Has Saiga fallen out of favor?

It seems that a few years ago the Saiga was being touted as a great ak-47 for the money but as of late I barely see them mentioned. Why the loss of interest? Or is it just my imagination?

 

They are just hard to find lately, and the prices have gone up.

 

I think their prices have fallen out of favor........

 

Also most people would want to convert them (unless you get one that someone has already converted). When the price jumped up they are now in the same range as other models which are already converted. I've seen Saigas on the shelf in gun shops for the same price that I can buy an Arsenal if I shop around. If I want to spend less, there's also a bunch of other good options out there.

When I was looking to buy one a number of years ago, I could have bought a Saiga, converted it, and it would still be quite a bit less than other options. Now, not so much. They are still a fairly good deal in the overall spectrum I guess.

 

Izmash is in the process of restructuring their company (merging with Molot) into a newly named one called "Kalashnikov, Inc.". We will just have to wait and see about their new product line.

In the mean time these guys are still selling some interesting Saiga versions:

https://legionusainc.com/saiga-rifles-for-sale/factory-models.html

Good luck

M

 

THIS. ^

Right now, the best deal for a low-priced quality AK is the Yugo O-PAP.

My guess is all that will change if larger numbers of Saigas start coming in and prices drop again. Converted Saigas do make for a very good AK.

 

Kalashnikov To Ship Up To 200,000 to U.S. annually

http://rbth.ru/news/2014/01/16/kalashnikov_to_ship_up_to_200000_guns_to_us_annually_33307.html

Quote: According to the contract, RWC has got an exclusive right to deliver to the United States and Canada sports and hunting weapons under Izhmash and Baikal brands produced by the Kalashnikov concern. The five-year contract envisions the shipment of 80,000 to 200,000 guns per year. RWC will not only sell but also provide maintenance services.


M

 

Two years ago Saiga Sporters were selling for $300.00 which made them not only very desirable for conversions and, for me, very desirable cheaper alternative to the Ruger Mini 14.

At that price I consider my unconverted Sporter to be a sleeper against AK style rifles being banned .

Frankly I think Sporters are still very much in demand. If the price drops enough I will buy another one so I can have pair in each caliber.

 

Saigas are still in high demand. Just look at the prices. They were a freaking bargain a few years ago. I picked up 2 new ones for a little over $300 each back then. Great platform to make it into a "real" AK or just leave it Plain Jane and have it keep below the radar. Gotta swap out some of the parts though to make it legal hi-cap, though.

These days, with Plain-Jane's going for around $550, it's kind of crazy; much like everything else.

 

I do not see that being most guys want a 1500 dollar and up Krebs or Arsenal. Standard AK 74 for 699 and some cheaper is real accurate for an AK a lot better the 47 and does not need anyone to more then double the price for hardly any gain.

 

Saiga help

Hey guys new to the site and interested in learning about the Saiga in .223. when you guys are talking about converting one what are you converting? Anyone know if the 223 is reliable or should I just stick with the 7.62?

 

I missed out on the sported, unconverted Saigas going for under $300. When production ramps up again and imports start flowing in, prices tend to drop. But with the last gun scare tapering off, AK prices really never fell back to normal. I'd like an AK, preferably an unconverted Saiga for cheap, and do the conversion myself. A triple play if a 7.62x39, a .308 and a 12 gauge would make my day.

 

People convert them to be more AK-like, mostly to get the pistol-grip configuration of a regular AK. It requires moving the trigger, etc.

I never did convert mine, and I'm glad I didn't because if I had, it would now have to be registered under Andy Cuomo's excremental "NY SAFE Act." With the sporter stock and no other features, Saiga is the "non-assault" AK for those of us in the idiotic states.

Mine is a .223, and I have never had a malfunction of any kind in it.

 

When Saiga's come into this country there is no pistol grip and the stock is set up more like a standard non ak/ar-15 rifle stock. However you can move the trigger group forward, put a pistol grip on and put a regular ak stock on.

 

.223 works fine. The drawback to the .223 is the magazines... in that they are not as common as 7.62x39 or 5.45x39. Since .223 AKs are not used by any military, there are no surplus mags. And since there are simply very few .223 AKs to begin with, there just are not many mags, and as such, they are not a high priority for manufacturers.

 

Unless you have converted your Saiga, you can't use regular AK mags anyway. Saiga mags are proprietary. Any place that sells 7.62x39 mags for a Saiga will have .223 mags too. That said, they're much rarer and more expensive than standard AK mags.

 

They're more than they used to be ($300 compared to $450 as of late). They're no longer the steal of a deal they were, but it's still a Russian-made AK. I wouldn't give mine up for anything.