Saiga Rifles: Worth It, Or Worthless?

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ohen cepel

New member
They are very good rifles, with some trigger work you can get the groups much better with them. Won't become a target rifle, but better.

Russian made Ak's so they are quality.
 
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Skans

Active member
I don't like Saiga. There are better built AK's out there that use sturdier receivers. I'm sure that overall, they are reliable, but every one I've held seems flimsy and poorly finished. Just my opinion.
 
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Last Escape Pod

New member
They're sporterized AKs made at the official russian manufacturing plant, so they're probably well made and have quality control. Arsenal Aks are arguably the best and they're just Saigas made to look like evil black rifles.
 
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Single Six

New member
Skans: Thanks as always. I'm still undecided, but yours is one of the very few negative opinions on the Saiga I've seen thus far. Mind you, I'm only looking for a reliable rifle; it need not be a 100 yard, one-hole wonder. Heck, from what I've seen, you can just about buy 2 Saigas for the price of 1 Mini-30! Expense is an issue with me, but I also am a bit annoyed that the Saigas don't come in stainless.
 
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kilimanjaro

New member
I've fired 'em twice now, don't own one, but it seems to be surprisingly well made. It's mainly stamped metal, but fit and function were fine. Accuracy was good, no issues I could discern with 100 rounds.
 
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Nick9130White

New member
I own two, a Saiga .308 with 21.8" barrel and a Saiga .223 with a 16" barrel.
I converted both of mine and they are perfect. Accurate enought for what they are meant to do. On my 223 I put a Bulgarian AK74 FSB and MB on it. I don't own a Saiga in x39 though. Thought about it but I own a polish UF kit so no need really. But if you have the chance, buy it. You will not regret it.
 
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Skans

Active member
I'm only looking for a reliable rifle;
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Saiga is known to be very reliable out of the box. And, I've not heard of a Saiga semi-auto AK style rifle breaking. If that's your threshold, then you won't have any problem with a Saiga. My problem is that I've owned a Polytech stamped receiver AK - that's my base for comparing quality. If you completely disassemble a Saiga and a Polytech, look at the receivers and the parts, you can see and feel the difference. The Polytech Legends were even nicer (milled receivers), and if you compare those side by side with Arsenal, you will see that Polytech makes a nicer milled receiver rifle than Arsenal (which is a very nice AK).

Presently, the only AK I own is a Polish underfolder built on a DCI 1.5mm receiver with TAPCO fire control parts. All parts numbers (except TAPCO fire control parts) match and looked new (when I bought it) - it'll shoot any ammo all day long without a hickup and is accurate enough for an AK. However, the fit, finish, barrel thickness, bolt, bolt carrier, fire control parts, magazine and receiver thickness of the stamped Polytech is observably superior to my Polish underfolder.

The bottom line - I keep my eyes pealed for a nice stamped Polytech underfolder (with spiked bayonet and all the goodies) in the low 1,000's. If I happen to find a Legend that I can afford, then that would be ok too. My reason for saying all of this is because there are a lot of Saiga fans out there that think Saiga is the cream of the crop when it comes to AK's just because they are made in Russia. They're not. The Polytech AK's imported prior to '89 are the cream of the crop in my opinion. Of course, this is excluding variants like Galil, Valmet M-76 and others.
 
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essohbe

Moderator
^ If the OP thinks a Mini30 is too expensive then they are not about to go out and buy a Polytech :rolleyes:

My questions: Are these weapons worth the money [as in, are they reliable and reasonably accurate]?
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YES. Buy them both before the coming price hikes. As soon as I sell my WASR I'm getting a 7.62x39 Saiga to go with my 5.45 I already have.

Other question: This shop also sells SureFire hi-cap mags for the rifles. Are they reliable as well? Thanks for any and all info.
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To make an AK feed reliably it's best to install a bullet guide/feed ramp in the front trunion just below the breech. They should then reliably feed from any AK magazine. Don't buy the one's made for Saiga's, the only difference is that the lips sit a little higher to compensate for the lack of a bullet guide in the trunion. Saiga's aren't imported with feed ramps so allot of people (like myself) just attach their own or an aftermarket one.

You'll save money in the long run by installing your own bullet guide for free or even buying the $20 ones available already made as opposed to forking out $$$ for high priced magazines designed to be used with Saigas that don't have the feedramps.
 
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Guns Blazing

New member
I am also deeply considering a Saiga .308, cause i want a cheaper .308 Semi Auto before i can eventually afford to get a Springfield M1A, Been researching the Saiga for about a week, haven't shot one but have heard such great things for the price i think i will definitely grab one...

Worth It.
 
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Battle Born

New member
We sell a ton of them and they always work well and Ive had no complaints as of yet.
Go ahead and get one, I bet you will be happy.

Mark
 
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Single Six

New member
Okay, I was really wanting to buy a Saiga...but having been filled in by other TFL members on 922r, I'm really having second thoughts. I've checked out some provided links pertaining to this particular law, and the more I read, the more confused I'm getting! The more I think about this, the more I'm thinking that this may be best left alone [as in, I won't buy a Saiga], because the last thing I want to do is unknowingly violate any laws.:eek:
 
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essohbe

Moderator
Don't let 922r scare you out of owning one of the best AK rifles you can get for the money. If you're not going to reconfigure the rifle then don't worry about it just don't get caught with the foreign surplus hi cap mags.

If you are going to reconfigure it then it's not a big issue since most the parts you'll need to buy, like the fire control group Tapco makes for example, are probably going to come from the US anyways (unless you have a bunch of parts kits lying around).

Nobody ever checks for 922r anyways. Hell, someone could just get a letter punch and stamp "USA" on the parts.
 
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raftman

New member
922R is all a matter of following the bottom line. Basically, if you're gonna add one or more of certain evil features, the bottom line is the resulting rifle must not have more than 10 foreign-made countable parts. You follow that, and you're good.
 
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CAOxInfinity

New member
Bought my 762x39 saiga in 2005 and paid $229 for it....those were the days.

I've put around 10k roinds through it and have yet to have a failure. Not saying it can't happen, its a machine after all, and all machines will eventually fail. But, mine has been extremely reliable.

As for accuracy, 2 inch groups at 100yds. Plenty good enough for me.

Sent from my Incredible 2 using Tapatalk
 
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BIG P

New member
Got both 308 & 762x39 its the 308 for me,Hard to complain about a 300.oo 308 SA.But if you wait around they're sure to go UP.

Remember what the SKS's did. Make it easy on yourself.;)
 
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Single Six

New member
I wanted a Saiga. Really, I did. I even spoke to a BATFE agent to get clarification on this whole 922r thing...he thought I was talking about the now-expired AWB, and ultimately ended up being of no real help. But between hearing one thing here at TFL, and totally different things in other places, it all adds up to one big question mark for me....and rather than risk it, I'm just not going to get the Saiga. As a full-time LEO, I can't take the chance with something that may or may not be on the up-and-up. So: I'll just play it safe and either get a Ruger Mini-30, or maybe that Blackhawk I've been eyeing! Thanks to all for the responses.
 
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