Saiga Rifles: Worth It, Or Worthless?

[rc]

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.

[PAdutchman]

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.

[5whiskey]

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.

[Jim567]

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.

[Ignition Override]

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.

[Steve in Allentown,]

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.

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.

[tangolima]

The dog leg scope rail, can you field strip the rifle without disturbing the optics? Thanks.

-TL

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[Steve in Allentown,]

Originally Posted by tangolima

The dog leg scope rail, can you field strip the rifle without disturbing the optics?

Yes. The scope rail is securely held on the receiver and can easily be rotated up and out of the way of the bolt carrier group.

[tangolima]

Originally Posted by Steve in Allentown,

Yes. The scope rail is securely held on the receiver and can easily be rotated up and out of the way of the bolt carrier group.

Thanks. So it requires drilling and tapping into the receiver?

-TL

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[Steve in Allentown,]

Originally Posted by tangolima

So it requires drilling and tapping into the receiver?

Nope. The web site should have illustrations or at least descriptions of how it all goes together.