Hi Hacksaw,

I have used Baikal shotguns many times but never their rifles or combo guns. The combo in .22/20ga is a little heavy/overbuilt at 8.4 lbs but this weight is not overly heavy for the larger rifle caliber combo's. The old wood-stocked Savage Model 24 Combo Guns were about 2 lbs lighter, check out the gun shows and online for them.

I met a fellow in the bush 2 falls ago who was hunting grouse and calf moose with a Baikal Combo rifle/shotgun. The odds of getting a calf moose here are very low but this guy was happy to get his limit of birds every day while walking through the old clearcuts, and you never know when your moose luck will change.

When I am hunting big game specifically (eg have an adult Val. Tag) I use one of my tuned high-powered rifles but for general woods-bumming around here, one of these combo's would be fun.

Mike