Saiga - help!

A

AkNorton43

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Fairly new to these but am thinking of purchasing one in 12 ga.

What are the pros/cons, likes/dislikes and any personal opinions and/or experiences?

Anything to know about these before purchasing?

Thanks in advance,

Norton
 
Likes:
Looks cool, ESPECIALLY if you do the trigger group/pistol grip mod.
Shoots rather softly; it isn't a hard kicking gun.
Can cycle large variety of ammunition, from heavy slugs to regular target loads.
Easy to work on; it's an AK, not some pretty fragile princess of a shotgun.

Dislikes:
Really isn't a great sporting gun- the rifle type sights make clay target shooting rather difficult.
Magazine swapping isn't as simple or as fast as you'd think.
Inconsistent cheek weld if you do the trigger group/PG mod.
Rather long for a shotgun.

Things to know before buying:
- "Vodka specials." These things are prone to the expected Russian quality control (or more accurately, lack thereof). The place where this becomes noticeable is in the number of gas ports from the barrel to the gas tube. Three or four is needed for good function. It is not unknown for guns to be made with two, one, or even NO ports open. There is a US company available for warranty work, but if you can check it out before buying, pull the valve and check the number of ports (you may need a bent paper clip to check this).

- Magazine fitting. You usually need to fit magazines to the gun. The one that comes with it is already prepped, but any others will need to have the latch hump filed down a bit so they will lock into place. Use the stock magazine as a guide.

I find my S12 to be a fun toy and quite the intimidating shotgun for social work, but I don't think it really does anything any better than a more traditional model (like the Rem 870 or Mossberg 500). I don't know that I'd want one as my only shotgun or even as my primary shotgun, but they're good for the "just because I can" sort of purchase.
 
Likes:

Capacity. They come with 5 round mags standard. There are also 8 rounders, 10 rounders, 12 rounders and 20 round drums. (In the 12ga flavor)

Aftermarket: Carolina Shooters Supply, Tromix, Chaos, Mississippi Auto Arms, and a number of other after market outfits do a GREAT job with their offerings. You can dress it up any way you want to. I would highly recommend converting it to a pistol grip and relocation of the trigger group to get rid of the gritty, long trigger action.

Dislikes:
Russian Quality. It doesn't seem there is ANY QC on these things out of Russia. My gas block was canted and the sights were nowhere NEAR lined up with the barrel.

Heavy. When you put on the "goodies" it gets a bit heavy pretty quickly.

Troubleshooting. If you decide to modify your Saiga, you're going to run into some issues. Expect it and learn to work through it. It'll make your life easier if you go into it with that mindset.

Uses: I used mine at the trap and skeet fields. Shoots just fine and breaks birds. But the magazine can be a hassle when you're playing onsies and twosies games.

Three Gun. Saigas are becoming MUCH more popular in 3 gun because of the magazine capacity and speed with which you can reload. If you add on a mag well, your mag changes can be LIGHTNING Fast.

I would agree it's not a GREAT FIRST shotgun, but as the 5th one in my safe, it's the one I like to shoot the most.
 
I was looking into one for HD/fun. Love the Tromix M4 looking ones. Then last weekend I finally got to hold one. Very Heavy...with an empty 12 rnd mag. That and the cost of the mags has me goin back to thinking about making or buying a Rem 1100 Tac type instead.
 
Once you finish putting on a big chunk of aluminum fore-rail, and the aftermarket sights, and the 12 round magazine hanging out of the bottom, a Rock and Lock to index the magazines for reloads, a muzzle device of your own design, and you're looking at a heavy shotgun.

The bonus is that the recoil is deadened A LOT, but the downside is you're lugging around a heavy shot gun.
 
Saiga Saiga

I too have a Saiga 12. Mine is stock and functions just fine. My biggest dislike is the crappy sights. My biggest like is that is just plain pisses off any/every liberal within 10 mile radius.
 
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