i have zero experience with baikal autoloaders (or anybody elses' autoloader, either), but i have some experience with the baikal competition o/u guns, their sport pistol, and their field-grade sxs.
alone & in concert, they add a new dimension to the term 'butt-ugly'.
blind spastics could do better fit & finish. the locks are slow and the triggers are hard, heavy, rough, spongy and inconsistent. they also are made out of real iron & steel - no light(er) weight alloy steels allowed. the wood will have no discernable grain. it's mass is measured in kg/cc^3 and will not take any finish: acid, petroleum, organic or analine.
and, they will come pre-rusted out-of-the-box, so there is no anxiety about messing up any finish.
that said, they: laugh at rust, scorn lubrication of any form, are completely comfortable in dry grit, and absolutely luxuriate in a bath of sharp sand and pea gravel.
if your mates are wanting a disposable semi-auto -- *if* the baikal semi-auto is of the heritage of my baikals, that is -- maybe they should investigate remington or winchester or beretta, because 20 years from now, they will still be apologising for carrying such a heavy, ugly gun that will not quit shooting.