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Montreal...
Great guys to deal with... I just bought a Baikal 12Ga SxS from them... and I am eagerly awaiting its arrival
EB
ebruder, did you buy the open hammer SXS they had on their site? If so, let me know if you're ever ready to part with it. That goes for anyone else who has a Baikal 12 ga. open hammer SXS, too.
My opinion of Baikals in general is that they are exceedingly well built for the price.
They tend to be poorly fit and the finish leaves much to be desired as well. The fit is so bad in some cases that the wood will be proud of the metal by 1/8" above the lock and 1/16" proud below the same lock. The finish on the metal parts also tends to be rough. But, they do put more effort into the guns that they price a bit higher, such as their U/O's. There's a place in my gun room for Baikal because I like to experiment and develop new smithing skills. I'm not about to take a "best" gun and start practicing on it.
I love SXS's. I love double triggers. And, I love open hammers. Baikal offers me all of this in a gun that I don't have to worry about ruining while I experiment with refinishing techniques. I've refinished one so far, and it came out looking WAY better afterwards than it did stock. I'm confident that the next one will look even better.
My advise to anyone considering the puchase of a Baikal is, do it. You won't regret it. You won't get ripped off (I've never seen one for sale for too much). You won't make anything on the deal, either (don't buy because it looks cheap and you think you can sell for more later - that's all their worth on the market). But, you will get a durable and reliable gun. If you decide to sell it later, you'll get your money out of it.
Not a gun that will turn heads at the range, but a gun that deserves more respect than it gets, IMO.
