LOL. Not totally...... I rang the Merkel dude again today, and for relatively little money I could have a shiny new 9.3x74R... I continue to be amazed at how cheap these things are.... I might just skip the "try a cheapy, just to see" phase and buy a not as cheap (but still cheap) proper double. I was just going to write off the cost of the Baikal anyway (hence my interest in keeping it low), but hell why not just jump in?

Of course, having read other people's opinions on Merkels on this forum, I'd probably get bagged for buying such a rubbishy rifle......LOL.