Air rifle IZH 60 / IZH 61 (purchase and development)

The Diada-Arms online store offers a huge selection of pneumatics, as well as additional components and accessories. Our online store offers models for both beginners and experienced shooters in a wide price range. One of the optimal and affordable options is the IZH 61 rifle. Among its features, it is worth noting its simplicity of design, ease of operation, a minimum set of necessary additions, and low cost.

Technical characteristics of IZH-61

You can find technical specifications in the weapons passport, which must necessarily come in the box along with the rifle. The Izh-61 multi-shot air rifle has the following characteristics:

Based on the above technical characteristics, we can conclude that the rifle is excellent for shooting at long and medium distances.

An adjustable dovetail rail allows you to install an optical sight on the pneumatic and fire shots at a range of 200 to 300 meters. However, it is worth considering that the spring power may not be enough for the bullet to reach the target without losing altitude. Therefore, shooting at truly long distances will also require modifying or completely replacing the power source.

The weapon is best suited for sport shooting, as well as accuracy training. However, some of the professionals often take the IZH-61 with them on a hunt in order to shoot small game birds or even fur-bearing animals. Fortunately, the variety of ammunition allows you to choose bullets with good penetrating ability. However, the most important element for a hunter is the 5-round magazine, which allows you to shoot at a fleeing target or at several animals at once.

Power

The muzzle energy of an air rifle is no more than 7.5 J. In fact, this is enough for hunting small game.

A rather interesting solution is to convert a factory-assembled pneumatic model into a weapon with pre-pumping. True, increasing power in this way entails some conflict with the law.

Main pros and cons

No weapon can be called perfect - each has some shortcomings. However, in fairness, it is worth noting that many modern models have many advantages. Well, when it comes to products from the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant, the buyer completely gains confidence. However, it would be completely wrong not to mention the advantages and disadvantages of the IZH-61:

If you start to understand the rifle’s shortcomings in more detail, it becomes clear that all of them are not as critical as they initially seem.

Advantages

Let's consider the advantages of the IZH-60 RSR air rifle:

• small dimensions, relatively low weight;
• reliable assembly, structural strength;
• decent ergonomic indicators;
• the presence of a convenient and pliable trigger mechanism;
• durability;
• resistance of the manufacturing material to the development of corrosion processes;
• ample opportunities for improvement and modification, converting the rifle into a high-class weapon.

What can be fixed

For example, the problem with a low base bullet speed, as well as a gradual loss of power, can be solved by replacing just one element - the spring. You can purchase a good imported analogue at a very affordable price, so these two shortcomings are correctable.

Only hunters can feel the problem with resonance, since it only occurs when they have to shoot quickly. The situation, of course, can be corrected by installing additional rubber pads on the butt, or by completely replacing it. However, many rifle owners noted that over time they got used to the disadvantage and learned to shoot accurately even when the bullets were scattered.

The only thing that will be difficult to fix is ​​the magazine crashing. The mechanism responsible for this is quite complex and sensitive. In addition, to get to the element, you will need to completely disassemble the rifle - and only a truly experienced gunsmith can do this. Although one cannot help but note the fact that over time the mechanism loses its power, as a result of which removing the magazine becomes more comfortable.

Device and design features

The IZH-61 pneumatic fusée is equipped with a five-round magazine; ammunition is moved while the bolt is cocked. The operation is performed using a special lever that guarantees maximum fixation in intermediate positions. Before chambering the bullet, the clip is clearly stabilized; next to this, the magazine nests coincide with the barrel channel.

The trigger preparation of the gun also has some design nuances. It is equipped with the ability to adjust the position of the trigger. This process is performed manually. It is worth noting the presence of a mechanism responsible for changing the magnitude of the descent stroke. The characteristics of the sighting devices allow the putty to adjust the firing vertically and horizontally. The generalized result is corrected by moving the rear sight along the guide bar. Dum-dum flies out of the stem channel using the energy of compressed air. This principle of operation is typical for all spring-piston guns.

Modifications

The IZH-61 rifle is a modification of the model from the previous series – IZH-60. The initial purpose of the weapon is training shooting using 4.5 mm bullets. However, over time, a fairly large number of different modifications began to appear in stores, tailored for certain purposes. Here are just the main ones:

1. IZH-61K is a standard rifle, to which a collimator sight is attached, and the classic front sight has been removed. The main purpose of the upgrade is hunting at medium and short distances.
2. IZH-61 with a wooden stock. Many owners did not like the fact that IZHMASH released a rifle with a plastic butt. Therefore, the craftsmen decided to replace the entire stock in order to balance the recoil during shooting.
3. IZH-61-10 with a magazine for 10 rounds. The rifle magazine has also undergone modifications. Since the standard model has a self-loading mechanism, the engineers decided to design an additional magazine that could hold 10 bullets at once.

As for upgrading weapons at home, the owners have completely free hands. If you have a great desire and the proper skills, you can modify the rifle as your heart desires. Most owners prefer to implement the following innovations:

• install an optical sight - fortunately, the dovetail sighting bar allows you to do this without much difficulty;
• replace the standard spring with a more powerful one, thereby increasing the bullet speed and its penetration ability;
• carry out a modification of the butt and stock - we are talking about completely replacing the material or repainting it in a different color;
• hang straps for comfortable carrying of the rifle on the shoulder - most often this element is installed by hunters.

And this is just the basis. If desired, the owner can install at least a night vision device or a thermal imager on the IZH-61. The main thing is to have basic knowledge about the structure of pneumatic weapons, as well as to purchase exactly the modification that is suitable for this particular model.

Upgrade IZH-60
The very first thing that can be done is a seal on the rammer. When you shoot, do you notice how much “blow” there is from the loading window? This can be cured with a simple operation. You can sharpen the groove on the rammer on a lathe, but I sharpened it with a needle file, it was necessary to go to the workshop for scrap - about 1.5 mm deep. Take an elastic band (preferably rubber that is resistant to mineral oils), put it on, and trim it with a file. The seal needs to be lubricated periodically. The result is that the “blow” from the loading window has stopped; the seal has been in place for more than two years. Yes, in order for the seal to last longer, you need to round off the sharp edges of the box in the area of ​​the groove for loading the bullet. Another option (based on conference materials): rubber seals from the valve of a disposable lighter fit ideally into grooves about 1 mm deep. By the way, in this photo you can see that there is a metal ball on the “handle” of the rammer - it becomes much more comfortable to “close the shutter.”

The second is the replacement of the standard polymer cuff with a leather one (or, as on imported air rifles, a nylon cuff (?), which shows better results compared to leather). When the rifle is used intensively, the standard PVC seal breaks down quite quickly: in the first few months the sealing edge wears out quite quickly (due to poor-quality processing of the inner surface of the cylinder), in subsequent months the edge of the new seal wears out less intensively, but the front part cracks cuffs from impacts of the piston on the front part of the cylinder.

On early models of Izhevsk pneumatics (IZH-22, IZH-38 early releases) leather cuffs were installed. In this case, the cuff was attached to the piston using a screw, the thread of which was cut off during the firing process from the impact of this same piston on the front wall of the cylinder. But the leather cuff lasted much longer than modern polymer cuffs. In current models, the attachment point for the cuff to the piston has the shape of a mushroom, onto which the cuff itself is mounted. This excludes any failure of this unit. The point of the upgrade is to combine all the positive aspects of these designs, i.e. a leather cuff and its attachment to the piston in the form of a mushroom.

To do this, you need to cut off the fungus on a lathe and make a sleeve, the dimensions of which completely match the dimensions of the fungus on the piston. This bushing is secured to the piston using an M5 countersunk screw. The peculiarity of the new design is that it is now possible to install a leather cuff, but at the same time the possibility of using a standard polymer one is not lost. (Author of the idea Konstantin Storublenkov 2:5020/1125.3)

By the way, if you install a standard cuff, you should give preference to a white translucent polyethylene cuff (like a lid for a jar). They are more elastic and less susceptible to wear. When comparing the speed of bullets with a polyethylene cuff and the one installed at the factory (dark, hard), the advantages are on the side of the former.

The next thing is that you can install an optical sight (as is done on my rifle). I would like to warn you against purchasing German sights designed specifically for pneumatics. I had one of these (4x20) and I can’t say anything good about it. The adjustment of the sight gets lost both during shooting and during transportation, it is quite tedious to adjust (there is no ratchet or divisions), and in general the quality is such that it looks like it was made not in Germany, but in China, and purely with a hammer and a file. The pneumatic sight from Belomo is not far behind its German brother. It has the same magnification (4x20) and exactly the same disadvantages, although the workmanship is slightly higher. If you have a problem choosing a scope, you should pay attention to models for firearms. For example, a pretty good 3.5x32 sight made by LOMO. And I have a 5x35 scope from an unknown manufacturer (passport lost. However, it seems to me that the ideal scope in terms of price-quality ratio would be a 3-9x40 made in Belarus. This is a scope with variable magnification (from 3x to 9x), which allows you to get the maximum out of your rifle possibilities.More details about choosing an optical sight can be read in the article by V. Schmidt.

After installing an optical sight, the muzzle with the front sight becomes redundant and interferes with aiming using the optics. For aesthetic reasons, you can replace it with a new one. To minimize changes in the balance of the rifle, it is more advisable to use aluminum as a material. Although someone Ian Pellant advises installing a steel muzzle to improve the weight distribution and balance of the rifle. Here's what he writes: “After removing the standard sights (front and rear sights) and installing a Tasco AccuDot sight, a problem arose with the balance shifting towards the butt. In addition, when firing, there was too much toss of the barrel. The problem was solved by installing a Vortek “Accurizer” muzzle. It must be said that his sight is closer to the butt, so the balance is shifted. For me, the center of gravity of the optical sight is located almost at the center of gravity of the rifle (still rather closer to the barrel), which is why aluminum was chosen as the material for the muzzle. In my case, the dimensions of the muzzle are as follows:

Well, the last, most controversial element of the upgrade is replacing the standard spring with a more powerful one, for example from the Gamo Hunter-440 rifle. There are two opinions regarding the installation of a more powerful spring: some believe that with a standard spring (or, in extreme cases, with a cut spring from IZH-38/MR-512), the IZH-60 is an ideal target rifle and a more powerful spring only worsens its accuracy ( which is actually true). With a new standard spring, a seal installed on the rammer and a new polyethylene cuff, the DC bullet speed from my rifle is 145-150 m/s.

If you want to install a more powerful spring, let’s consider this issue in a little more detail. A spring from Gamo Hunter-440 costs about 250 rubles. (price as of July 2000). The bullet speed of this rifle is about 300 m/s; of course, this value cannot be achieved from the IZH-60, but I think it is possible to achieve 200 m/s, which is actually not bad at all. You can purchase such a spring in weapon repair shops (for example, in St. Petersburg in a workshop on Popova St., 23). The spring needs to be shortened, leaving 24-25 turns.

You can also install a spring from IZH-38, cutting off about 11-12 turns. In this case, the bullet speed increases to approximately 170 m/s. In Murmansk it is difficult to find a spring in stores, not only for the Hunter, but even for the IZH-38 (more precisely, according to the sellers, they have never brought springs for pneumatics at all). But on the Internet there is a wonderful office - “Kalashnikov and K”, located at okhotnik.guns.ru. There I ordered 4 springs for IZH-38. They cost me (including postage via special communications) 100 rubles. The order was completed quite quickly (2 weeks). Brief impressions. The cocking has become stiffer, the part that connects the lever and the piston all cracks and creaks when you cock. When the shot was fired, there was a lot of white smoke, although there was nothing with the standard spring, which I had not changed for a year and a half. I measured the speed of the bullet with a pendulum (for more details on the measurement, see here) and this is what happened:

• standard spring (2.5 mm wire) DC bullet speed - 144-145 m/s;
• spring from IZH-38 (2.8 mm wire) DC bullet speed - 165-167 m/s.

DC assumed the mass of the bullet to be 0.506 g. Here it must be said that the cuff on this IZH-60 has not been changed for about two years (well, they don’t sell them here), with a new good cuff the result would have been better. By the way, I was surprised when I removed the standard spring - it practically did not sag compared to the new standard one. It became shorter by 0.5 cm. And, one more thing: the shot became quieter, without a metallic clang. Just cotton.

Alexander Russkov 2:5000/177.2:

Spring from the front fork of the Karpaty moped and others like it. Standard spring wire 3 mm, 38 turns in 4 mm increments, outer diameter 19 mm, inner diameter 13 mm.

SG:

You can also try the return spring from the A-12.7 machine gun, cut approximately in half. The result is a multi-core spring... True, the cocking rod often has to be changed, unless, of course, it is altered, and of course the piston too...

By the way, after installing a more powerful spring, you will need to replace the connection connecting the cocking lever and the piston. It is made of 0.7 mm plate and cannot withstand heavier loads. The easiest way is to make it again from a thicker steel sheet (1.0-1.5 mm).

A. Nazarov

What is included

A person who decides to purchase even the basic configuration of the IZH-61 rifle in a store will be pleasantly surprised by its rich equipment. The standard kit usually includes:

• rifle in plastic packaging;
• technical passport for weapons;
• warranty card for free service;
• spare spring (standard capacity);
• spare magazine for 5 rounds;
• metal cleaning rod for cleaning the rifle;
• additional ring front sight;
• cardboard box.

All these spare parts can significantly increase the life of the rifle. However, you should not think that if the kit includes an additional magazine or spring, this means that there is something wrong with the standard ones and they will quickly fail. As practice shows, owners begin to think about replacing the original elements with spare ones only when they have fired from 3,000 to 5,000 shots. Well, or if the rifle is mechanically damaged during hunting or training.

The warranty card and box deserve special mention. IZHMASH states that it is ready to repair weapons free of charge if their breakdown was not caused by a human factor. The warranty is valid for exactly two years from the date of purchase of the pneumatic.

However, if the owner does not live in Izhevsk, then he can also count on help from the store where he purchased his IZH-61. True, such a guarantee is valid for only a year, and in addition to the coupon, you will also have to provide the box in which the weapon was stored.

Service

The IZH-60 rifle is notable for its not very high-quality internal metal surfaces. However, externally the sample looks quite attractive due to treatment with specialized chemical bases (blueing). As a result, the manufacturing material is practically not subject to rust, regardless of storage and operating conditions. The only consequences of contact with moisture are the appearance of barely noticeable traces of rust, which can easily be eliminated by wiping with a regular sponge.

All that is required to maintain the rifle in working functional condition is regular cleaning of dirt, careful handling, removal of dirt, dust, small debris and lead chips from the barrel. Periodic treatment of mechanisms with specialized gun oil is encouraged.

In fact, modifications such as the IZH 60 RSR Kruger cope well with the assigned tasks without unnecessary maintenance. However, this does not mean that during the operation of a pneumatic model you should neglect generally accepted rules for handling weapons.

Analogues and prices

The cost of an MP-61 air rifle for 2020 ranges from 5,000 to 7,000 thousand rubles - a lot depends on the configuration and modifications. For example, some of the modern models are equipped with a safety lock, which increases the level of safety for using a rifle. However, since this price category is very common, the IZH-61 also has quite a lot of competitors:

IZH-61 is an excellent rifle that combines an ideal price-quality ratio, as well as the huge set of advantages that IZHMASH products have over their competitors - low price, durability, the ability to forgive common mistakes to beginners, as well as ease of maintenance. The rifle is definitely suitable for the novice shooter and hunter. A professional may find something more preferable in foreign models. However, do not forget that you will have to service imported rifles yourself, since stores rarely give a guarantee on them for more than a year. And the cost of branded ammunition is not cheap.

Description

The IZH-61 pneumatic rifle is a five-shot rifle with a fixed rifled steel barrel. The combat driving force is cocked using a separate lever device, which in itself simplifies the operation of the gun. An additional indicator of practicality is provided by the presence of a longitudinal sliding charge rammer.

The main advantages of the weapon in question include the possibility of mounting optics or collimator sights. They improve hit accuracy when firing at long distances. The specified devices are prescribed using standard fasteners. The cantharida is a closed type and can be easily dismantled if necessary. The system provides the possibility of adjusting the travel and trigger pull, which makes it possible to customize the rifle taking into account the individual characteristics of the user.