reduce spring tension on Baikal shotgun

[ken g]

Hi: The springs on my Baikal double are so stiff that it takes three hands to load. Two to hold it open, and one to
put the shells in. Has anyone had these apart and filed or ground the springs? It was new in 1975, and has leaf springs.
Thank you in advance for any info.

Ken g

 

[BCRider]

I'm using a Baikal for my cowboy action shooting. I don't recall it being as bad as you describe when it was full length. But I then cut mine down to 20 inches to make it more of a coach gun so I can move around more easily within the stages. Like you I found that the barrels wanted to close up too much. So I stripped down the action and ground the mainsprings somewhat. It's a fair amount of work to get in that far. The springs are way in deep.

When I ground mine I kept the marks running along the spring and I specifically did not grind at all around the elbow of the L shaped spring. But I thinned both legs to either side of the elbow. It's been almost 8 years though. I seem to recall that I thinned away from the elbow in an arc using an 8 inch grinding wheel as my curve. And I probably cut the spring down to around 75 to 80% the original thickness in the areas that were most reduced. I also SLIGHTLY ground off the cocking fingers that stick out and are pulled down by the foregrip. That reduced the spring back after cocking. You REALLY want to go easy on this last trick though. It's preciously critical and a slight bit too much means no cocking at all. But this did decrease the spring back amount that occurs after the hammers catch. The trick is to ensure you maintain at least a touch of that spring back so you know you can catch the hammer notches at cocking.

As it happens I've never had a misfire other than two black powder shell reloads and the primers are all seriously dented. So I really should make another trip into the gun and thin the mains just a hair more. And while I'm at it I might very slightly increase the opening angle and dress the cocking fingers down a touch more so it's a clear drop into the chambers. As it sits now about half the time I set the fresh rounds and have to press the heads down lightly to make the rims lever against the receiver a hair and force the barrel angle more open.

 

[ken g]

Thank you. I probably exaggerated a bit on the description, I did use it for CAS the first few years I was in the sport. Now I use a Stoeger, which
works, but is not as nice a gun, but it opens, and probably saved me ten seconds every round. I don't really NEED to do the Baikal, but it
would be nice if it worked better. I Can't even get the stock off of mine, it has two tang screws instead of the one all the way through from the butt end,
and when I try to get the stock off, it hits on the safety? Am I missing something?
Ken g

 

[BCRider]

Ken sent me a PM asking the same thing which I answered. But the bottom line is for anyone doing the same thing that the stock doesn't come off to the rear. Instead there is a bottom plate on the action with the lower tang. That plate has to come off and the trigger group goes with it. That allows the stock to lift off the upper tang and come free of the action. Posted for those that might be running into the same issue. This bottom plate construction is pretty common on double barrel guns from what I've seen.