TargetTalk

I just bought one of these stroker pellet guns and am enjoying shooting it. It makes me wonder if their decision was based on something dangerous about the guns, quality, price margins, or inability to import them.

I don't know what the situation is like in the States, but here in Canada it's been impossible to buy an 46M for about a year+ because the manufacturer (Baikal) has (for whatever reason) been unable to supply them. Where did you buy yours?

I asked them that very question, as I was considering buying one recently from the Pilkington's. There were several, but the two biggest players are: 1) there are no issues with the quality of the gun, but 2) they had experienced 16 - 18 month wait periods for the guns, which is a hard pill for any reseller or customer to put up with as regular fare. They also said that Arizona Air Guns was another family business, if you prefer to support a family vice a corporation. As of a month ago Arizona Air was still listing 46M's.

I didn't realize I was not signed in. The above response about IZH-46M's was mine.

Tom W

Bought mine from the now defunct Armrus, here in Montreal.

You might try the new Canada Baikal distributor:
http://www.baikalcanada.com/air_pistols.htm

They do seem to be more interested in selling shotguns than anything else.

I have the 46M, 35M, and Viking

all dealers have complained of the inability for the manufacturer to deliver product to the US, reportedly their is large demand outside of the US for these affordable SSP pistols that perform very nicely for their pricepoint...

Many of us also wonder why they haven't exported any of their 10M PCP Pistol as well...

Regards,

Tony

Another source is the Buy Sell Trade section in this foum. I picked up a LNIB, saved some money, and no wait.

If Pilk isn't selling them any more, I won't feel bad about showing them on another vendor's website:

http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/show. ... IZH-Baikal

They appear in-stock and available. Personally, I LOVE the IZH. There is no reason for a more expensive pistol until you're shooting 560's with an IZH :)

I've personally heard 3 stories of shooters shooting 550+ with an IZH, buying a world-class, name brand PCP pistol only to watch their scores drop.

Of course the scores will come back up, just a matter of time. The point is; more expensive doesn't necessarily = better scores.

I got mine at pyramidair. I liked that I could also get a B-square mount to hold my scope for bullseye practice. I see they have a 1/9/09 in stock date so they must have been out of stock here recently. We'll see if they get any in.

I got mine at pyramidair. I liked that I could also get a B-square mount to hold my scope for bullseye practice. I see they have a 1/9/09 in stock date so they must have been out of stock here recently. We'll see if they get any in.

From what I hear most of their firearms are made in batches to order, not much is made to stock.
If they receive small orders they wait until the sum adds up to a sensible batch, hence long waits.

Oz wrote: They appear in-stock and available. Personally, I LOVE the IZH. There is no reason for a more expensive pistol until you're shooting 560's with an IZH :)

Umm, IYNSHO. There's many reasons to buy the right gun first, and learn it. And to state there's a score based target you should acheive before upgrading is with respect, poor advice (IMHO). Every one is different and everyone has different goals and targets. The simple fact is if you buy a cheaper gun with a view to upgrading, you'll be paying out more money than if you just buy the right gun first time.

Rob.

RobStubbs wrote: Umm, IYNSHO. There's many reasons to buy the right gun first, and learn it. And to state there's a score based target you should achieve before upgrading is with respect, poor advice (IMHO). Every one is different and everyone has different goals and targets. The simple fact is if you buy a cheaper gun with a view to upgrading, you'll be paying out more money than if you just buy the right gun first time.

'The simple fact is......you may be paying out more money'

How do you know what the 'right gun' is/will be, until you have gained some shooting experience? If you are going to gamble, starting with an IZH46 - a good pistol with good resale value - may be better than starting with a new FWB (or other 'top' brand).

Fred

I got mine at Strightshooters they even test fired it for me, at my request. They had 48 on hand before Christmas.

Oz wrote:Personally, I LOVE the IZH. There is no reason for a more expensive pistol until you're shooting 560's with an IZH :)

You are lucky. You have found a gun that suits you.

Not everyone will be so lucky when shooting an IZH. For some, the gun will be holding them back and preventing their advancement within the sport.

There is never a reason, whether score based or otherwise, for needing a more expensive pistol. There may however be a reason for needing a different pistol to allow you to shoot higher scores, easier and more consistently. That point could very well be at vastly different score levels for different shooters.

It will be fairly obvious that, IMNSHO, the statement that "There is no reason for a more expensive pistol until you're shooting 560's with an IZH" is completely wrong.

Ugh... you guys sound like the parents who buy their 16 year old a Corvette. Guess what? A Honda Civic is all they need --at least until they finish racing school.

Why on EARTH would someone new, shooting 520’s need to spend $2k on pistol? It’s ludicus. If they want to be 'cool' and shoot 520's with the same pistol that won the gold in the Olympics, fine! It's not going to matter what they buy. Throw a dart at pictures of pistols and have 'em write a check.

If someone shoots a 560 with an Izzy, they will have spent enough time to educate themselves and will also understand what they want to do and what it's going to take to get there. They've met people and had discussions. At this level of experience, THAT person knows what they should buy next. It's not necessarily about the 560 score itself. It's that someone that can shoot a 560 with an Izzy has spent enough time to be ready to make an informed decision. I suppose that someone progressing more slowly might have the experience to do it when they hit a 540 or a 550, FINE!

In another scenario, how about the poor chap that shoots the Izzy for a year or two and can only muster a 540... no matter what he does! Guess what... the best pistol in the world isn't going to make him shoot significantly better. The harsh reality for that situation is that 540 is what he's going to shoot, regardless of the pistol. Throw $2000 at the problem and maybe he can muster a 545? What's the point? 5 years down the road he would be in the exact same place, probably just as happy, shooting 545's with an Izzy. And with the Izzy, he could afford to take his kids to Disneyland.

From my perspective (and this is EXACTLY where I'm at right now) if I had bought my pistol any earlier, I would have purchased an LP-10. Lucky for me, I decided to wait until I was just a little better, had more experience, had a chance to get to know some great people and go to some big matches I got a chance to hold a couple LP-10's and a couple 162 EI's.

As it just so happens, when I put my hand on the 162 a month ago, angels sang and a bright light shown down around me and that gun.

I am only speaking as someone who IS at this point with an Izzy and I am DAMN happy I waited until I was more experienced and had some intelligent people to speak with before I made the investment. I suppose it's possible, but am I really that much different than everyone else in that was ever in this situation?

Wait until you have the experience and the scores to back it before making a decision on upgrading from an Izzy. The fact remains, the pistol is amazingly accurate for the cost and will out shoot the shooter well past 560 if needed.

Oz wrote:In another scenario, how about the poor chap that shoots the Izzy for a year or two and can only muster a 540... no matter what he does! Guess what... the best pistol in the world isn't going to make him shoot significantly better.

Possibly, but possibly not.

Everyone is different, that is my point. Setting a generalised score level at which it is worth changing to a "better" pistol is ridiculous.

Some people will be happy with the score level they can reach with a particular gun, maybe at a "budget" price. Others will be prepared to spend a lot of money to buy a pistol they find easier to shoot. They are both right.

Reading all these post about IZH or top model pistols, when to buy, for what people, doing what score... bla, bla, bla... I miss completely one factor: PLEASURE.

First of all, whatever the scores, shooting is and should be pleasure, if its not the case, if its only to (hope to) beat your neighbour, do something else.

So, if you have more pleasure shooting an LP10, 162, P44 than an IZH, then buy the one that gives you the biggest pleasure. And when you will have more pleasure at shooting, your score will increase.

jipe wrote:Reading all these post about ISH or top model pistols, when to buy, for what people, doing what score... bla, bla, bla... I miss completely one factor: PLEASURE.

First of all, whatever the scores, shooting is and should be pleasure, if its not the case, if its only to (hope to) beat your neighbour, do something else.

So, if you have more pleasure shooting an LP10, 162, P44 than an ISZ, then buy the one that gives you the biggest pleasure. And when you will have more pleasure at shooting, your score will increase.

Exactly what I was thinking. Couldn't have said it better (except it's an IZH ;-) )

superstring wrote:(except it's an IZH ;-) )

Indeed, stupid typo, corrected.