Best SHOTGUN EVER!

[Frozen North]

I have a plug in the magazine of both of my 12 gauge shotguns. Magazine capacity means very little to me because I don't even use what I have.

I would take my 870 or my A-5 for the purposes I use a shotgun.

I would sure like a browning O/U for upland birds though.....

 

[lobo9er]

The x-rail does look a bit rediculous. I have never handled a gun with one, but it looks muzzle heavy to say the least. I would think a saiga with a traditional box magazine would handle a bit easier. Also i'd say the x-rail is a one trick pony. Made for competitions, I wouldn't think any law enforcement, military, and or home defender would want to maneuver around hallways and tight corners with a x railo hanging off the end of their shotgun.

 

[Mike1234567]

Speaking only for weight distribution and handling... I can't believe anyone would opt for a pump shotgun with an X-rail over a Saiga. At lease the Saiga mags are centered on the firearm and hang lower.

 

[MCgunner]

Meh. I use shotguns for field hunting. That is one thing a Saiga won't do well. Yeah, it might the best thing for playing war games and chest thumping, but that doesn't impress me much.

Ditto. Mostly what I hunt is migratory and has a federally imposed 3 shot capacity limit, anyway. I've never had the plug out of my Mossberg 500 and my Winchester 1400 only holds 2 in the mag and my two SxSs, well, they're awesome fast handling shotguns. I'm sure a Saiga loaded with a 20 round drum handles like a cinder block. Hell, I don't need more'n one for goose hunting, hunt with a H&R 10 gauge. It's infinitely better on high flying snows than any Saiga, can bring 'em down from 60 yards.

 

[Justin]

But I asked the guys who make the X-rail about it at the SHOT show, and even THEY admitted that the gun felt like you just hung a full box of heavy shells off of the muzzle when trying to maneuver it.

At Superstition Mountain and the Texas Multigun Nationals this year, I was squadded with an extremely talented open shooter who runs a shotgun with an X-Rail.

From watching him, it's pretty clear that it takes a decent amount of upper body strength to move the gun around, but once you start unloading that ammo, it hardly recoils.

That said, what I know about the swing of a well-balanced shotgun and how it applies to hitting clays or birds could fit into a shot glass with plenty of room left over.

Made for competitions, I wouldn't think any law enforcement, military, and or home defender would want to maneuver around hallways and tight corners with a x railo hanging off the end of their shotgun.

They make two different versions. The one pictured is the larger one.

 

[Mike1234567]

A Saiga 12ga is just a Kalashnikov battle rifle modified as a shotgun. So, it's a battle shotgun than "can" be used for hunting and competition and is far better at the former one than the latter two. The S-12 will beat the pants off of "better" shotguns in battle. But the OP listed the S-12 as a "do everything" long arm which, to a limited degree, is true but it doesn't do everything as well as its intended purpose.

The above stated and at this time, the only shotguns I own are Saigas.

 

[Justin]

Mike, what experience do you have running a Saiga in competition?

Admittedly I've never actually run one at a match, but have seen others do so, and the results have been spotty, with a lot of the guns going down.

If you've got one that runs, did/do you have to do anything special to keep it in performance condition?

 

[HKGuns]

Saiga 12.... it can do it ALL!!! Home Defense, kill some Clays and make your competitors look silly loading 1 round at a time with pump shotguns at 3-gun competitions!

Please tell me this is a joke and you're not actually serious. I could name around 100 better shotguns off the top of my head. Here are two. Stay off the video games son.

 

[lobo9er]

Please tell me this is a joke and you're not actually serious. I could name around 100 better shotguns off the top of my head. Here are two. Stay off the video games son.

at some things to some people. thats the same argument as the OP.

 

[agent89]

I like my benelli just fine. Basic nova tactical pump with nordic mag extension and support clamp simple sling and shell holder. Does most things well.

 

[PT92]

Saiga 12.... it can do it ALL!!! Home Defense, kill some Clays and make your competitors look silly loading 1 round at a time with pump shotguns at 3-gun competitions! what other shotgun can easily carry a 20-30 round drum or a stick mag? dollar for dollar... best shotgun available!

who can name a better, more versatile boom-boom stick?

I think you could make a viable argument that the Siaga-12 is "The Best" Tactical Shotgun to be had but I too think many would debate its trap/skeet merits justly or not. I have one and feel that it serves as a wonderful HD/SHTF weapon as it will run as long as you feed it mags or drums (analogous to a plane that will fly indefinitely so as long she's refueled).

-Cheers

 

[Mike1234567]

Justin... Maybe I didn't make my point clearly. I "tried" to state that a Saiga "can" compete in any realm but its forte' is limited to a battle shotgun. This is stated as "research only" because I'm a complete noob.

 

[oneounceload]

Like, is that, like ya know, something like a "shotty"?
have you scene evil dead or army of darkness? just wondering it makes "boom-stick" make more sense. its not really a like dude dude thing that drives you foe-gies up the wall.

No, I haven't, but then us old fogies really hate immature BS slang from folks who don't have a clue.......

I "tried" to state that a Saiga "can" compete in any realm but its forte'

But, in reality, it can't

 

[Oxide]

I will say this:

A Benelli M4 is a better shotgun than a Saiga 12 stock. It should be, it costs 3x as much. A Benelli M4 is also probably a better shotgun than a Saiga 12 after 500 dollars of work, including conversion, sights, better gas knob, tuning, larger mags, but it should be, as it is still more costly out of the box.

A saiga 12 is a very good budget tactical 12 gauge. It is not a hunting gun, nor a trap or clays gun.

 

[6x6pinz]

I don't run competition with my saigas but do hunt alot with them. The 410 version is very nice for dove and quail. I use my 12ga on waterfowl when I am having difficulty getting on them with my Benelli. FOR ME! there is something about the way the Saiga fits that just resets my shotgun skills in the field. I prefer an O/U for smaller birds and my pump gun for waterfowl but I always fall back to the Saiga when I am having issues. Those who shoot shotgun (or any firearm alot) would know what I mean by being off. Some days it seems as though you have never touched a gun before. Of my choices of shotguns if I had to limit myself to one it would most likely not be my Saigas though I really like them.
I know that there has been some law enforcement agencies looking at the Saiga but as has been pointed out in previous post they are the ones approaching $2K and in that ballpark there are a lot of very nice options.

 

[HKGuns]

at some things to some people. thats the same argument as the OP.

No, I can use either of the above and most from the list of the other hundred, for anything the OP mentioned and a lot more, so for versatility they can't be beat. The top one can cycle 2.75" 7/8th ounce loads to 3.5" 2.125 ounce Turkey or Goose busters. I'd like to see a Saiga that can do even that, let alone be an effective bird swinger. No qualms here about using either of the above in a home defense situation. I suppose if you want to limit it to the Tacti-cool realm I'll bow out. However, that isn't what I consider "do it all" from a shotgun perspective. Max4HD isn't exactly tactical looking after all.

 

[RNB65]

I just bought an SLP Mk 1 and shot it for the first time today. So for now, that's the Best SHOTGUN EVER!

Of course, I also own a Citori, an AL391, and an 870 and those aren't too shabby either.

 

[d2wing]

So a Saiga is winning all the Olympic competitions now. I'm sure all the O/U makers are really worried about losing all the sales to competitive shooters and bird hunters. If ignorance is bliss somebody must be thrilled right now.

 

[Dimis]

I own both a Saiga and a Mossberg 590 I like both as tactical arms I also have at my disposal a Mossberg 500 set up for field work and skeet/trap.

I have used both the Saiga and my 590 to run through 3 gun style competitions and I prefer my Mossberg I can load it quicker for competition purposes
5 in the gun to start and lets say 7 targets i dont have to slam a full mag home I just need 2 more shells which i can retrieve quicker and load faster than a full box magazine YMMV but thats how it works out for me
same goes for defense reasons I dont need a box mag fed gun to defend my home I only need a simple pump and proper handling and training
there are guys out there that can blow the Saigas away with a SxS in a competition so the fact that you can jam a bunch of HEAVY rounds into the gun doesnt make it better
I do like my Saiga I wouldnt own it if I didnt like it but for a practical purpose I prefer my social work to be done with my 590 and all my field and clays work done with the 500

One major way to determine that the Saigas are not the best available is the fact that Will Hayden from Red Jacket thinks its the best thing since reduced recoil loads

 

[kozak6]

I had no idea the Saiga was that amazing.

Make sure you tell Kim Rhode.

 

[6x6pinz]

Kim won't allow the Saiga, being from the evil state of California

 

[frank c]

To name a few,winchester model 12,remington 870 wingmaster

 

[Snowdog]

Geez, it's a good thing I saw this thread because I was thinking about purchasing a Mossberg 930 SPX tactical... I wouldn't want to be stuck with an inferior shotgun.

Come to think of it, I think I'll go ahead and buy that inferior shotgun after all.

 

[Pete D.]

"best shotgun ever" ??
"Best" is a dangerous word. Using it to describe a shotgun implies that the user has experience with every other shotgun. Saying subsequently that it "can do it all" implies that the writer has "done it all".

That said, the X-rail seems absolutely ridiculous to me. Oh, don't get me wrong, I think it looks awesome, and I can't really imagine anything being much more fun than loosing off all those shells one after another without worrying about reloads (even with a Saiga you've got to change magazines).

Loosing them off at what?
In all of my shotgun pursuits, the most I am allowed to load is three. The largest number of targets that I have had a chance to shoot at at one time is two.
Pete

 

[lobo9er]

No, I haven't, but then us old fogies really hate immature BS slang from folks who don't have a clue.......

just like the ones before you didnt enjoy the ring to your generations BS slang.