Is Saiga going away?

[<SLV>]

Last year there was a news article that Izhmash had filed for bankruptcy. (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/kalashnikov-faces-bankruptcy/article1296238/) I just found this comment on the EAA website, and I was wondering if it is a harbinger of the coming end of the Saiga line:

http://www.eaacorp.com/news.html

2) Izhmash:
Due to a business decision on EAA's part, we will no longer carry parts and accessories for Izhmash "Saiga". Please call 321-639-4842 for existing inventory.

It seems like importing Russian firearms is tough business. There are a lot of good products over there, but American companies have constantly bungled the marketing and sale of them. Or is there something more to these failures?

 

[Z-Michigan]

EAA has not been importing Saiga for many years. They are now imported by RAA, Russian-American Armory.

http://www.raacfirearms.com/

Also the bankruptcy of Izhmash was way overblown. Nothing has really changed.

 

[nalioth]

Also the bankruptcy of Izhmash was way overblown. Nothing has really changed.

A "news story" covering exactly the same circumstances came out a couple of years back, too.

Both were nothing more than mistranslations of Russian inanities.

 

[<SLV>]

I don't know... this doesn't look too good:

http://www.rferl.org/content/Kalashnikov_Gun_Factory_Offers_Food_In_Place_Of_Salaries/1943422.html

Kalashnikov Gun Factory Offers Food In Place Of Salaries

January 29, 2010
The management at a factory producing Kalashnikov guns in Russia's Kirov Oblast is paying its workers in food in place of their regular salaries this month.

The Molot factory in Vyatskiye Polyany distributed buckwheat, rice, sugar, pasta, and sunflower oil to some 100 workers earlier this week.

The food was provided to the factory by local businessmen. Today another group of some 100 workers received foodstuffs instead of money for their salaries.

The Molot factory has experienced economic problems since the government reduced its orders from the company last year. Many companies around the world now make guns similar to the original Kalashnikov weapons, hurting sales for the main Russian Kalashnikov makers.

The largest Kalashnikov factory, in Izhmash, was closed down for much of 2009.

 

[nalioth]

Another mistranslated and spun "news item".



If you honestly don't want a Saiga, don't buy one.

 

[<SLV>]

No need to get defensive. I've owned several Saigas, and they work great. How do you know this is a mistranslation? Can you show us what it was translated from and give us a better translation?

 

[nalioth]

Every news story that has come out about "THE KALASHNIKOV PLANT(S) ARE CLOSING!!!" for the past few years have been mistranslations.

Your snippet above is erroneous in that the Izhmash plant was not "closed down for most of 2009"

Also, Molot does not make AK (or Saiga) rifles. It makes RPK rifles.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Also, Molot does not make AK (or Saiga) rifles. It makes RPK rifles.

Just to add, Molot was a separate company until a couple years ago when a lawsuit by Izhmash succeeded and resulted in Molot getting taken over by Izhmash. Earlier this decade Molot had been producing "VEPR" rifles for the US and some other civilian markets. These were basically AK-pattern but built on RPK receivers and with some other minor differences, and were some of the nicer AKs available (but at a price).

 

[maksim]

I am russian, so send a link will be more than happy to translate. also, will look in some russian media for htis.