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Baikal barrels interchangeable? Baikal info?

6.4K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  Caerlonie  
#1 ·
I have a Baikal IZH-18 .410 (stamped Made in the USSR) that was the first firearm my Father bought for me as a boy approx 30 years ago. I am finding it difficult to find information on Baikal firearms and wonder if anyone here has experience with them. I did read somewhere that on their single shot rifles, the barrels are interchangeable, meaning you can get a barrel in a different calible and put it on there. Looking at their single shot rifles they look exactly like my .410. It seems to be the exact same firearm except for the barrel.
So here is my question...
Would I be able to take the barrel from a single shot IZH-18MH 30-06 and put that on my IZH-18 .410?
If it is interchangeable, it would be fantastic for my backpacking trips. This would save a lot of weight.
I appreciate any help!

Bush
 
#3 ·
These guns do come as multi-barrel sets in Russia, and you can order an additional barrel (not from outside Russia, unfortunately). However, the factory insists the gun must be shipped to the factory for the barrel to be fitted. Therefore, they are not interchangeable. Besides, your .410 was made on an old-style non-magnum action, and the newer rifles are made on a magnum, beefed-up version of the action. So, it doesn't sound like a good idea to put a rifled barrel on it.

This said, in practice some barrels sometimes interchange. I believe, if you get two 18s, a good gunsmith could ensure that one of the actions fits two barrels. If you're certain you do want a two-barrel set, you could try to achieve this with two modern guns, and a person who has a proven skill in barrel fitting. This is a bit of a lottery in that, however, and I'm not certain it is possible, just think it might be.