hmmm....doubt there's any Baikal collectors association website and forum, so until someone with more detail perhaps steps in, I'm just guessing....
Firstly, anything even remotely recent should have obvious importer mark, the more recent the more obvious...definitely not under the wood, so I suspect your gun is far from "new".
If you do find an importer name stamped on barrel or action, that would be the best clue as to age, as most import outfits didn't last too long.
Offhand, I know for a fact they were imported at least as early as 1980, and probably earlier...and yours might not have entered the country via normal importer channels.
I'll be quite interested in what you find out as you have time, as this is plowing new ground in trying to date a Baikal single, the model name/number changing during several spates of importing over the decades.
Firstly, anything even remotely recent should have obvious importer mark, the more recent the more obvious...definitely not under the wood, so I suspect your gun is far from "new".
If you do find an importer name stamped on barrel or action, that would be the best clue as to age, as most import outfits didn't last too long.
Offhand, I know for a fact they were imported at least as early as 1980, and probably earlier...and yours might not have entered the country via normal importer channels.
I'll be quite interested in what you find out as you have time, as this is plowing new ground in trying to date a Baikal single, the model name/number changing during several spates of importing over the decades.