keeps 4 rounds well within the 3.5 moa specification. It might do a little better now too, since I had the triggers fettled last week to get them both to a nice crisp 4 lbs (they were a little heavy as issued) as well as getting the safety converted to non-automatic. Anyway, I'll be happy enough to use that Woodleigh 286 gn PP load on water buffalo next month, and I have no reason to doubt that the rifle will do the job.

I got the following email from Remington.

Customer (me) - 07/15/2008 11:59 AM
Gentlemen,

How is the SXS double rifle coming along?

"Subject
---------------------------------------------------------------
SPR22


Discussion Thread
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Response (Howerton) - 07/16/2008 08:06 AM
Dear ...:

Thanks for visiting Remington Country! We appreciate your interest and support of Remington products.

Based on current production schedules, which are subject to change without notice, we show production and delivery of the SPR22. Our records indicate AccuSport received the first shipment of the 30-06 caliber SPR22 and we are planning on being able to offer the 45-70 later in the year.

You may wish to have your local dealer contact one of the following wholesalers to locate this product:

NOTE: These wholesalers will only provide information to licensed firearms dealers.


Acusport MT 406-252-2109
AcuSport OH 937-593-7010


We hope that this information will be helpful to you. If we can be of further assistance, please contact us at 1-800-243-9700, M-F, 9am-5pm EST."

And the provided this link. http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/centerfire_rifles/SPR_models/SPR22.asp



SPR22�

LOP: 14 1/4"; Drop at Comb: 1 1/2"; Drop at Heel: 2 1/4"
Caliber Barrel Length Receiver Stock & Fore-End Overall Length Avg. Wt. (lbs.) Order No. MSRP*
30-06 Sprg 23 1/2" Blue Walnut 40 1/2" 6 1/2 89976 $734
45-70 Govt � 23 1/2" Blue Walnut 40 1/2" 6 1/2 89980 $734
� NOTE: For Use with SAAMI Compliant Loads Only (28,000 PSI / 28,000 CUP Operating Pressure).
* NOTE: U.S. Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price. Actual price may vary.

+1 to "utilitarian".

I hope, for your sake, that Remington has required the Russians to improve their QC, as "Russian QC" is an oxymoron if ever I have heard/seen 1!

I had an EAA IZH-94 in 12 over 6.5x55 that was either the worst, or 2nd worst, firearm that I've ever owned. Almost everything about it was oversized, often to point of being both crude in construction and clumsy in execution. The LOP to the front trigger was too long for the "average" 5'10" to 6' human, or at least those with standard issue arms. It was certainly not a firearm that I would trust in the field, particularly for something as big as buffalo. I sold it for $150, 1/2 what I paid for it NIB, and was glad to get rid of it. The guy who bought it from me likes it, but there is no accounting for taste, as he is married to a red headed woman!

Jeff

Now, don't go knocking red heads. My wife & 2 very attractive daughters are all red heads. Mine was very red also but, as I matured(aged) it turned brown & now gray. Back to the Rem./Baikal, if some of us only had this rifle to work with I'm sure game could be shot. In today's US market guns like the Baikal/EAA/Rem. double rifles fall far from most hunters expectations.

Something about this gun scares me. Having handled the Baikal/Remington shotguns, I just don't know that I'd want to fool around with a 30-06 version.

They are clumsily solid, like an AK (which is one of my favorite guns, BTW) but rough around the edges...I just don't know about the design.

A whole red headed family, you must have looked like the Weasley Family from the Harry Potter books/movies! I, too, have red hair, but mine is now about 50% white and has faded from red to strawberry blond.

Jeff

I met my friend at the range today who had a Rem. Baikal 30-06 SXS. He had many problems with it including excessive headspace. He returned it for replacement and it was decided to cancel his order and refund the money. He has not got the money back yet.

EAA did not treat or speak to him well. Remington is trying to correct that and they have been polite.

He now has a couple Pedersoli double rifles and considers the Russian gun to be NG.

What a surprise!

When I couldn't get my IZH-94 in 12/6.5x55 to shoot groups with the rifle barrel, EAA's response to my calls was (in not so many words) "Tought $hit, what did you expect from a $299 combination gun?". I never could get the friggin' thing to shoot a group worthy of even being called a group, more like a random pattern, and the guy who bought it from me for $150 told me that he hasn't had any better success.

BTW, for anybody out there with an itch for an inexpensive O/U rifle, CDNN has the last of its 30-06 Russian O/Us on sale for $299. Not that I'd recommend them, but they are out there just waiting for somebody to waste their hard earned $$.

Jeff

Here is a post from my friend posted elsewhere.

"Well I picked up my Rem SPR 22 30-06 on Thursday. I spent almost four hours on Friday fitting the forend to the receiver.The fit where the curve of the forend meets the receiverr was so tight that the latch would not close.I lapped the radius until it fit. The ejector was so tight that the action had to be opened over my knee and forced closed.I cleaned rust out of hole where the ejector rod goes and freed it up some.
I went to the range and used Remington ammo 180gr Corelocks.After 2 shoots the action was hard to open and the primers were set back. I tried Federal Classic 180gr Hi Shock SP. The results were the same except the primer set back was not as bad.I believe this is because Fed pimers are harder than Rem.When I got home and inspected the cases more throughly I noticed that the shoulders had moved forward.
I tried a no go gauge in both chambers and the rifle closes on gauge. I believe the cambers are long."

Russian QC = Oxymoron

Jeff

If you want a .45-70 here is a link to guy that has them for sale. $950 plus $30 shipping. He say's they're little better than the 1st run of .30-06's.

LINK

Thanks TCI. I had seen that ad and to tell you I am scared off of the Baikals.

It was just a whim anyway. Now to think of it I am not sure I want to shoot heavy loads in a 45-70 at my age. My friend had one of the Pedersoli 45-70 doubles rechambered to 45-120!

I think the guy in that add summed it up pretty well. It's a great gun to shoot tin cans and feral pigs with. I think it would make a nice novety gun for playing around with but I'm sure I would grow bored with it too quickly.

I've done the same thing with those NEF Handi rifles in .45-70 a few times. Buy one, play with awhile then sell to buy something I could really use. They changed the laws down here in Mississippi and now you can hunt "primitive weapons" season with a .45-70 instead of a muzzle loader. I've got one that I'm hanging onto these day's

Terry

some things cannot be done both cheaply and well.....double rifles are one of those things

Baikal quality always left me unimpressed. I'll take a Savage or Tikka bolt any day over the Baikals, or even that nice Savage 99 in 38-55 in the pic, you lucky devil!

I just spent a week in Australia's Northern Territory, culling buffalo and pigs. My Baikal 9.3x74R O/U performed perfectly, and accounted for about 20 buff and a number of of pigs without a hiccup.

Just a couple of other points to add:

Since I had the trigger pulls tuned (a nice crisp 4lbs each), and did a bit more fine tuning of the regulation, my rifle is putting 4 shots (two from each barrel) into about 2-2.5 moa, with the top barrel just above the bottom barrel at 100 yards. This is using Woodleigh's 286 gn PP, which performed perfectly on buffalo.

The rifle handles very well, making snap shots easy, and the iron sights work well for this (and are easy to adjust), but I mounted a 4x Leupold on hand-detachable mounts as the primary sight.

It is surprising how quickly shots can be put on target. Bearing in mind that I was engaged in culling it is worth noting that a colleague armed with a 9.3x62 bolt action noticed that I was able to sustain a higher rate of aimed shots than he could. This will not always be useful of course, but was a rather unexpected result.

As for claims the rifle is junk, well, I have been shooting for over 30 years, and have a fair number of rifles I could have taken to the NT, but I had no qualms about taking the Baikal. As I said in an earlier post it (and other examples I've looked at) stands comparison with other mass-market offerings in terms of fit and finish, and these Baikals are built like a tank.

It is easy to write off a rifle without trying it, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating.