New baikal semi

seaview36

looking to buy a new baikal semi, just wondering has anyone came across the new mp 155 model? any thoughts on it compared to the 153?...

warehouse1

For the price of a new bakial. you would probably get a good second hand beretta or browning semi.

seaview36

most of the beretta semis are around €850 price mark? well for the 391 models..im on a fairly tight budget unfortunately.

Snakezilla

If Id found an MP153 when I was in the market for changing my semi a while back I would have jumped at the chance. Ive always had a thing for them, one of the lads in the gun club has one and Ive done a bit of pigeon shooting with it (we play swapsies when decoying :P) He even dropped it when we were crossing a river a few years ago and it sank into the silt. A quick dis-assembly and rough wipe down and it was right as rain and ready to go again. Theyre tanks of yokes. Cant give my opinion of a 155 cos Ive never seen one, but Id be happy with an MP 153 ! Theyve a 3.5 inch chamber too, ideal for magnum loads for foxes and geese

seaview36

yeah from the reviews iv read they seem like a real tank...club is starting to get into a small bit of clay shooting too lately though and i dont know much on what they're lik for clays only that they're a bit heavy, thats why im just wondering about the 155, seems to be lighter with nicer trigger pulls and better balanced apparently! ...i currently do a small bit of everthing, clays, foxes, ducks and crows so looking for an all around gun that wont break the bank! any suggestions are much appreciated!

cookimonster

Again can't speak about the new one but I do have the 153, they are built like tanks, that's one of the reasons I bought it.
The finish on some of the parts are a bit rough and the paint on the reciever picks up small scratchs. But and this is a BIG BUT they shoot well and keep on shooting well. It will shoot everything from 28g 7's all the way up to BB with no problems. I've dropped mine in the bog, left it for weeks after serious days on the pigeons with out cleaning and still have it function flawlessly while shooting a round of clays.

They are heavy but I only really notice this after a full day of rough shooting, decoying or clays aren't an issue. They like other semis can be a bit more awkward in the field regarding obstacles and I am thinking of adding a double barrel to my collection but will still keep the semi for less energetic outings.

Chokes are rated for steal and you get a IC, M, F (or CYL, IC, M lead) and unfortunately its next to impossible to get extra chokes for them at the moment. As with other single barrels you can be limited with clay shooting. At the clubs recent Christmas shoot I could have done with a extra barrel / choke for some of those more imaginative sporting pairs. You know the ones, where one is near skeet like and the second clay is passing the horizon in the blink of an eye.

If you want a fast shooter that's capable of high volumes of sustained use at a budget price I can certainly recommend the MP153. If the new gun is lighter this may be a plus, but it may be a sacrifice in the overall robustness of the gun.

seaview36

cheers lads, great thanks for that! final and last question :P how did ye find it for clay shooting? hitting them as good as others? i know alot of it is the man behind the gun but would do ya think they're a nice gun for shooting clay's with? balanced ok?

cookimonster

Unfortunately my answer is- how long is a piece of string? It is down to the man: skill, build and mentality.

I have/ do shoot o/u on clays and am no better or worse for the difference but I am at best an average shot. The top scoring lads in the club can shoot just as well with it as with there own.

Because of their extra length they can be slower to swing and not as pokey for quick sporting clays. I find it good though on the DTL.

A lot of lads will dismiss the changing out of chokes preferring to stick to set combinations or a particular single but if your serious about clays changing chokes will give you a distinct advantage over various trap set ups. Clay shooting has evolved an awful lot since it conception and in reality many trap set ups no longer represent game shooting. Shooting DTL with Skeet chokes and Skeet with a full choke will certainly tax you. As said in my previous post you will find the second barrel / choke option a bonus on true pairs, fur and feather etc, especially on pairs where the second bird is moving away from the original shot. The solution to these stands for the single barrel is an in between choke. I shoot DTL with IM, crossing pairs, springing teal, dropping ducks, high loopers etc with Mod and anything close in, rabbits, Skeet and close loopers with IC.

I like semi autos and I do much more hunting now than clays so it was my goto choice for a new cabinet addition but many of the lads I know who do a good bit of both own two guns, one specificly for clays. Then there are those who only shoot clays and stick with O/U. I know a few who traded semi's for O/U as they only wanted one gun and wanted to get in clays a bit more.

The choice is yours, my advice weigh up how much you are going to get into the clay scene versus hunting..............

cookimonster

Seaview36,

Just done a bit of Googleing about the 155, there's some bad press about it especially the original batches and funny thing is its not all from the Baikel Bashing Bunch. There's a lot of complaints from die hard Baikel owners.
It's not getting the same acceptance that the 153 got.........

duckman!!

i had the 153 and it took 1000s of rounds before it would recycle clay rounds but gave up on it and bought a beretta A400
and havent looked back.

another friend of mine bought the 155 and he has given back his first 1 with alot of problems, and his 2nd is having just as much **** going on with it!!

my advice....... STAY AWAY!!

my 1st gun was the baikal o/u and i loved it, but the semi-autos are
just not up 2 it!!!

Conmaicne Mara

duckman!! wrote: »

i had the 153 and it took 1000s of rounds before it would recycle clay rounds

28gram? Mine does, without adjusting the gas, has shot anything I put through it.

cookimonster

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

28gram? Mine does, without adjusting the gas, has shot anything I put through it.

Same with mine.

There is a factory recommended break in procedure before shooting light loads. If memory serves me right its 100 36g heavy load or something like that. Personally I stripped, cleaned and then hand cycled the action roughly 100 times. On the clay ground I put a box of 32g 6 through it and then went on to shoot a 60 bird round of clays no problem and haven't looked back since.

All gun makes and models can go wrong and in most cases, not all, its down to the human element.

seaview36

cheers lads, really disappointed about that 155 sounded perfect considering its improved features but guess ill stay away now..better to find all this out before my money was spent!

cookimonster

If you want a cheap semi that will cycle everything put through it and is built to last I will still stand by the MP153 and recommend it. Of course if you come across a more prestigious make in your price range go for it, but make sure it can handle all your shooting needs. Not all that glitters is gold ya de ya de yaaa....:D