Drozd BB rifle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section needs to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please help improve this article with relevant internal links. (January 2008)

The Baikal MP661K known as Drozd is known as a widely popular BB rifle, imported by European American Armory (EAA).The name 'Drozd' is the Russian word for 'Turdus'. It was also marked as the "Bumblebee" for its sound and the odd yellow and black color scheme that was once the standard color scheme on the version of the gun imported into the U.S. It is speculated that this was done to distinguish the airgun from real firearms and prevent it from being banned from import. This odd coloring is not done on various other brands/models of imported airguns however, and the practice has been recently dropped in favor of the standard all black color scheme. It is best known for being one of the few select fire BB rifles that can fire single, three-round, and six-round bursts (semi-auto only in the UK). This is a very popular gun with both casual plinkers and airgun enthusiasts, as it is excellent out of the box but offers many upgrade options. Common upgrades are "mod boards" that increase the rate of fire to 1200 rounds per minute and provide true full automatic operation, adapters to use outside propellant sources (such as 20oz paintball CO2 tanks or HPA scuba tanks), dye kits to change the color (commonly RIT fabric dye is used), longer barrels (higher velocity). New upgrades are being introduced constantly as the gun gains popularity (this might be the 10/22 of the airgun world). Rumors are circulating that the Baikal factory is considering releasing a version of the gun that is equipped with a bulk feed and a 400rd magazine, which would remedy the achilles heel of this gun... the tiny 30rd magazine capacity (which is emptied in as fast as a half second on a modified gun). The quality of the gun is also very high, with all of the main functional components being made from firearms quality steel and the plastic parts (trigger, main receiver housings, buttstock, lower magazine cover) being made from firearms quality fiber reinforced polymers. One item of note is the barrel, which is rifled steel and extremely thick and rugged for an airgun. Most of these traits are thanks to the fact that the gun is manufactured by a company that also manufactures and designs military firearms (best known for their WWII production of the Tokarev TT33 and M1895 Nagant Revolver), and many of the parts are "over engineered" with military-style durability in mind. However, the high quality and durability is reflected in the price, which is much higher than the popular "department store quality" airguns.