....And another vote for the Baikal IZH 43!!
I've a 12 ga that was imported by E.A.A. about 20 years ago or so. It was in like-new condition when I bought at a gun show a couple of years back for $175.00.
The gun fits me as if bespoke and I like the way it handles on the swing. These get a bad rap from some for feeling "like a 2 X 4" or whatever... Mine balances on the hinge pin, the weight feels centered in the hands. It's not as lively feeling as the Ugartechea 20 ga I used to have, but I'd get into a nasty habit of poking at flushing quail with that gun, whereas my swing is much more fluid with the Baikal. Mine has barrels that measure a tick under 26".
I shoot sporting clays about 10 times a year with it since buying it. I usually do the course twice in one day. I go through about 8 boxes of shells on one of these outings, so the gun has had about 6,000 rounds through it while I've owned it. It still locks up with the lever left of center, but I'm not too surprised because its a fairly robust gun.
I wish mine was a double trigger model, but the single selective trigger on it has worked well. I like the location of the barrel selector mounted on the base of the trigger blade kind of like a Winchester M-21. I can reverse the firing order of the barrels during the mount, if I want to.
I also like having interchangable choke tubes so I can choke the gun up for the task at hand. I have a full set of Carlson tubes in the Tru-Choke threadding for each barrel, so they can be choked the same if I want to do that.
The chrome lined bores and chambers clean up quick. The gun is rated for use with steel shot with appropriate choke tubes.
Unless I start shooting registered sporting clays targets again, this IZH-43 is probably the only shotgun I am likely to need from here on out.
JP
