Review of the pneumatic pistol "Baikal MR-655K".

Review of the pneumatic pistol "Baikal MR-655K".

The article provides an overview of the Baikal MP-655K pneumatic gas-cylinder pistol, manufactured by the well-known Russian manufacturer of pneumatic weapons - the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant.

Until recently, the assortment of pneumatic weapons for recreational shooting of the IzhMekh enterprise was in a state of some kind of stagnation - in fact, after the release of the MP-654K pistol, the enterprise did not create a single new model of pneumatic weapons for an ordinary user. True, several sports models were made in small series, but nothing new for a wide audience of users.

Therefore, when a pre-production sample of the MP-655K pistol appeared at the Arms and Hunting 2006 exhibition, it aroused great interest among fans of pneumatic weapons. The pistol presented at the exhibition was a mock-up - it had neither a barrel, nor a trigger mechanism. In fact, only the general concept and appearance of the new pistol were demonstrated. Knowing the "efficiency" of the IzhMech company in terms of launching new models into production, no one really expected the actual appearance of the MP-655K pistol in retail sales before 2009-2010. Especially considering the history of launching the production of the air rifle "MP-651K". But there were also some interesting features - the presence of a bunker under the steel balls "BBs" (instead of the usual linear magazine) in the bunker shutter, the pistol was equipped with a removable magazine with a valve and a CO cartridge₂, the presence of a false barrel in the place where the real barrel of the combat prototype should be located.

In general, at the beginning of 2008, information appeared on the official website of the IzhMekh company that the MP-655K pistol was being put into production. Given the history of serial production of previous pneumatics models, this was unheard of speed. As a result, the first copies of the pistol appeared in retail in the middle of the same year.

Combat prototypes.

Some confusion is going on with the prototypes of the MP-655K pistol. On the one hand, all official sources, including the IzhMekh website, claim that the MP-655K pistol is outwardly similar to the Yarygin pistol (MP-443 Grach). On the other hand, if you carefully consider the design and appearance of the MP-655K pistol, you will notice some of its similarities with the MP-443 Rook pistol modification - the MP-446 Viking model. The main external differences of these combat pistols are different bolt designs and materials for the manufacture of the pistol frame. The Viking's frame is made of a composite polymer, while the Rook's is made of steel. If you look at the photographs of the MP-655K pre-production prototype, you will find that its polymer frame is clearly copied from the Viking, but the shutter design is closer to the Rook. In the serial sample, the polymer frame is slightly changed, but the shutter remains the same.

As a result, the MP-655K pistol received a modified Viking frame and a bolt similar to that of the Rook. Such an interesting hybrid has turned out. Discrepancies are also present in the controls - the design of the fuse does not coincide with the combat prototype, although it is very similar in terms of the scheme of work. And the appearance of the trigger also distinguishes the pneumatic version from the original. In general, the situation resembles a similar situation with the Umarex Walther CP 99 Compact pistol - there is no obvious prototype, but there is a collective image of several models.

Appearance and design.

Let's start with the packaging. It is a cardboard box with a picture of a pistol and information about the product name and manufacturer.A slight drawback is some dimness of the colors on the box.

The box contains a pistol, his passport, a ramrod, a clip drum for bullets, spare gaskets. Drum-clip for balls "BBs" is initially installed in the pistol.

The appearance of the MP-655K pistol is quite good. Especially if you do not take into account the trigger, which is similar to the trigger of the MP-651K pistol. It immediately reveals the pneumatic nature of the pistol. The impression of the pistol deteriorates somewhat as soon as you pick it up. No, the materials of manufacture are quite good - the bolt is made of a light metal alloy (although not steel, but still better than silumin) and the good-quality plastic of the handle. Unpleasant sensations are caused by backlash - the bolt of the weapon dangling on the guides, the magazine dangling in the handle, etc. Backlash is about 1 mm, so it is impossible not to notice them. As a result, there is an impression of some kind of looseness and unreliability.

Regarding the controls, they are very ergonomic, since their location and shape are accurately copied from the original. The design of the double-sided fuse is very pleasing - it is convenient for both right-handers and left-handers. But the slide valve is located only on the left side of the pistol. The difference from the military counterpart is an additional slot for the slide delay located on the slide. This can be explained simply - when the shutter is pushed back all the way, it is fixed in the standard groove, and an additional groove is designed to fix the shutter in an intermediate position when removing the clip drum. The magazine fixing button works without any particular complaints - if you press it, the magazine can be easily removed from the handle. The magazine of the MP-655K pistol itself contains only a can of CO₂and a valve, and all the ammunition is in the bunker or in the drum clip.

As already mentioned, there is a false barrel in place of the combat barrel, and the pneumatic barrel is located below, in the place of the bolt guide. The diameter of the false barrel is simply enormous - about 13 mm. This suggests that a combat pistol with such a barrel diameter should have a caliber of at least .50 AE. Such a caliber is very rare for pistols and it has, perhaps, the pistol "Desert Eagle" (pneumatic analogue - "Umarex Desert Eagle Magnum Research"). Of course, this caliber size is very different from the 9 mm of the combat prototype, but such a large diameter is due to the design of the bunker of the MP-655K air pistol, or rather, the inner diameter of the clip-drum between the chambers for the BBs balls. This design (false barrel on top - working barrel on the bottom) resembles the design of the pneumatic analogue of the Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle - the Junker-1 rifle. In this rifle, the native combat barrel is welded tightly, and the shooting is carried out from an under-barrel tube located in the place of the ramrod.

On top of the pistol there is a fixed front sight, a rear sight adjustable in the horizontal and vertical planes and an opening cover of the BBs hopper for balls. By the way, the manufacturer notes that the rear sight design is similar to that used on the Izh-70 air pistol. When looking at the gun from below, you can see the deaf heel of the store. This is pleasantly pleasing - no traces of the clamping screw are visible. Also from below, the "Picattini" strip is clearly visible, which appeared instead of the guide grooves of the frame of the "Viking" pistol. Such a solution is quite thoughtful - for example, finding a tactical flashlight ("Umarex Walther MTL 300") on a Viking is quite difficult, and purchasing a flashlight with a Picattini rail mount will not cause any special problems.

Looking at the MP-655K pistol from the front creates a double impression. On the one hand, the huge diameter of the false barrel attracts attention, and the air barrel looks quite organic as a bolt guide.On the other hand, in the depths of the false barrel, you can see the BBs feeder in the bunker, which is white and therefore clearly visible. Behind the pistol, you can see the trigger, completely hidden by the sides of the bolt. This trigger design is copied from a combat analog. Quite a good solution - the likelihood of catching the trigger on something is practically reduced to zero. However, this makes it not very comfortable to shoot with a preliminary cocking of the trigger.

Loading the pistol.

When the MP-655K pistol is equipped with ammunition, one interesting feature appears. If you charge it with lead bullets, the clip drum is installed and removed at an intermediate position of the shutter. In this case, the hopper cover is slightly pushed forward and at the same time supports the clip drum. And for loading with "BBs" balls, the shutter must be closed, because in this position a longer stroke is formed for the bunker cover. The fact is that when opening the lid pulls the BBs feeder with it, thereby freeing up space for them. And the further you take the lid, the further it will take the feeder and, accordingly, the more space for charging the balls "BBs" will be free in the hopper.

Another argument for the closed position of the bolt when loading the pistol with balls "BBs" is the feeder lock. With an intermediate position of the shutter, the feeder goes away with the lid, but it does not fit into the latch. As a result, when the lid is closed, it moves back and tries to squeeze the BBs out of the hopper. When the shutter is closed, the hopper cover is retracted to the extreme forward position, the feeder locks onto the latch and begins to move back under the action of the spring only when the hopper cover reaches the clip drum. Thus, the compression of the balls "BBs" will occur when the bunker is closed and they will have nowhere to go - they can only move into the drum-clip. This is precisely because of the large diameter of the false barrel.

In addition, the feeder also serves as an indicator, showing the approximate number of balls "BBs" remaining in the hopper. To do this, you need to move the bolt and look at the gun from above. There are three slots in the false barrel that simulate expansion holes on a combat weapon. Depending on which slot you can see the feeder, you can determine the remainder of the balls "BBs" in the hopper. If the feeder is visible in the slot farthest from the drum-clip, then there are about 100 BBs balls left in the hopper, if in the middle - about 50, if in the closest - about 20. This design of the hopper ensures uninterrupted supply of balls "BBs" to the clip drum at any position of the gun. It can be tilted in any direction and even turned upside down - the "BBs" balls will confidently and without hindrance flow into the drum clip. Another undoubted advantage of this design is the absence of the "rattle effect" - even if you shake the pistol very hard, the "BBs" balls will not rattle and dangle in the bunker.

Pistol magazine.

Next, consider the magazine for the MP-655K pistol. As mentioned above, it contains only a CO2 canister.₂ and valve. On the positive side, it is worth noting the heel of the store. It is removable, fastened with a special latch and performs three functions - it covers the clamping screw of the CO cartridge protruding from the store₂, can be used when loading balls "BBs" into the hopper as a dispenser, can be used as a lever for unscrewing / tightening the clamping screw. Most of the magazine is made of polymer material, and parts that are subjected to increased loads (a hook for fixing the magazine, a nut for a clamping screw, etc.) are made of steel. The inside of the plastic is reinforced with non-magnetic metal. However, this is useless - the pistol magazine does not carry large loads, and the complication of the design is always a certain disadvantage of any product.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that you can operate the store without a heel at all - it fits perfectly into the pistol and performs its functions. However, at the same time, the general appearance of the pistol deteriorates due to the unfinished bottom of the handle, since the pressure screw protrudes from it. In this case, the grip of the weapon worsens, because the little finger slides onto the magazine, and does not rest against the heel protrusion.

One of the disadvantages of the store design is that the heel is very weakly fixed in the store, so it can be removed without any problems without pressing the latch, but simply by pulling it down. That is, the heel of the magazine is removed even when the magazine is installed. This is wrong, since it is the shooter's little finger that rests on the heel, and if the movement is unsuccessful, it can accidentally fly out, and this can lead to a temporary stop in shooting. The reason for this inappropriate behavior of the heel is a weak fixation. Its design is very primitive and needs some work.

There is a special groove under the valve in the back of the store for installing a CO cartridge₂ and a clamping screw for piercing it. In general, such a design is not something unexpected for IzhMech pneumatic pistols. The only difference from the conventional design is that the top of the clamping screw is completely flat.

Drum clip of the pistol.

By its dimensions, teeth, seats, etc. The clip-drums of the MP-655K pistol are completely identical to the clip-drums of the MP-651K pistol or its predecessors. However, while the MP-651K pistols have recently seen plastic clip-drums, the MP-655K pistol is supplied with only metal clip-drums. But there are also improvements - in the predecessors of the MP-655K pistol, the clip-drum held the BBs balls very poorly, and in this case a radical solution was used. The clip drum has a built-in ring magnet that holds them well enough. However, there were some incidents here too - the ring magnet perfectly holds the balls "BBs" in the chambers of the drum-clip, but when the drum-clip is equipped manually, it can magnet one ball "BBs" into the central hole. And removing this ball from there is very problematic, since the diameter of the hole coincides with the caliber of the ball.

Another disadvantage of the clip-drum design is such a moment. The magnet holds the clip-drum in the pistol so strongly that when the false barrel is retracted, it not only does not fall out of the groove under its own weight, but even when the pistol is lightly tapped on the hand, it remains in place. The manufacturer recommends removing the clip drum under the "BBs" balls by gently pressing the trigger and holding the clip drum to the left. In this case, the feeder will slightly raise the clip drum and it will be possible to grasp it by hand. According to the author, this is a gross violation of safety rules - to remove the drum-clip, press the trigger. With this approach to removing the clip drum, there is a risk of accidental firing. And if there are “BBs” balls in the video, then you can seriously injure yourself or others. In this case, the best way to extract the drum clip is to hit the palm hard and hard with the pistol, then the clip drum will fly out by inertia. It is clear that such problems will not arise with a clip-drum designed for lead bullets - the clip-drum falls out freely under its own weight.

Disassembly / assembly of the pistol.

Disassembly of the pistol is necessary before starting operation to remove conservation grease or for routine cleaning and lubrication of the weapon during long-term operation.

So, to disassemble the MP-655K pistol, you must:

- Press the button located at the base of the safety clip and remove the magazine.

- Remove the heel of the pistol.

- Take out the drum clip.

- Move the bolt to the rear position, lift up its rear part, remove it from the false barrel.If the shutter cannot be removed, then you need to make sure that the clip drum is removed from the gun, because its presence does not allow the hopper cover to be moved to the rear position and thus does not allow the shutter to move back to get out of the grooves. In fact, the bolt performs a purely decorative function, and the pistol remains fully operational without it, it only becomes inconvenient to aim - the sights are removed together with the bolt.

- Remove the slide stop and remove the "firing block" (the entire pneumatic filling of the pistol) from the handle. To do this, you need to raise the front part of the “firing block” and move its grooves forward from the hooks located inside the rear part of the handle.

- Knock out two pins, one of which is located in front of the trigger, and the other serves as the axis for the trigger. Removing these pins will remove the spring trigger, trigger block, safety catch and separate the hopper.

- Unscrew the small screw located under the receiver and free the barrel.

That's it, the MP-655K pistol is completely disassembled. After disassembly, it becomes clearly visible from what materials it is made. The details of the firing mechanism, pins, screws and the barrel are made of steel. All other elements are made of aluminum alloys and plastic. Once the necessary procedures (cleaning and lubrication) have been completed, the gun can be assembled. It is performed in the reverse order and does not present any particular difficulties. Unless sometimes it would not hurt to have an extra pair of hands to simplify assembly, but if you have minimal skills, you can do it yourself.

Operating experience.

So, the equipment of the clip-drum with bullets has already been described, the equipment of the bunker with the balls "BBs" also does not present any particular difficulties, but about the installation of the CO2 cartridge₂ it is worth saying a few words.

First, concern about the lack of a recess for the bottom of the CO cartridge₂ on the clamping screw turned out to be in vain - it definitely fits into a special niche in the back of the store and is perfectly pressed by the screw. Not a single case of CO cartridge slipping₂ from the store was not observed. Secondly, it is worth paying tribute to the quality of the intake neck - a puncture of the CO can₂ occurs completely silently and completely without gas leaks. At first, you may even doubt that the CO2 can₂ punctured, but the first shot will put everything in its place.

The trigger of the pistol has a small idle speed, after which there is a rather tight cocking of the trigger, then the drum-clip cranking and only then a shot occurs and the trigger fails. When firing from a preliminary platoon, the situation does not change much - instead of a tight cocking of the trigger, there is a free travel of the trigger, which eventually becomes quite long. In this case, the rotation of the clip-drum still occurs only just before the very shot at the end of the hook stroke. In general, nothing unusual - all this is known from the "MP-651K" model.

The pistol safety catch works quite interestingly. It completely locks the shutter, and the trigger is only partially locked - even in the "Safe" safety position, the trigger and trigger can move, but they do not reach the cocking position. An automatic fuse against blank shots only blocks the rotation of the clip drum. That is, when firing with a preliminary platoon, you can cock the trigger and find that the pistol goes to the automatic safety catch. And it is in this case (in accordance with the passport recommendations) that you have to remove the clip-drum, while pressing the trigger. Quite a risky business ...

Another unpleasant situation was discovered when trying to shoot from a pistol bullets with a flat head. So, the MP-655K pistol cannot shoot them at all. This is due to the fact that such bullets are rather short and cannot be located in the clip-drum throughout its entire thickness.This leads to the fact that the automatic fuse against blank shots is triggered and it is impossible to fire in this case. Therefore, for shooting from the MP-655K pistol, you need to use bullets with a pointed or round head part - such problems do not arise with them.

Test shooting from a pistol showed that, firstly, the bullet velocity is rather low, secondly, it is very unstable, and thirdly, the accuracy of fire is very mediocre. Most likely, the low accuracy of fire is associated with the presence of large backlash in the area of the shutter and sighting devices. And the reason for the low and unstable speed is the insufficient tightness of the pistol. Very large gas leaks occur both at the junction of the “firing block” with the magazine, and in the area of the clip-drum. The last problem can be solved by analogy with the MP-651K pistol - by installing additional seals. And how much it is possible to solve the first is unknown. It is possible that the installation of a more elastic and thicker ring on the front end of the magazine and refinement of its shape to eliminate backlash inside the pistol grip will help.

Overall, the benchmark results were a bit disappointing. Their results show that the only advantages of the MP-655K pistol are the appearance and increased capacity of the bunker. And in terms of technical characteristics (power and accuracy of fire), unfortunately, there is a clear loss.

Brands and inscriptions.

On the right side of the MP-655K pistol are located:

- Approximately in the middle of the bolt action - the caliber of the “Cal. 4.5 mm ".

- Closer to the muzzle end of the bolt - the model name is "MP-655K".

- On the bolt section under the model name - the serial number "08 655 03940".

On the left side of the pistol:

- Approximately in the middle of the bolt - the inscription of the country of manufacture "Made in Russia"

- Closer to the muzzle of the bolt - the manufacturer's trademark in the form of the "Baikal" emblem.

General impressions.

Before describing the objective impressions of the MP-655K pistol, it is worth considering the characteristics of this pistol, which are declared in various sources, and comment on them.

- Pneumatic pistol "MR-655K" has the appearance of a combat 9-mm pistol of the Yarygin system.

As you can see from the photo, the pneumatic model borrowed a more or less similar slide part from the Yarygin pistol. The frame of the MP-655K pistol is closer to the Viking pistol, which is a modification of the Yarygin pistol. And even then, a more or less similar copy was a pre-production sample, and in this case only the general layout of the controls and the pistol grip were preserved.

- Pistol "MR-655K" is designed for firing two types of ammunition - lead bullets of the "Diabolo" type and steel spherical bullets "BBs».

Well, yes, in theory it is. In practice, match lead bullets cannot be fired at all due to blocking of the clip-drum, and other types of ammunition show rather mediocre shooting results.

- The pneumatic model is equipped with an original hopper-type magazine with a capacity of 100 balls "BBs»With an indicator of the amount of ammunition, which speeds up the loading process.

One can unequivocally agree with this statement - the design of the bunker is quite interesting, they provide a large capacity of balls "BBs", silence and confident supply of ammunition to the clip drum at any position of the pistol. The pointer works very well too - it shows fairly valid data.

- To save CO gas₂ the pneumatic model is equipped with a trigger blocking device.

As already described above, formally blocking the trigger mechanism works, but in practice it has more problems than benefits - a blank shot from an ammunition shot is already quite different in sound.

- The pistol is equipped with two clip-drums for firing lead bullets of the "diabolo" type and steel balls "BBs».

Indeed, for the presence of the magnet in the drum-clip for the balls "BBs" it is worth saying a special "thanks" to the developers of this pistol. However, there is a huge flaw in the design of such a clip-drum - removing it from a pistol is a very complicated and somewhat dangerous procedure.

- Sights with micrometric adjustment allow you to adjust the sighting line, both vertically and horizontally.

Again, this is not bad in theory, but in practice these micrometric corrections are practically useless with large shutter backlash.

- The pistol is equipped with a Picattini rail.

Of course this is good. However, special accessories for the MP-655K pistol are not produced, and at such a low speed and accuracy of fire, using a laser designator or attaching a tactical flashlight under the barrel of an air pistol is somehow ridiculous.

- The design of the MP-655K pneumatic pistol is protected by three patents.

It is very nice. However, if the pistol has mediocre firing characteristics, its owner will not benefit from these patents.

In general, a number of interesting design solutions in the MP-655K pistol are certainly available, and its appearance is very good. But a good visual impression is spoiled by poor shooting characteristics - the initial speed of the ammunition and the accuracy of fire. Yes, by making a complete revision of the pistol, these characteristics can be improved to acceptable values. But in this case, the cost factor comes into play - the MP-655K pistol is almost twice as expensive as its predecessor, the MP-651K. And if the refinement of the MP-651K pistol was fully justified due to its low cost, then the purchase and subsequent revision of the more expensive MP-655K pistol will make its purchase rather uninteresting for most buyers. Considering the above, only one conclusion suggests itself - until IzhMech improves the consumer characteristics and quality of its products, the buyer will be much more interested in options comparable in price. For example, "Umarex Walther CP 99 Compact". By purchasing this pistol, the buyer gets a pneumatic weapon that has a higher speed and better accuracy of fire, and even shoots with the shutter recoil. Most likely, the user's choice will be obvious ...

Brief summary.

Advantages of the MP-655K pistol:

- The only relatively similar analogue of the Yarygin pistol.

- Sufficiently capacious and silent bunker for balls "BBs".

- The presence of a magnetic holder in the drum-clip for balls "BBs".

- Presence of blocking of a blank shot.

- The presence of the "Picattini" plank.

- Ability to shoot with both hands.

- Easy to disassemble.

- Ample opportunities for revision.

Disadvantages of the MP-655K pistol:

- Too many elements made of alloys and plastic, which raises some doubts about the reliability.

- Multiple backlash of the structure (especially the bolt with sights).

- Low firing rates (speed and accuracy).

- The impossibility of using lead bullets with a flat head (match bullets).

- Quite a high cost.

In general, the MP-655K pneumatic pistol is another experimental product of IzhMekh. Buying it for its intended use is unlikely to be reasonable, except for ardent fans of the Yarygin pistol system. It can also be purchased as a cheaper (but less similar) replacement for the Viking pistol's weight and size dummy.

Tactical and technical characteristics pistol "MR-655K».

- Weapon type: pneumatic gas cylinder pistol.

- Country of origin: Russia.

- Manufacturing company: Izhevsk Mechanical Plant.

- Energy source: 12 gram CO2 canister₂.

- Muzzle energy: no more than 3 J.

- Case material: alloy.

- Barrel material: steel.

- Barrel: rifled.

- Barrel length: 110 mm.

- Dimensions:

- length: 200 mm.