The allure of Soviet workhorses

Double barrel shotguns and single shots are always an interesting thing. Unlike pump actions or semi autos, most were never mass produced. Some shop in Europe would make a few hundred or few thousand then switch to making something else. Most of the parts aren’t available anymore but most shops here that specialize in them can make a lot of the required parts by hand if need be (as they likely were originally).
 
Horilka said:
Is there any demand in a short guide on these shotguns, I.e. models, years, differences?
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Man there would be some small demand for a 300 page published novel on the topic if someone wanted to write it. I doubt it would sell many copies but then again neither did unintended conesequences (John Ross) and it’s the best gun book written to date. Mossad Ayoob can’t sell any work at all so there is that.

Old double barrels are like werewolves and maybe it’s best they stay that way
 
Ungrateful said:
Man there would be some small demand for a 300 page published novel on the topic if someone wanted to write it. I doubt it would sell many copies but then again neither did unintended conesequences (John Ross) and it’s the best gun book written to date. Mossad Ayoob can’t sell any work at all so there is that.

Old double barrels are like werewolves and maybe it’s best they stay that way
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Damn , I’m on a roll tonight. That is going into my footnote thing
 
Ungrateful said:
Man there would be some small demand for a 300 page published novel on the topic if someone wanted to write it. I doubt it would sell many copies but then again neither did unintended conesequences (John Ross) and it’s the best gun book written to date. Mossad Ayoob can’t sell any work at all so there is that.

Old double barrels are like werewolves and maybe it’s best they stay that way
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You must have had a bad experience with a double at one time, judging from your disdain for them.
Others , myself included, can run a decent score or shoot birds all all day long with them with absolutely no issues.
I have bought and sold hundreds of shotguns over the last 50 years and have seen some very bad semis and pumps as well as good O/U's and SxS guns. If a gun will not shoot,the design is not the problem, the particular gun has an issue.
That is why you will often hear " buy the gun not the brand " when looking at used guns.
Cat
 
Nice selection of Russian doubles!
- I kind of like them, probably because they remind me of some Russian friends in some ways.

I wouldn't mind a nice shorter barrel version of a MTs-11 (or 111)...

Aleksei Morozov was supposed to come out with a book about Russian shotguns... That is, untill the whole Ukraine situation came about.
 
brybenn said:
I had a an ij58 on 12ga that I used for about 10 years for everything and I recently sold it after firing over 85000 rnds. It was still tight on face. The hook on the forend latch wore down and was razor sharp but I never had an issue with thst gun. I kept my baikal mp221 sxs 4570 which is built on a very similar frame. They had very similar dimensions
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85000 rounds 8500 rounds a year
 
Licensed to kill said:
I hear you, why Im still looking. Hammer sxs’s seem quite common in 16ga and not TOO difficult to find. For whatever reason it seems that as you go smaller than 16, hammer guns become more difficult to find.
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A good friend and member here recently took delivery of a completely restored mid 1870s English 20 gauge bar in wood hammer gun. By.....hmmm....who was it again? Oh yeah.....Purdey.

It's spectacular. Won the Annual Gun of the Year trophy at the Upper Canada Double Gun Classic.
 
I've posted about this before, but the year Expo 67 was on in Montreal the Soviets had a boutique style store separate from their big pavilion and in there they had at least two Commie products of interest to the teenaged Big Bad. One was Soviet cigarettes (not recommended) and the other was a small selection of triple barrelled shotguns, looked to be a 12 gauge and they were NOT drillings. The smokes were cheap and also of course novelties (sold loose in a tray and 3 for a nickel, but they were half cardboard tube) and I bought plenty, the shotgun was beyond my means and I'm quite sure the joyless looking KGB types inside (all gruff hairy males in heavy 3 piece suits, always) would not have allowed me to handle one without a display of cash, but I often wonder if buying one would have led to a lifetime of maintenance problems or what. My father said triple barrels were likely in use there because they couldn't build a decent working pump gun, lol.
 
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Were you able to find any reference to those Soviet triple-barreled shotguns? I saw some drilling (including drilling with 3rd bore being small calibre smooth-bore) but never with all three shot barrels.
 
My recently acquired Remington(Baikal) Spartan SPR 220 in .20ga. Very nice to carry with the 20” barrel and I shoot it well with the SK/IC chokes for grouse. This will be carried lots this fall…
 

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