Saiga .223 any good?

K

Kanilure

New member
Been thinking about buying something in .223. Just can't work up the desire to buy a Bushmaster, Armalite, or Rock Island. I dunno why. They are good guns and I got the dough. Like a dumb ass I went out an bought 1,000 rounds of .223 when it was on sale and now I gotta have something to shoot it in.

Has anyone had any experience with the Saigas? What kind of accuracy could I expect? What is a good price for one in .223? Can you buy extra mags anywhere yet for say, 5 or 10% the price of the gun? I know you can't use AK mags in it, and I don't want to trick it out. I would be happy to pick up a couple of extra 10 round mags for $30 bucks or so. If so where?

I would be grateful if anyone with experience could give me an opinion of these guns.

I've got several SKSs so I'm used to the Russian guns.
 
T

Te Anau

New member
In a word,YES they are excellent rifles.EAA is bringing in 30 rounders for them and CDNN already claims to have them in stock.????Havent called to make sure.They can easily compete with an AR no problem and are extremely unlikely to be ammo sensitive like so many AR's are.CDNN is selling the guns for $229.99 I believe.Download their catalog and get out your wallet!
www.cdnninvestments.com
 
A

Adam Firestone

New member
And, for another $770 you can have one of the Krebs customizations of the Saiga. . . .like this

KTR-03SFinal.jpg


or this

ktr03svltor.jpg


Those are 7.62x39mm KTR's, but you can probably get them in 5.56mm. . .

On the other hand, if you don't want to pony up a G (and I fully understand that one) - the Saigas in 5.56mm are excellent rifles. .. why do you think Marc uses them as his point of departure?
 
B

Bob Freddy

New member
Yes, I plan on purchasing a Saiga 7.62x39. Any info on these models? EAA has 30 rounders for this caliber in stock (according to website). Was also considering the .308 model but I think I will go with the Nato round instead. Those look pretty sweet setup like that Adam. :)

BOB
 
M

Master Blaster

New member
I have one and the sights are terrible. I had to move my front sight all the way over to the right to get the POI in the target at 100 yards. get a mount from EAA and a red dot sight or a scope. I have a 4x PSOP scope on mine, and its OK, I bought a new 6x russian scope from CDNN last week, they claimed it fit the SAIGA. Guess what? it did not fit, I dont know what the mount on it is supposed to fit but it sure don't fit a Saiga or an AK side mount. The mount looks like its missing the dovetail clamping block that locks it to the side rail.

I sent it back on Friday for a refund. The 4x PSOP scope I bought from them last year fits the saiga rail, but had a tendency to slide forward, possibly because it was supposed to fit an SVD, and the stop pin is on the wrong end of the mount (front not rear) it can be switched but I have not yet had time to correct this problem. The saiga is a good gun but it will take a little work to find a load it likes, so far I have been able with the scope to get 4" 5 shot groups with Wolf ammo (which is not known for great accuracy) at 100 yards.
 
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M

Master Blaster

New member
The stock saiga, in .223 16" barrel.

I also own the .308 model which also needed some adjustment to the front sight, but was not nearly as bad as the .223. Odd thing is that the front sight does not appear to be canted, nor does the rear sight. Unfortunately the AK type sights are not very good at all. Its too bad no one makes a receiver mounted peep sight which would improve the practical accuracy considerably.

The krebs model you pictured looks nice, but for $1000 you could build a very nice AR-15 that would easily outshoot it, and would be easier and cheaper to customize, and have high cap magazines aplenty for cheap as well.
 
A

Adam Firestone

New member
The krebs model you pictured looks nice, but for $1000 you could build a very nice AR-15 that would easily outshoot it, and would be easier and cheaper to customize, and have high cap magazines aplenty for cheap as well.
Click to expand...

Point of order. . . .

My KTR-03V will shoot as well as either of the AR's I own. . . .

While the AR is EASIER to customize owing to the sheer volume of options, the high quality ones are not any cheaper. . .

And last time I looked, high cap mags for both were running between $11 and $15.

And the AK action is more reliable. :p <ducking and running for cover>
 
F

FirstFreedom

Moderator
Is that KTR based on a Saiga or a VEPR action? Or could you get either? Is the KTR advertised at Robinson Armament as being a RobAm product actually a robarm product or a krebs customization of their vepr?

On the Saiga 20 rounders in .308....if they ARE available, will they work in both the Saiga .308 wood/synthetic AND the Saiga 100 rifle, or only in the wood/synthetic?

As always, I am.....More Confused By The Minute.
 
A

Adam Firestone

New member
KTR-03S is on a Saiga action. KTR-03V is on a Vepr. Your choice.

I don't think the KTR is advertised at ROBARM - R Guns has the exclusive on the distributorship for the KTR-03S.

And the KTR's do take standard AK mags.
 
R

roscoe

New member
I love mine, and it seems to be plenty accurate. I can get 2"-3" groups at 100 yards with the rough AK battle sights, but I plan on getting the Krebs peep sight installed. My understanding is that the Saiga .223 is more inherently accurate than other calibers because Saiga uses the same blank for all calibers, so the .223 is stiffer (or this could be internet hearsay). Anyway, I love mine - it is a lot for the money
 
C

CRUFFLER.COM

New member
If you're going to use the AR style sights (which are standard on the KTR series) you have to find some way of stiffening the dust cover to receiver interface - a la Krebs, Galil, or Valmet. Otherwise, you'll never hold a zero. But they work oh so well!!
 
A

Adam Firestone

New member
Very very nice rifle. Mongo jealous!

I suppose I was unclear. Both of my AR's (one Colt 20" A2 and one RRA 16" M4-gery) are strictly "rack grade" or "issue" type guns (with the exception of the RRA 2 stage trigger).

Given the use of iron or or non-magnifying sights, the KTR will shoot as well as either of them with the Q3131A or milsurp ammunition I prefer. I have not tried putting a scope on the KTR yet.

As an aside, I wonder if part of the relatively low cost factor on your (did I say it was very very nice? ;) ) rifle is because of the glut of AR parts and accessories on the market. . .you know. . . supply and demand. . .
 
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