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Old January 6, 2012, 07:26 PM   #8
Flopsweat
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 28, 2011
Posts: 182
Quote:
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There's no last round bolt hold open (wouldn't be surprised if somebody has modded that, but I haven't seen it), so you're inserting a mag on a closed bolt.
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To be fair, there is a BHO, just no LRBHO on the IZ109. You can manually lock the bolt back, which makes inserting the mag much easier. If you have the bolt carrier cut and polished for improved cycling, it also makes mag insertion easier on a closed bolt. Lots of folks have this mod done. I have and I recommend it. Just be sure to read up on 922r compliance before you do any mods.

I'm aware of one reliable aftermarket LRBHO kit. It's made by Cadiz Gun Works. I haven't tried it myself but I know of several people who have had good results with it. One of my Saiga 12's has a bolt carrier modified by Tom Cole, the owner. He did a great job on it and was a pleasure to deal with.

And actually there is a new model with a LRBHO, but it's poorly designed IMO. They also require a different (or modified) magazine for the last round feature to function. I had one for almost a year. I only got to shoot it a few times. It failed (the LRBHO self-destructed) the first time out. It was repaired under warranty and worked for a few shots and then failed again. I don't think I got to put more that 25 rounds total out of it. This was a bit frustrating since my other Saigas have been very reliable. When the importer determined that the gun could not be repaired they sent me a replacement which I recently traded for an 870 and some accessories. I'll keep the Saigas that I have now - I really like them - but I have no interest in this new model. The new parts for the LRBHO feature look flimsy. I'm very surprised that this design made it out of Izhmash. They moved the bolt stop to the front of the bolt and attached it to a thin, narrow and apparently easily bent strip of what looks like sheet metal. Given what a rugged, elegant design the rest of the gun is, I find it hard to believe that Mr. Kalashnikov had anything to do with this travesty.
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