A Brace of Break-Barrel Baikals

[Iain K D]

Apart from the fact that ‘it works’ – this after the strip down, clean and re-lube that even the factory handbook says is necessary – I can’t comment on how well the MP53M actually shoots, in practice. I thought it might still be interesting to highlight the differences between my older, 2002 made, Izh-53M, and newer MP53M.

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...h53M/001_1.jpg

Big difference, of course, is in the grips – no longer right-handed only with a thumb rest and (slight) palm swell, now ambidextrous and merely gently rounded off. Moulded-in stippling covers pretty much all the grip, and it is relieved slightly for the benefit of the trigger finger presumably – it doesn’t do anything on the opposite side for my thumb.

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...h53M/002_1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...Izh53M/003.jpg

Overall, though, still a fairly comfortable hold; maybe not quite as sharply raked back, and possibly tending to push the hand down a bit lower – on the Izh53 you feel closer to the bore, and that your finger is reaching down, and not just forward, to the trigger. The actions are the same size (I haven’t swapped), the triggers are in the same position and there must be the same room at the back of the gun for the cocking linkage – but I don’t think this is just an illusion on the older Izh-53.

It may be too early to say this but the grip material feels much more durable than – ahem – one or two other break-barrel pistols.

Sights are also different, a one-piece plastic foresight and a rearsight partially fitting into the cylinder end cap, rather than on short rails atop the air cylinder. The older design had the benefit of being able to adjust the sight base, as the handbook mentioned, and possibly of fitting a red dot sight – I certainly tried that once and it seemed to work.

The sight picture is basically unchanged however – a good, broad foresight blade and matching rearsight notch. The windage adjustment is the same on both rearsights, meaning the adjusting screw can be unscrewed completely to easily remove the sight blade – a spare came with the Izh-53, together with a spare piston seal: now you only get the steel cleaning rod.

The box, by the way, shows an intermediate version with ambidextrous grip and older style sights; the handbook and its illustrations are fully up to date.

One point that will not be obvious is the trigger – this now lacks any adjustment and is just single stage, not too heavy but with a long pull; I wonder how easy it will be to predict the let-off when up on aim. There is no adjustment screw, nor the small spring between the stamped metal trigger blade and the solid metal trigger sear behind it. The larger spring, behind the trigger sear (to use Baikal’s term) doesn’t actually do much, at least once the gun is cocked: pulling the trigger slightly and then relaxing leaves the trigger sear where it is – there is too much friction for its spring to overcome – and the trigger blade flopping about loosely.

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...Izh53M/004.jpg

This is what the adjustment used to look like - the adjustment screw bore on the solid trigger sear, while the trigger blade remained forward, giving a two-stage effect.

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...0Izh53M/03.jpg

The MP53M was tested a couple of years ago in Airgun World when the trigger was adjustable, even if this required removing the grip to get access to the adjustment. The reviewer rightly took issue with the instructions to cock an unloaded gun, screw in the adjustment until the gun fires, and then back off the adjustment half a turn; the sections he refers to in the instructions have now been removed.

Iain

[gingernut]

That's exactly how the trigger on my 1905 Bonehill Brittania is set.
Plus ca change as we say in Dorset.

[averageplinker]

Have you used the new one much and if so how is the trigger?
Cheers

[Rob M]

Thanks for the information, I have an Izh-53 from about fifteen years ago and like it a lot so it's interesting to see how it's evolving. I wonder if it's possible to upgrade the trigger by drilling and adding a nut? The frame of the pistol still has that place for the nut ahead of the trigger.