Review and Notes on the Baikal IZH-60 (MP-60) Air Rifle
This is a low-velocity (<500 ft/sec) target rifle, spring-piston powered and configured as a side-cocker.
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Single-shot vs repeater
My other air rifle is a Daisy 953, and it's convertible to function as either a single-shot or a repeater. When I bought it, I got five extra magazines, and I enjoyed using those for some while, but for no reason I could determine, the magazines eventually began feeding irregularly and I quit using them.
The IZH rifles come in two distinct versions: the IZH-60, which is single-shot only, and the IZH-61, which is repeater only. I chose the single-shot for simplicity and reliability.
***
Factory sights
I was hoping to make use of the iron sights on this gun, but I couldn't--not well enough to shoot anything like a group, anyway. The comb of the buttstock is far too high for me to be able to get a sight picture. I tried, but it was awfully uncomfortable and didn't work. I ordered a red-dot for it and that brought the sight line up to a comfortable height.
I didn't notice this until I was installing the red-dot, but both front and rear factory sights were misaligned, a complaint I'd seen a couple of times in other online reviews of this rifle. Aligning the front sight is as easy as twisting the barrel (which is threaded into the receiver). The rear sight was canted sideways, and could not be straightened: the hinged, spring-loaded elevating portion was somehow twisted.
In order to give myself a clear sight picture through the red-dot, I completely removed the front sight. This isn't hard, but the assembly is a little mystifying to look at. Unscrew the cap on the end of the barrel and you'll see that the front post appears to be trapped. Just tap on the back of the housing and it loosens up and falls off, along with the front post. Following that, I removed the blade from the rear sight, then ran its elevation knob all the way down. Replaced the barrel cap--done.
***
Fit, finish, and ergonomics
Function took precedence over appearance in the manufacture of this gun (except for the sights), and not everything was well thought out, in my opinion. Finishing details were a little slapdash. Still, it all works reliably. A number of rivets were used in assembly; I'd have liked to see better fasteners, but it is what it is.
Comfort was NOT something they paid attention to in the design and manufacture of this gun. You'll see three of the major problems in the photos.
1) Sharp edges.
They sliced a long slot in the cocking lever just aft of the plastic handle, in order to assemble its latch assembly, and they left ragged edges that will cut you. Easy to fix; just scrape them down with the corner of a small file.
2) Lumps
Someone had the mistaken idea that a thumbrest/finger-groove would be a good feature. My trigger finger disagreed. A sanding drum on a Dremel got rid of most of it and I smoothed it out by scraping with a hobby knife.
3) Bolt handle
No knob, just the sheared-off end of a piece of wire. My fix was to apply a little blob of epoxy and position the gun so that the end of the bolt handle was pointed straight down until it set.
4) Thumb abrasion
The receiver overhangs the pistol grip, and it pressed on the joint of my thumb. Combined with the recoil of the gun, this wore a raw spot on my skin. My solution to this was to wear a thin fingerless glove on my shooting hand.
5) Cocking lever latch
The latch release is on the backside of the plastic cocking handle, and if you push straight in on it with the end of your finger, you'll hurt yourself. To painlessly unlatch the lever, wrap two or three fingers around the plastic handle from the top, and use your thumb to engage the rear of the plastic handle (right where those sharp edges are). Pinch your thumb and forefinger together, engaging the end of the latch release with the side of your finger. See photo.
The latch may be sticky at first. I found it difficult to re-engage it after cocking. Smear a tiny bit of grease on the ramp on the inner side of the cocking lever and on the pointed pin that's attached to the receiver. Also oil the latch release where it slides in the cocking lever.
Cocking effort is very light; I only need two fingers on the handle.
***
Left-hand shooting
Before I bought this, I was a little concerned about the cocking lever being against my face, since I shoot left handed. I called Pyramyd Air, and they told me it wouldn't be a problem, and it isn't. This is actually a nice gun for lefties; you can keep hold of the pistol grip throughout the cocking and reloading procedure.
Recoil
Got a good cheek weld on that hard plastic stock? You'll wonder if your fillings are all still in place after a session. This thing kicks ferociously, but I think it's due to the light weight of it. Of course, it could also be that a solid cheek weld puts your face right next to the spring tube.
Adding weight to this rifle isn't as easy as I'd have liked. All the cavities are closed off with covers that are somewhat carelessly glued in place. With the action out, I opened a bigger hole into the pistol grip and packed it with a mixture of silicone caulk and junk hardware. Then I pried the end cap off the forend and did the same. I think I got a couple extra pounds in it, but it didn't help much. I didn't even try to do anything with the buttstock.
Hold sensitivity
I'm getting very good results pulling the gun into my shoulder and using a tight cheek weld. I don't grip the forend at all, though, I lay it over the back of my arm.
Trigger
This is one of the nicest parts of this rifle, if not the nicest. Very light and butter-smooth. The pull is a little long, though. I ran the adjustment screw about two turns in, but couldn't tell much difference, and I left it alone.
Accuracy, ammo
I did break-in with over 500 rounds of Daisy wadcutters, and I wasn't too concerned with accuracy using those. Good thing, because they didn't deliver much. I switched to the RWS Meisterkugeln 8.2 gr that I've been shooting in the 953, and the results were a lot better, but still not as good as I'd hoped for. I tried H&N Sport (8.18 gr wadcutters) and got noticeably better results from them. I'll be sticking with those in order to keep my expenses down, and I'll still get good results. No deformed pellets or flyers in more than half a tin so far.
The red-dot sight I'm using adds a little uncertainty to aiming: it projects a 3 MOA dot onto a black bullseye with a 2 MOA white ten-ring. The effect is cool; when I'm on target, the center of the bull lights up like a tiny LED. That still leaves one whole MOA of uncertainty, though, and that can be enough to lose the ten.
Overall, it's surprisingly accurate and a lot of fun to shoot once you put a decent sighting system on it. I think it's well worth the price.
This is a low-velocity (<500 ft/sec) target rifle, spring-piston powered and configured as a side-cocker.
***
Single-shot vs repeater
My other air rifle is a Daisy 953, and it's convertible to function as either a single-shot or a repeater. When I bought it, I got five extra magazines, and I enjoyed using those for some while, but for no reason I could determine, the magazines eventually began feeding irregularly and I quit using them.
The IZH rifles come in two distinct versions: the IZH-60, which is single-shot only, and the IZH-61, which is repeater only. I chose the single-shot for simplicity and reliability.
***
Factory sights
I was hoping to make use of the iron sights on this gun, but I couldn't--not well enough to shoot anything like a group, anyway. The comb of the buttstock is far too high for me to be able to get a sight picture. I tried, but it was awfully uncomfortable and didn't work. I ordered a red-dot for it and that brought the sight line up to a comfortable height.
I didn't notice this until I was installing the red-dot, but both front and rear factory sights were misaligned, a complaint I'd seen a couple of times in other online reviews of this rifle. Aligning the front sight is as easy as twisting the barrel (which is threaded into the receiver). The rear sight was canted sideways, and could not be straightened: the hinged, spring-loaded elevating portion was somehow twisted.
In order to give myself a clear sight picture through the red-dot, I completely removed the front sight. This isn't hard, but the assembly is a little mystifying to look at. Unscrew the cap on the end of the barrel and you'll see that the front post appears to be trapped. Just tap on the back of the housing and it loosens up and falls off, along with the front post. Following that, I removed the blade from the rear sight, then ran its elevation knob all the way down. Replaced the barrel cap--done.
***
Fit, finish, and ergonomics
Function took precedence over appearance in the manufacture of this gun (except for the sights), and not everything was well thought out, in my opinion. Finishing details were a little slapdash. Still, it all works reliably. A number of rivets were used in assembly; I'd have liked to see better fasteners, but it is what it is.
Comfort was NOT something they paid attention to in the design and manufacture of this gun. You'll see three of the major problems in the photos.
1) Sharp edges.
They sliced a long slot in the cocking lever just aft of the plastic handle, in order to assemble its latch assembly, and they left ragged edges that will cut you. Easy to fix; just scrape them down with the corner of a small file.
2) Lumps
Someone had the mistaken idea that a thumbrest/finger-groove would be a good feature. My trigger finger disagreed. A sanding drum on a Dremel got rid of most of it and I smoothed it out by scraping with a hobby knife.
3) Bolt handle
No knob, just the sheared-off end of a piece of wire. My fix was to apply a little blob of epoxy and position the gun so that the end of the bolt handle was pointed straight down until it set.
4) Thumb abrasion
The receiver overhangs the pistol grip, and it pressed on the joint of my thumb. Combined with the recoil of the gun, this wore a raw spot on my skin. My solution to this was to wear a thin fingerless glove on my shooting hand.
5) Cocking lever latch
The latch release is on the backside of the plastic cocking handle, and if you push straight in on it with the end of your finger, you'll hurt yourself. To painlessly unlatch the lever, wrap two or three fingers around the plastic handle from the top, and use your thumb to engage the rear of the plastic handle (right where those sharp edges are). Pinch your thumb and forefinger together, engaging the end of the latch release with the side of your finger. See photo.
The latch may be sticky at first. I found it difficult to re-engage it after cocking. Smear a tiny bit of grease on the ramp on the inner side of the cocking lever and on the pointed pin that's attached to the receiver. Also oil the latch release where it slides in the cocking lever.
Cocking effort is very light; I only need two fingers on the handle.
***
Left-hand shooting
Before I bought this, I was a little concerned about the cocking lever being against my face, since I shoot left handed. I called Pyramyd Air, and they told me it wouldn't be a problem, and it isn't. This is actually a nice gun for lefties; you can keep hold of the pistol grip throughout the cocking and reloading procedure.
Recoil
Got a good cheek weld on that hard plastic stock? You'll wonder if your fillings are all still in place after a session. This thing kicks ferociously, but I think it's due to the light weight of it. Of course, it could also be that a solid cheek weld puts your face right next to the spring tube.
Adding weight to this rifle isn't as easy as I'd have liked. All the cavities are closed off with covers that are somewhat carelessly glued in place. With the action out, I opened a bigger hole into the pistol grip and packed it with a mixture of silicone caulk and junk hardware. Then I pried the end cap off the forend and did the same. I think I got a couple extra pounds in it, but it didn't help much. I didn't even try to do anything with the buttstock.
Hold sensitivity
I'm getting very good results pulling the gun into my shoulder and using a tight cheek weld. I don't grip the forend at all, though, I lay it over the back of my arm.
Trigger
This is one of the nicest parts of this rifle, if not the nicest. Very light and butter-smooth. The pull is a little long, though. I ran the adjustment screw about two turns in, but couldn't tell much difference, and I left it alone.
Accuracy, ammo
I did break-in with over 500 rounds of Daisy wadcutters, and I wasn't too concerned with accuracy using those. Good thing, because they didn't deliver much. I switched to the RWS Meisterkugeln 8.2 gr that I've been shooting in the 953, and the results were a lot better, but still not as good as I'd hoped for. I tried H&N Sport (8.18 gr wadcutters) and got noticeably better results from them. I'll be sticking with those in order to keep my expenses down, and I'll still get good results. No deformed pellets or flyers in more than half a tin so far.
The red-dot sight I'm using adds a little uncertainty to aiming: it projects a 3 MOA dot onto a black bullseye with a 2 MOA white ten-ring. The effect is cool; when I'm on target, the center of the bull lights up like a tiny LED. That still leaves one whole MOA of uncertainty, though, and that can be enough to lose the ten.
Overall, it's surprisingly accurate and a lot of fun to shoot once you put a decent sighting system on it. I think it's well worth the price.
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