baikal mp 651k review

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Picture courtesy of Lennart Johnsen.

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Overall Rating	7.8/10

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Review of Baikal MP 651K

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By Gun Engineer. on 20th Jan 2003

Gun Engineer.'s Ratings

Value for money	4/10
Overall value	4/10
Gun Engineer.'s recommendation

Good Points

8 Shot pellet mode or 23 Shot BB mode,
2 Modes of firing pellets or BB's,
Weight and feel is bang on,
Fast firing of 23 BB's is GREAT FUN!!
It's a rifle and a pistol!

Bad Points

Very low power,
Inaccurate,
Made of aluminium so can be damaged if not treated with care,
The rotary magazine seal could be made better!

General Comments

The Baikal MP 651K is a Russian made Co2 air pistol. The body is constructed of complete aluminium with comfortable, plastic grips. It feels very sturdy and like it is made from steel rather than aluminium. It also comes with a stock and an extended front end, both made from plastic, which can be easily clipped onto the pistol to turn it into a rifle. It's two guns for the price of one!

It has an 8 shot rotary magazine for pellets and an internal 23 shot BB magazine which needs the supplied BB rotary magazine to operate.

The pistol has 2 modes of firing which are: DA mode and SA mode. SA mode is enabled by precocking the hammer. DA mode cocks the hammer as you pull the trigger. This results in a greater effort needed to pull the trigger, but this doesn't take the fun out of this great little pistol.

After I fired off my first 23 BB shots I couldn't put it down, great fun... at close range. I then set my target to a distance of 10 meters, still good fun but the accuracy suffered slightly, 15 meters and the poor BB's and pellets just about reached without having to aim higher than the target! This is to do with the power of the pistol, it is possibly the lowest powered Co2 pistol ever at 233 ft/s in '.177' cal.

I have now modified my pistol to take a telescopic sight and a silencer. I have also improved the seal that sits next to the rotary magazine, which was hardly worth having! I also noted that there was no seal around the Co2 release valve, a small amount of silicone sealant soon fixed that! This improved the gun's performance slightly, at least enough for it to pierce the bottom's of the drinks cans which I was aiming for!

Overall it's a very fun pistol AND rifle, for about £80, just a shame about the power.

24 Comments on Review by Gun Engineer. for Baikal MP 651K

1. Boris. on 21st Mar 2003

   I agree - a fun gun and made by Baikal (AK 47 + Makarov) cannot be too bad. Agree about the sealant in the grip.
   Did you use LEAD shot or metal BB's, the latter are .174 bore so fit like a brick in a plant pot and allow gas to pass by. LEAD shot (usually "Gamo Rounds") are a true .177 and so keep all the gas behind them - more power and they also are cut into by the rifling and more accurate. For pellets try the truncated Prometheus sold as "North Air" -quite light about 6.0 grns but set in a self lubricating body put up your MV by about 20%

2. Boris. on 5th Jun 2003

   How did "Gun Engineer" fit the silencer to his Baikal - can you fit an adaptor and then screw the silencer on or is it a permanent fixture ?

3. Gun Engineer. on 8th Jun 2003

   I reemed out the aluminium case from around the barrel to a depth of 2", then threaded the outside of the barrel. I then made an adapter, which one end would fit in the reemed hole and on the barrel thread. The other end of the adapter would fit onto an existing silencer that I made for an older air rifle. It helps if you own a lathe :O)

4. Boris. on 9th Jun 2003

   Thank you Gun Engineer I will give it a go and see what I can do, although my "engineering" is more hammer, mole grip and super glue than lathe !
   
   I was very impressed by the general finish of all the working parts on the Baikal - the Russians are learning and I lubricated with PTFE oil.
   
   I find it as much, if not more' fun than my Smith and Wesson. This is rated by Umarex with an MV of 120m/sec but the Baikal only 70m/sec, yet mine seem little different - I use Prometheus in both.
   
   Do you reckon that you can increase the Baikal's power by fitting a lower rated valve spring to get a longer opening ?

5. Gun Engineer. on 10th Jul 2003

   I have tried a lower power spring in the release value with no success. I found that the original spring is just the correct strength to not allow all the CO2 to escape when the gun is not cocked (i.e when the hammer is resting on the top of the release value). I have also tried to increase the weight of the hammer by adding lead to the top of it. This made an improvement, but made the pistol look a little ugly as I had to remove the rear site to allow the increased size of the hammer to raise above the pistol casing. The best way to increase the power of this great little pistol would be to design and make a new, more efficient release value with a larger exhaust port for the CO2 to pass through, this is what I’m doing at the moment, time to get on that lathe again…

6. Boris. on 21st Jul 2003

   Ilook forward to hearing about Gun Engineers new valve.
   What do you think of the posibility of modifying the foreend to become a silencer - rubberised/foam seal at pistols muzzle and perhaps a baffle plate at the forend's own exit with perhaps a lining withibn the plastic fore grip / Would it work/ Has anyone tried it?

7. SwD on 11th Sep 2003

   > but the Baikal only 70m/sec,
   That means that no less than 70 m/sec.
   Usually new, not modifyed gun shows:
   For BB is up to 120 m/s. 110-115-120 is normal.
   For 0.5 gram bullet is up to 105 m/s
   For CP 10.5 gr bullet is up to 86 m/s
   After minor valve modification it will show about 130 m/s with BB.
   After enlarging valve volume and gas channel one can get up to 160-170 m/s with BB and up to 140-150 m/s with 0.5 gramm bullet.
   But this will cause a fast temperature lowering with a power loss and extra gas loss. So it is better to limit power to approx 140 m/s with BB. This will save gas, temperature and give more stable power.
   Magazine rotation and stop point tuning is a strong requirement.

8. Boris on 21st Sep 2003

   SWD more details of valve enlargement please. Does one need different sized valve seals as a result - are Russian made seals part of the low output problem ?
   
   Are you talking of metal BBs which are very light but undersized (gas blow by ?) or lead balls of full 4.5 mm which engage the rifling but are heavier ?

9. SwD on 22nd Sep 2003

   Boris:
   > Are you talking of metal BBs ... or lead balls
   I wrote "BB" for metal BB. And "bullets" for lead bullets of full 4.5 mm such as 4.5 mm Crossman Premier 7.9 gr. Result for lead balls of full 4.5 mm are similar to lead bullets, depending on it's weight. Sorry, I don't know the weight of lead balls - never saw it in our city.
   You can calculate it yourself.
   E.g. My modified gun shows 140 m/s with 0.5 gramm lead bullet. Energy is
   140 * 140 * 0.0005 / 2 = 4.9 J
   If another lead bullet or lead ball has weight 0.4 gramm, it's speed will be less a bit than
   sqrt (4.9 * 2 / 0.0004) = 156 m/s
   If another lead bullet will have weight 0.6 gramm, it's speed will be MORE a bit than
   sqrt (4.9 * 2 / 0.0006) = 127 m/s
   Heavy ammo usually accumulates more energy than light one, but get lower speed.
   And lead balls are much more accurate than BB.
   
   > Does one need different sized valve seals as
   > a result - are Russian made seals part of the
   > low output problem ?
   First of all - there is no seal between valve body (yellow metal detail) and a gas channel in a pistol. I used spetial ribbon to seal space between valve body and nest it takes in a pistol. Low output problem is a spetially small 1 mm hole in valve body. But internal valve hole has 4 mm. Gas channel in a pistol has 3 mm. So, you can enlarge hole in a valve body from 1 mm to 3 mm as minimum. But this is the first step.
   
   > more details of valve enlargement please.
   The second step is enlarging valve volume. Useful valve volume is too small - ~0.35 cub. sm. You must enlarge it in a three times at least - up to 1-3 cub. sm. You can do it by creating a valve extender - external chamber, that holds valve spring, has additional volume and has it's own gas spike. It can be added to standard valve instead of standard gas spike detail.
   So it will looks like on this pictures (if pictures or http refs allowed):
   http://www.airgunf.narod.ru/images/vstavka_copy.jpg
   http://www.airgunmod.com/photo/p4.jpg
   http://www.airgunmod.com/photo/p5.jpg

10. Boris on 22nd Sep 2003

    Thank you SwD
    
    I now see where we are heading.
    A 4.5 mm lead ball (I usually use 'Gamo Rounds')
    is about 7.4 grains, much the same as the average pellet. I presume that its aerodynamics are very different - can anyone comment on this ? Also any comments on the very light (5.4 grns) truncated Prometheus pellets which will fit CO2 magazines. They are sold by Simmons as "C02 Pells)
    
    Over to you !

11. SwD on 23rd Sep 2003

    > A 4.5 mm lead ball (I usually use
    > 'Gamo Rounds') is about 7.4 grains
    Oh, I see - it's about 0.48 gram, close to 0.5 gramm. So approximate speed you can see above ~130-150 m/s depending on modifications you made. I think that new, not modified, but normal gun must show 100-110 m/s with Gamo Rouns.
    
    > I presume that its aerodynamics are very
    > different - can anyone comment on this ?
    For speed - people say that the same as for bullets with the same weight. Accuracy is better then with BB. Not so good as with bullets, but compatible. Closer to bullets.
    
    > Also any comments on the very light (5.4 grns)
    > truncated Prometheus pellets which will fit CO2
    > magazines.
    If it is a full 4.5 mm caliber, than it's speed must be compatible or less a bit to BB. But it will lose it's speed as quick as BB. Can't say anything about it's accuracy - I've disappointed in a so light pellets with no head. Usually I use Gamo Pro Hunter, Crossman Premier Domed 7.9 gr. So I try to find pellets with rounded head. Cause AFAIK flat head is good up to 10-15 meters only.

12. Boris on 23rd Sep 2003

    I wonder why CO2 gun manufacturers agreed on such a narrow magazine for most of their guns. They usually take only a short, usually flat headed, pellet. Gamo PT 80, Anics Skif, and Umarex S+W Revolvers are the only ones I have seen that will take slightly longer pointed pellets.
    
    Is it only Benjamin and Crosman who produce pistols with a larger bore and a bit more power?
    
    Is there a genuine reason for this or is it a case
    of "..but we've always done it this way..." !!

13. SwD on 24th Sep 2003

    > I wonder why CO2 gun manufacturers agreed on
    > such a narrow magazine for most of their guns.
    > They usually take only a short, usually flat
    > headed, pellet.
    Well, as for MP651 - I didn't find too long pellets for it. I used domed CP 10.5 gr, sharp head CZ Diabolo Boxer or Gamo Pro Magnum.. All they are longer than usual match pellets. May be there are some kinds of pellets with a dart length.. But what for? Domed or sharp head pellets are good enaugh. Oh, yes, there are some plastic bullets with steel core for extreme penetration. Yes, usually they are too long.
    
    > Is it only Benjamin and Crosman who produce
    > pistols with a larger bore and a bit more power?
    Well, MP651 has 6 inch barrel. It's shorter than Crosman 357 with 8". But MP651 is easy to upgrade. You can disassemble it completely add changes and assemble it back. And it will work. Try to do this with Crosman? After changes it can get compartible or greater power than standard Crosman 357, but eat more CO2 - cause of shorter barrel. But one can make a longer barrel by himself, cause it's possible by construction.
    There is another one Russian CO2 revolver with 12.8 inch barrel:
    http://www.ignatr.narod.ru/Rpsh/rpsh-03.jpg
    with decorative addition:
    http://www.ignatr.narod.ru/Rpsh/rpsh-04.jpg
    Standard modification:
    http://www.ignatr.narod.ru/Rpsh/rpsh-02.jpg
    http://www.ignatr.narod.ru/Rpsh/rpsh-01.jpg
    
    But afraid you can't find it abroad CIS.
    It's called in a three letters - "R P SH", modification VL, produced in Zlatoust city. Power as good as for Crosman. And can be upgraded too for more power. Most of Russian guns can be upgraded. To seal gas leaks, make more comfort, precise, add more power. Simple constructions allow do this. On bad point - you MUST do all this if you wish get comfortable, precise and powerfull gun. Except for spetial sport guns like BAIKAL IZH-46M - they are not for fun and produced to be good as is.
    
    > Is there a genuine reason for this
    I think that most CO2 pistols are designed for shooting at close range - up to 10 meters. Usual match pellets with flat head are good and enaugh for this range and this purpose. I mean that engineers think in this way.

14. Boris on 24th Sep 2003

    Thank you Swd for all the addresses. I will have a go at them tonight.
    
    We are becoming almost a private chat line - perhaps nobody else likes to experiment with and /or talk air/co2pistols. I agree it is good to be able to strip guns without braeking off small plastic pieces. All praise to Baikal. Pre 1950 Webleys used to be strippable too.

15. ricky2m on 24th Sep 2003

    Nice pictures SwD! I love this gun so much after I discovered how much it could be upgraded and tweaked. I am about to try my own valve tweak soon - it's amazing how much power that you got from your new valve. Could you tell me what you mean by the 'Magazine rotation and stop point tuning is a strong requirement' that you said in your first comment? Here is a picture of my gun: http://www.geocities.com/ricky2m_1974/my_mp651k.jpg 'Boris' - where in England are you? I am in Rochester, Kent

16. SwD on 25th Sep 2003

    ricky2m: Your picture is really cool!
    Usual way to power for MP651 - enlarge valve volume and gas channel in pistol and valve body. I even limited the power of my gun - cause temperature of gas lowers very quickly and power lowers cause of it. Now I have moderate (135-140 m/s with Gamo Hunter), but still good and stable power and I can increase it when I need - I limited valve opening time.
    
    > Could you tell me what you mean by
    > the 'Magazine rotation and stop point tuning
    Well, I mean that cylinder rotation can be tuned. It stops just before shot, but this position may not be ideal for bullet to fly out from the cylinder into the barrel. I don't know the correct technical term for it - axis of barrel and cylinder hole must belong each other. If not - than power could be lost - if cylinder overrotarring or underotarring - bullet hits burrel entry and lose power. You even can find specific marks on bullet cause of this. You can compare it by measuring speeds bullet when putted directly into the burrel (from cylinder side) and mhen shot from cylinder as it must be. Ideal is to lose 1-2 m/s when shooting from cylinder. For now I have ~4 m/s lost. But it still precise in shooting. Some of us makes the barrel shorter to eliminate this large entry diameter.
    http://i.guns.ru/forums/icons/attachments/24_000529_000047_15205.jpg
    Or even
    http://i.guns.ru/forums/icons/attachments/24_000529_000056_10189.jpg
    I have the first version. And thinking about why not to try the second one.

17. Boris on 25th Sep 2003

    Compared to you guys I am in the "Stone Age" as regards gun modification. For me wiping it over with an oily rag is the cutting edge of technology.
    
    Keep the chat rolling.
    
    Great pictures Swd, but I could not raise Rickys at all -"not available2 !!!

18. ricky2m on 26th Sep 2003

    I will be dedicating a web site to this great little pistol very soon - just hope Boris will be able to see it! I have now strapped a laser dot sight underneath the silencer, this is just the best fun ever, especially with a full load of BB's in the chamber. I have a few more modifications to do too – I shall describe these on my web page.

19. SwD on 26th Sep 2003

    ricky2m:
    I see long silencer on your picture. You can make longer barrel instead of standard one, with additional length on 1/2 of silencer length, and make silencer integrated - so total gun length and view will be as on your picture, but with longer barrel inside silencer - more power, more precision, more fun!
    Usually people take barrel from old air rifle for this purposes.
    Also people said that a club strongly recommended to your gun :)

20. Bertie on 28th Sep 2003

    Yes, guys - keep the 'chat rolling' as Boris wrote in his 25 Sept. posting and I just LOVED the oily rag bit!!
    As a CO2 virgin, I'm fascinated and I'm learning a lot from you lot!

21. Boris on 30th Sep 2003

    Welcome aboard Bertie. I am looking for a more powerful (thats a joke with CO2) pistol
    Benjamin (5.0- mm) manage 5.5 ft lbs with a locked bolt - could we use their valve in a Baikal - Gun Engineer would know I'm sure.
    
    Hold on I see that the mainly soft plastic Daisy 622X (Beretta 92 look alike) is credited with 4.5 ft lbs in 5.5 mm form without a sealed bolt - how do they do it ?

22. Bertie on 1st Oct 2003

    Thanks for the invitation Boris - I'll gladly come aboard.
    Received a Smith&Wesson 586 6in. yesterday and have used up one capsule. Regarding power - some very interesting results from my trials but I'll do some more tests as I don't want to post any comment/s resulting from a first flush of enthusiasm. I want to to obtain REPEATABLE reults.
    Although the local "gun shop" is 99% fishing, they stock CO2 capsules, 10 came with the gun and they're not going to last long. Please watch this space.

23. Treetraveler on 26th Jan 2007

    Hey fellas: maybe I'm having a brain fart here, but what tool set do you use to get the proper force/no scratch ration when separating the valve bushing from the adapter?
    
    Recent shooting had developed a hissing.
    I am guessing that this must be a machine pressed valve?
    I enjoyed your reviews so far and pictures everyone, but do you have any of how to separate the two without destroying it?
    
    Reminds me of when I had my first Gamo P-23 explode apart in my hands when trying to fix the bb-feed.
    
    I don't know if you can all get them where you live, but the top fps pellet I buy is from Beeman: the hollow points.

24. Alex801 on 12th Jul 2008

    How do I rebuild the valve for the co2

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