Designated Marksman Saiga?

[danweasel]

Would I be dumb to make a "Designated Marksman" style rifle (20" or so barrel, .308 caliber, maybe a 2.5x-4x optic etc..) out of a Saiga .308? I am thinking of about 600 yard sillouette hits. Basically I want to make a poor man's M1A.

Does anyone make a stock for these weapons that is a basic, "american length" stock? I hate the Saiga stock.

Any input on this would be more than appreciated,

Dan

 

[Coronach]

Are we talking about the issued, "traditional" stock on the imported Saiga, or the standard AK stock for a de-sporterized Saiga? If the former, I have no idea. You could probably achieve it through the judicious use of spacers and longer screws. If you're talking about the latter, yes. You can get a US-made AK stock in NATO length.

As to using a Saiga .308 as a DMR, the only reason I can think of not to is if it won't hang at that range. The only way to know is to try one and see.

My guess is that it will not be as accurate as an M1A, especially a tweaked M1A, but I bet it will be good enough. I also imagine that a .308 Vepr would be a better bet.

Mike

 

[HorseSoldier]

I'd guess that with good ammo and a good optic you'll get pretty close to the same accuracy guys are actually getting with M14s in the sandbox. Might not hang with super-tuned competition M14 clones or other target rifles, but should be capable of doing what a "throw it in the back of the humvee for 100 miles of bad road" kind of service rifle manages.

 

[sarduy]

you'll be ok, i did good with my Saiga .223 with 20'' barrel at 300 yards shooting at a man-size target 4 out of 5 shots hit center mass

 

[rangerruck]

they make the 308 with a 22 inch bbl, and wood furniture, I think it is a thumbhole type stock, but not sure. go over here to check;
http://forum.saiga-12.com/index.php?http://forum.saiga-12.com/

 

[rangerruck]

by the way, i don't think you are crazy to try; I have a pretty sick accurate 308 saiga, don't see why you couldn't get one to shoot, either.

 

[stolivar]

I can do 500 yard targets with mine

I have no problems doing it with my long barrel Saiga 308. My other one will not even hit the plates at that distance.


steve

 

[JWarren]

As to using a Saiga .308 as a DMR, the only reason I can think of not to is if it won't hang at that range. The only way to know is to try one and see.

If you check some of my old threads, you will see that I essentially did this last year. Granted, mine was using the 16" .308, however.

With quality ammunition, I was able to achieve between 1.25 to 1.5 MOA at 100 yards with the rifle. I suspect it would qualify it as "DMR" results. I could have gone cheaper, but I ended up with about $950 in the project by the time I was done.

PLEASE do not take this as a criticism of the rifle....

After all that, I decided that I wanted more of a "precision" rifle and dropped the project. I opted for another project on the LR-308/large frame AR platform where I will be expecting consistent sub-MOA performance. I was able to get into the stock rifle for what I was into the Saiga project for, but my work on the LR-308 has pushed the price tag well above the Saiga project.

All in all, I think the Saiga 308 will do exactly what it is designed to do, and it will give you much better accuracy than most AK owners will be accustomed to. However, it is simply not a platform that can be worked into anything beyond a DMR role.


This is the build that I did last year:

-- John

 

[judaspriest]

Nice piece.

One question about the buttstock though - how hard is it to move the cheek piece out of the way (so that you could clean from the receiver end, not the muzzle)?

Thanks,

JP

 

[JWarren]

Thanks...

One question about the buttstock though - how hard is it to move the cheek piece out of the way (so that you could clean from the receiver end, not the muzzle)?

Rather easy. It was held in place by a simple screw. That cheekpiece was ordered from ACE when I ordered the Stock.


-- John

 

[Z-Michigan]

One question about the buttstock though - how hard is it to move the cheek piece out of the way (so that you could clean from the receiver end, not the muzzle)?

Get an OTIS kit with the steel (coated) pull cable. I haven't used a rigid cleaning rod in 2 years. There is also the "patchworm" that is similar in concept. Either way you can clean from the breech any type of firearm without having to have 30" of space directly behind the barrel to run a rod in.

 

[Davandron]

When I was on the AK vs AR fence, I talked with a friend who has a number of both of them. One thing he said was that because of the insecure ways the AK stakes its barrel to its receiver and the way the bolt locks to the barrel, he felt it moved around too much to ever be an accurate platform.

BTW, what did the Soviet & Russian Armies use for their DM role? Did they use a 7.62x54 AK?

Edit: So Wikipedia says they used the Dragunov, which appears to be a completely different rifle. It seems there never were 7.62x54 AKs.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Actually there is the ROMAK, which is a Romanian rifle that looks like a Dragunov but is in fact basically an AK in 7.62x54R, built on the RPK receiver.

The SVD Dragunov is entirely different from the AK, as you noted.

 

[Prince Yamato]

I say go for it. I'd be shocked if the AK didn't do what you asked of it. The Romanian PSL and the Yugo M95 (I think that's the correct designation) are long barreled AKs that shoot 7.62x54 and 8mm Mauser respectively. I can't imagine a .308 would be inaccurate. A 20" barrel should give you better groups. I say do it just to prove others wrong.

 

[coondawg47]

I have a converted Saiga 308 carbine. Below is a group I shot with it last Saturday with a hot barrel. So, yes I think it would be able to easily hit man size targets at 600 yards.

 

[danweasel]

Thanks a lot guys,

I am going to do it. I will post when it is finished but it is going to be a while. Thanks again,

Dan

 

[Vicious-Peanut]

This thread has me very, very interested in the Saiga .308 Ver 2. Specs are nearly the same on it and the M1a, 22" barrel, 20 round magazines. (aftermarket and requires an American hammer, for legal hoop jumping) That and most of them seem to be able to hold 2MOA, I think it would have no problem at 600+ yards.

 

[Davandron]

BTW, there is a related thread going on right now about the PSL vs Dragunov and the DM rating: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=388302