Saiga Rifles: Worth It, Or Worthless?

I have the S12 and S308 with the original triggers still in them even though I have changed a few other parts. They need to be converted and the triggers replaced since they are terrible to the point that I can not shoot rapidly with the terrible trigger pulls, much less accurately. The guns function very well and the S308 may be accurate. I need to do the conversion and work more with them and that i will do next year.
 
Raftman: From what I've been seeing, Mini-30 reliability seems to be one of those issues that people just can't seem to agree on; some folks swear by them, others swear at them. Being a Ruger fan, I'll chance it. If the one I get turns out to be a dud, then I'll just sell it off and trade up. Besides, the SKS doesn't come in my preferred finish [stainless], but the Ruger does. ;) Your opinions and previous PMs are still much appreciated, though!
 
Don't pay those prices for a Saiga.They are great guns however.Just a couple of years ago,you could get the .223 & 7.62x39 version in hand for less than $300.00
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You'll have to get in your 'way back machine' to get that price again. I was in the LGS today and they had a 7.62x39 for $439. That's $110 more than they sold them for three years ago, and I'm betting you'll never see that price again.
 
I like Saigas, but for a quality AK-type rifle, the VEPRs are hard to beat PLUS you can get a 7.62 x 54R version so you can share the cheapest ammo on the market with your Mosin.
 
Hard to find these days since we no longer allow imports of firearms from Russia anymore ( thank you BHO, you POS!), but still a genuine AK from mother Russia! I have three of them, in .223, 7.62x39 & .308, converted back to their ‘proper configuration.’ All are solid, robust, modestly accurate shooters! All three are set up with Texas Weapon Systems, Gen. II ‘Dogleg’ top cover (VERY PLEASED!). The .223 & x39 are converted to run factory mags ( standard AK mags for x39 & Galil .223 mags ( tougher to come by new adays, but still out there. I discovered that, by comparing the rear mag catch on the factory (Saiga) .223 mag & the x39 mags that the mag catches on the two different rifles could be swapped & normal mag fit up perfectly! Just add a bullet guide & life was good! I could use modestly priced, robust, full-capacity mags! Sadly there was no such fix for the .308! So it’s SGM 308 mags for the 308 shooter! But 1 expensive mag out of 3 is great! I think you can still find .223 Galil mag at Numrich & gun mag warehouse.

Good luck & I hope that this might help someone! I love me some Saigas!

Old SF
 
Never care about those Russians. Not giving them any of my pennies. They are the real POS.

The guns. Wouldn't mind buying them used. Just no more new imports. Same goes to the chincom. Same POS, if not worse.

-TL

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At this point, no more Russian arms or ammo are allowed to be imported so you're safe. Same for the Chinese stuff, with maybe a few very limited exceptions.
 
JohnKSa said:
At this point, no more Russian arms or ammo are allowed to be imported so you're safe. Same for the Chinese stuff, with maybe a few very limited exceptions.
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I know that. Just couldn't bear people calling a president POS over a Russian gun.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
A civilian "sporter" AKM built in a Russian factory is probably as high a quality as can be found.
Do some people not realize which country Invented the basic rifle:confused:, and shipped many thousands to client countries during the Cold War?

The only feature I didn't like was the original trigger -- because -- our laws prohibited its importation with a pistol grip.

The trigger bars to accommodate the long finger Reach (from the butt stock) are not a smooth pull, and I didn't have the tool skills to convert the Saiga.

I owned both the .223 and 7,62x39 versions and being nib their quality was certainly as high as anything I've ever owned in a semi-auto centerfire rifle. It's difficult to put in words. Those components were "born" to work together in an excellent manner. Why wouldn't they.....
 
I fired a 5.56 variant a friend had. Those prices seem very reasonable these days with $1000 mini 14s and 30s. The Saiga I fired was at least as accurate as a mini and probably more accurate out of the box. The magazines are not all that common so see if you can find some spares. I don't believe regular AK mags will work in an unmodified Saiga. The 7.62x39 is a very good cartridge. I actually like it better than 5.56 for general use. 308 has a lot more recoil and is more expensive to shoot if money is a factor.
 
I had one years ago in 308. It was fun to shoot, and accuracy was just fine. However that Saiga 308 had the loudest report of any rifle that I ever owned.
 
I had one in 223, I hated it. You had to find magazines with an incorporated bullet guide (so no am74 mags would work). You COULD install a bullet guide, but the trunion is one of the hardest steels i've ever seen and drilling and then tapping a hole for a bullet guide was a PITA. Literally a day long and several drill bit (and 2 taps) shredded project with home diy not pro but eventually good enough tools. I was happier after finally installing a bullet guide, but that didn't fix the accuracy and the trigger. The trigger isn't a standard AK trigger, and it is terrible (yes more terrible than a standard AK trigger!).

Ultimately I fully converted mine to AK design. And the cheapest "Core-15" AR could still outshoot it (for as many rounds as the Core arms AR would last). To be fair, AKs (and Saigas) were MUCH cheaper then. I actually fell into hard times and sold my AR at the time, put 1/3rd of the proceeds to the used Saiga and the rest to the mortgage. Upgraded the Saiga (bullet guide, actual AK FCG) after my finances improved. Still hated it, especially after I went to the range with a co-worker who bought the poorest quality AR known to man (arguably, kind of) and it still was more accurate and slicker to run than the Saiga. Sold it after and haven't looked back.

If you want an AK patterned rifle, the PSA rifles are decent. My son has one. It's actually just bad, and not terrible.
 
I had two one a bit more accurate than the other.
Totally reliable.
Both were more or less 4 inches at 100 yards if you can tolerate that.
Mostly more.
 
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If this hasn't been mentioned, imagine a rifle which was produced in one of the factories which manufactured the original, first Series of AKMs. Such factories produced the most rugged, extremely reliable guns, which only later were produced in many other client states.

Both the .223 and 7.62x39 (nib) Unconverted Saigas I owned operated and sounded like they were the most reliable semi-auto rifles ever designed and manufactured. They seemed like 100% military guns except for the lack of select-fire.

But I had no tool skills to do either a partial or full conversion.:(
That's why they were sold. About two years ago a buddy let me shoot his unconverted .308 Saiga, which gave me the impression that it would function until the next Ice Age and beyond.
 
Fourteen years ago I converted two Saiga .308s. Nothing sophisticated about AKs. They're heavy, clunky, and reliable. With the right ammo these .308s are quite accurate.

Here are a few pics.

Both rifles below have PK-AS sights mounted. One is directly over the receiver while the other is mounted left of the receiver to accommodate a right handed, left eye dominant shooter.

ZgvJCQx.jpg


The rifle on the left has an Eotech while the one on the right has a 4x Weaver scope. Both are mounted on Texas Weapon Systems Dog Leg scope rails.
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The dog leg scope rail, can you field strip the rifle without disturbing the optics? Thanks.

-TL

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