IZH 61 multi Reviews

This is an excellent, easy to use, no hassle, fun plinking rifle that also happens to be very accurate, and I mean way more accurate than what you would expect at this price range. It has a rugged and simplistic form to it that is very typical of Russian utilitarian design. It is both ugly and elegant at the same time. Very easy to cock and extremely simple to aim and shoot and also whisper quiet, the targets make more noise being hit than the rifle itself, no louder than a staple gun. Light weight and even more deadly accurate after I put the exact scope and mount used on the Pyramyd Air video of this rifle. Seems to work well with a wide variety of mid priced pellets, all in the wadcutter category. Crossman competition & RWS hobby worked very well in mine. Great 10 meter rifle, half inch groups achievable at this range. Kept wondering where my pellets were going until I realized they were going in the same target holes...This gun is a little quirky but well worth every penny.

This rifle has a small composite 11mm dovetail that is only 2.5 inches long, you must use the exact adaptor mount shown in the video to get a solid foundation for a scope or red dot. The iron sights were fine after adjusting, but my vision is not what it used to be, so I wanted to put that bug buster scope on mine, and once I used the right adaptor mount, it worked great. There is no problem with the clips at all, they are easy to load and work great if you simply tilt the rifle forward when loading. My only slight issue with this gun is that you have to be able to pay attention to your 5 shots as it is easy to accidentally dry fire the gun if you loose your count or get distracted, and that dry firing is very bad for this gun (Could lead to ruining the seals/spring etc).

The adaptor for a scope or red dot is this one: BKL-568MB [BKL 3/8" or 11mm Dovetail...] * 3/8" or 11 mm dovetail to Weaver adapter (rail accepts Weaver mounts) * 4" long *...The spot where you mount this adaptor on the Baikal is only 2.5 inches long, so this adaptor overhangs a little, but you will need overhang & the 6 screws to tighten this down enough & keep your scope in place on this plastic Russian 11 mm dovetail. Shoots great indoors in the cold & is super quiet. You end up loving the simple design and rugged accuracy of this gun, especially when your targets are easily dispatched by this gun's great barrel. I found a light hold while standing & almost no hold bag rested produced very accurate shots. The accuracy can change based on holding in different spots, best to choose your hold & technique & then dial it in from there...The side cocking was at first a concern of mine, since I had no other guns like that, but it turns out I like that feature the most, very easy load & shoot, a great gun!

Shoots great. Fun plinker. 5rd. magazine

Target acquisition difficult with "post globe" front sight.I painted a small white V on the rear sight. Painted front blade red. Discovered front blade was bent. Plan on getting scope. Disappointed that the sign off certificate, date of manufacture and date of preservation all 04/23/2014 which makes it almost 2 years old. I would have preferred a fresher rifle. Extra spring is not included any longer. Very disappointed.

If you do plan on purchasing a Baikal IZH/MP61 might as well get a scope and rings that fit the provided dove tail. Pyramyd Air should confirm date of manufacture is not older than 12 months and confirm sights are not damaged. I don't know if I will purchase the scope and rings from Pyramyd. Jim Chema

Unique style. Easy lever that a 10 year old can use.Very accurate and fun to shoot.

The clip so the ammo doesn't dump. It seems to be a regular complaint. You do get use to it but it would be nice to see that improved

We have a blast shooting this gun! Pellets we have found to work really well are the H&N Hammer . Buy a spare clip so you don't have to stop and reload.

Accurate, Easy Sidelever Action, 5 Shot Repeater allows for quick follow up shots without losing your shooting position.

Comes with an adjustable stock but would def benefit from a Longer Pull than the adjustment allows.

Pick up some extra clips. They're small and easy to loose and its nice to have several sense they're only 5 shots each.

The side cocking lever and quality plastic. Very relaxing to cock and shoot while watching TV. This is the gun to have if you want to shoot reliably and quickly. All you have to do is cock handle, shoot, cock handle, shoot, etc. No need to index a pellet like the Daisy 953. I love this feature.

The grip to trigger pull is too short, I had to add thick rubber pad to make it feel longer.

My gun was not accurate at all like others here. I stopped shooting this gun when I bought the Daisy 953, which is much more accurate but harder to pump and rack the pellet. I had this gun for 3 years and didn't know what I was missing out on.

I love the side lever action with magazine. The pull is light and it makes the gun very pleasant to shoot. the adjustable stock is very nice as well. the trigger pull is very light and has a clean break.

I thought that the globe sights were awful. I couldn't even adjust the rear sight enough to get a shot that wasn't a little below the sight. I think there may be a flaw with this Particular gun . I have worked with the gun throughout the last year trying to make it more accurate; using various lines and styles of pellets, mounting a nice scope, and cleaning regularly. I shot this from a rest and the very best groups i could get with a 5 shot magazine at 10 yards was with RWS supermags field line wad-cutters (9.3g), and these were slightly larger than an inch! I can shoot better groups standing with my sons Daisy Buck with open sights. Seriously.

I don't recommend this gun for first time springer shooters because it seems to be very sensitive to hold and to have any real success with it you will have to upgrade the sights. It was my first "springer" apart from Daisy BB guns, and because i was unfamiliar with the gun i allowed myself to think that I just needed to work on my hold and position with it. after a couple thousand rounds i know better now and the gun was just a dud. If you're not 100% satisfied with it out of the box, save yourself the trouble and send it back. I gave one star overall because if you don't have accuracy, I have a cool looking prop.

quality and workmanship is first class, works and shoots flawlessly, very accurate with wadcutters of almost any weight, installed Hawke big dollar scope, and have good groupings at even 50 yards, very decent for a 10 yard gun

nothing, quite pleased with it

mine was not lubed very well, at least for me, took it down, and re lubed spring and polished all moving parts, took bout an hour, didn't need to do this, but i am just kinda picky, great gun tho.

What I like that's easy to cock the arm to load a pellets and fire light weigh! I got a great plinker shot a ton of cans and targets I got a good group at 60 feet I thpink it's a good bang for the buck! Also I purchases the daisy laser (red dot) but I haven't used it yet I like iron sights but I'll probably put on one of one of my other guns maybe my vigilante

The pellet clip tricky but I watched the video from AGR and Paul suggested tip the gun forward and place the clip and presto your in the game. The rear sight is cool but you need a small screw driver to adjust not hard it took a min.to adjust but for the money and shooting cans no complaints!

I takes a little getting use to but when you dial it in have a lot of pellets my IZH likes crosman wadcutter and I shoot it as much as I can practice makes perfect ADDICTED hope to see you guys at competion this up coming weekend just as spectator still learning!!!!!!!!! I also read about people Worried about dry firing when clip has 3 holes showing you have one shot left or if in doubt just pull the clip and reload also purchase extra pellet clips

What a neat little gun! I haven't had this much fun shooting in quite a while. I made one mistake when I purchased this, however. I didn't buy enough spare clips. I only ordered 3 extra clips to go with the two supplied with the gun. I don't want to stop shooting long enough to reload the clips.

Nothing, I love it's quirkiness

Several different versions were made of the gun, so don't be surprised if the operating instructions don't quite match the gun. For example. The instructions say to push a button on the end of the side lever to cock the piece. My gun didn't have a button. After trial and error I discovered that you "unlock" the lever by moving it upward and then you can pull the lever and cock the weapon.

Comfortable to shoot. The adjustable stock is great if you have shooters of multiple ages in the family. I have about 250 rounds through it and getting 1" groups at 30 feet with RWS wadcutters. I am anxious to try other pellets to try and tighten the groups.

I put a red dot on it and the plastic receiver is kind of weak and the scope can slide around unless you really crank the screws down.

The instructions with the rifle state that there is a release button on the cocking arm, but on mine there is just a friction button under the arm that is hard to see to hold the arm closed. I sent my first rifle back thinking that it was defective. It was just by accident that when I received my second one that I discovered the design change. They need to update the owners manual. Maybe Pyramyd could list this in the product description.

good looking gun

pellet clip malfunction feeding into gun

pellets fall out of clip

The style is appealing. It is sort of space-age/black-rifle. The weight is awesome. It's light enough to mess with all afternoon. The clip works well as long as you don't use overly long, loose-fitting pellets. For a gun at this price level, the trigger is acceptable.

I would mount the barrel with a more solid midpoint. The tiny plastic prop is the reason why the accuracy is all over the place. Sometimes it will shoot ragged holes, but 9 out of 10 groups have a strange flyer. I would also recommend an auto stop for the cocking lever once the fifth pellet has been fired. It's way too easy to dry fire this gun. I haven't yet, but I see it happening in the future.

I guess I understand the cult following of this rifle, but keep in mind, it is really only a plinker. While it can produce impressive accuracy, it isn't repeatable.

light easy to shoot well mainly due to its excellent trigger

the pistol grip is a little bit short for my hand, but everyone says it my huge paws not the gun that are at fault

the pellets don't click into place so keep the mag pointed in a generally down ward position

Price. Light weight.

Quality control is marginal at best.

After reading the great reviews about this Russian air rifle, I decided to purchase a remanufactured gun. After unboxing the IZH-61, I noticed the front sight was skewed about 10 degrees off line AND there was NO release button on the cocking lever! Someone had apparently forgot to install it so there was no way to cock the rifle. I called Pyramid and they were very helpful in getting a return/refund ready. It's too bad I never had a chance to shoot it.

Everything about this gun is awesome! At 50ft I was putting pellet on top of pellet! This gun isn't just a target or plinker,I have shot tree rats and starlings at 30 to 50ft and dropped them! This gun once dimed in is a hard hitter!

Better scope mounting! Metal weaver rail and or metal 11mm rail!

Mount a scope on it or red dot! Do not dry fire this gun you will have to change rubber seals!

Accuracy, Design, Weight, and Trigger Pull.

A cap on the bottom of the grip. This would allow one to store extra magazines or pellets. Please add an extra spring for down the road.

This is a rife with nuances. It's fun, light, and *accurate* for an incredibly low price. A photographer's photos are as good as the photographer, not just the camera. I now have 3 IZH 61 that I shoot with my young son. 10 M and paper. This rifle will be as accurate as your practice. To improve IZH performance, simply find the right pellet,consistent offhand technique,and practice. For me I find H&N match pellets and a very mild hold on the grip allow the best groupings. Don't let this one fool you....it's gold.

The repeating mechanism is nifty and works well. The trigger is better than expected. It's a great value, especially if you catch it on sale. "Fun" describes it well!

Not much. Accept its limitations due to its price point and enjoy it. Assembly quality control could be improved (nothing is in line - mine needed a severe windage adjustment to hit target). The factory iron sights are mediocre. It seems to be over lubricated from the factory.

It's a pretty small gun. The buttstock can be adjusted further than you think - just remove it and relocate the nut which should be obvious. The factory says that they use a lot of preservative, and that the bore should be cleaned before use. Heed this recommendation; out of the box, my bore was unbelievably filthy!! After one cleaning, I was getting 1" 5-shot groups at 25-feet. After a second more extensive bore cleaning, I got down to half-inch 5-shot groups at 25-feet. I suspect further improvement will occur with use and additional cleanings. Heavier pellets seem to fit the clips better. Yes - the pellets can fall out of the clips, but this isn't a big deal as it is easily preventable. It's a great grab and go rifle for plinking cans at 25 to 33 feet. Most of the time, these guns come with a spare mainspring - I didn't get one.

This rifle is fun to shoot! If you buy this, you will have a hard time putting it down. It might look kinda funny but it is surprisingly comfortable and the buttstock will adjust for taller/larger people.

The scope rail. I believe it is designed for an aperture peep sight. There is not enough room for the scope to be mounted comfortably, however if you buy one of the pre-packaged deals from Pyramyd, a sufficient adapter is included for scope mounting. The magazine release could be better.

Some pellets have a tendency to fall out of the clip. Since I am an avid airgunner I have quite a collection of different pellets and I found that Beeman coated hollowpoints work very well and do not fall out as easily as some others. Also you can seat the pellets in the clip with a toothpick or small dowel.

Weight, accuracy, styling, ease of use. I love the IZH 61 being a semi-automatic springer, so I don't have to mess around with CO2. That's a major plus and keeps long-term costs down to a minimum.

Not a ding-dong thing...well, not quite true. It would be nice if the magazine held pellets more securely.

Overall, I LOVE this gun! Accuracy isn't match grade, but I have no trouble knocking out bulls from 25 feet in my indoor range. While some reviewers have complained about the "low" velocity at which the gun slings lead, I find it great for keeping my eye keen when I can't go outside, making the IZH 61 a nearly-perfect winter shooter. The adjustable stock is a nice touch, it's easy to cock, easy to maintain - what's not to love, especially when the gun is so inexpensive? Okay, yes, the magazine holds pellets pretty loosely, but I just lay my spares out next to me and feed them carefully. Problem solved.

nice 5 shot repeater. Excellent trigger. Very accurate IF held correctly. Easy to cock. I had one and gave it to my nephew so ordered a second one. Best if used with stock open sights.

Receiver area for optics mounting is too short and made of plastic, so optics will not stay put. Recoil is enough to move optics mounts. Wish there was a "out of ammo warning" Gun shot NOT be dry-fired, but you must count shots to be sure that you don't accidentally dry fire it.

Last on I got had a front sight that was canted to the right. I called for a replacement. Customer service sent the shipping label and I dropped it at Fed Ex. Expecting my replacement anyday now. Great Customer Service