Just bought my Saiga 12... What next?

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xxxleafybugxxx

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I just got my Saiga 12 at the Indy 1500 gun show. I picked it up today, and have yet to shoot it. I read that you should convert these guns so im seeing what your guy's imput is. How hard is it to convert? I'd like to put a ak wood stock on if possible, and a verticle grip. But what else needs to be done? Are these things i can do myself? What should I do?
 
The first thing you should do is take it out and shoot the hell out of it - several boxes at least - to smooth out everything and break it in. By that time you will also have a better idea of what you may want to change on the gun. Not sure what you mean by "convert". And you should not make any changes until you actually get a feel for the gun the way it is. Who the heck cares what someone else says or writes? It's what you like and want that is important....
 
Thanks mike and liberty. I was just assuming there needed to be changed based on the research I had done thus far. I had seen that it appeared the general concensus of Saiga owners believed that the Saiga was a great shotgun, but only after an ak conversion.. which consisted of the gas system, and foregrip changes and buttstock. I has seen alot of people said they didn't function flawlessly as they should until they had the conversion..

So anyways, i know I want the verticle grip already, i love the way that feels. I also would like to probably put a rail on it somehwere for lights and lasers. This will be a HD weapon.

Also, can someone give me some detailed info on what this is supposed to shoot? High brass/low brass? 8 shot all the way down to 00 and slugs?

2 1/2 or 3?
does it accept everything?
Sorry for so many questions, i just want to know before i take it out!
Thanks
 
Liberty1776 said:
The first thing you should do is take it out and shoot the hell out of it - several boxes at least - to smooth out everything and break it in. By that time you will also have a better idea of what you may want to change on the gun. Not sure what you mean by "convert". And you should not make any changes until you actually get a feel for the gun the way it is. Who the heck cares what someone else says or writes? It's what you like and want that is important....
Click to expand...
Saiga 12's come with no pistol grip. The come set up in a sporter configuration. You convert them by moving the firing components forward and adding a pistol grip. That Brings it back to the way it was originally meant to be. (just like the saiga 7.62 sporter right now) ... one must be careful when converting because you need to comply with the 922r compliance laws. These require a certain amount of parts to be American made.


Either way. A conversion isn't all that difficult, but if you've never tinkered with a gun before have a professional do it. As far as accessories goes it really depends on what you want to do with the gun. Ill tell you this. I put a red dot, collapsible stock, quadrail, forgrip, and converted my saiga 12.

It was all a waste... I sold the parts off and went back to stock. (minus my collapsible stock and pistol rip)..

I eventually sold the gun, as it served no purpose for me.

I say convert it for sure, The ergos are better. Other than that... I see no benefit in anything else... Looking back I think I may have enjoyed a ghost ring type set up on it... but I don't know if they even exist
 
xxxleafybugxxx said:
Thanks mike and liberty. I was just assuming there needed to be changed based on the research I had done thus far. I had seen that it appeared the general concensus of Saiga owners believed that the Saiga was a great shotgun, but only after an ak conversion.. which consisted of the gas system, and foregrip changes and buttstock. I has seen alot of people said they didn't function flawlessly as they should until they had the conversion..

So anyways, i know I want the verticle grip already, i love the way that feels. I also would like to probably put a rail on it somehwere for lights and lasers. This will be a HD weapon.

Also, can someone give me some detailed info on what this is supposed to shoot? High brass/low brass? 8 shot all the way down to 00 and slugs?

2 1/2 or 3?
does it accept everything?
Sorry for so many questions, i just want to know before i take it out!
Thanks
Click to expand...
It can shoot anything. Some of them need the gas tubes ported a bit.

Mine ran everything from target bird shot an up... That birdshot would hiccup every now and then though. It chewed through slugs. It was a blast to run 20 of those into something... Devastating firepower. If your going to run it for home defense. I think a light would probably be your best friend.
 
They didn't have any veprs at the gunshow. only 1 good saiga 12 in fact and i got it at a good price. a few hundred less than i would have gotten a vepr for online. anyways, i know there's nothing wrong with the saigas, some users say its the best semi auto shot gun you can get.. and I dont doubt that. with the ak design which generally cycles flawlessly..

just figuring out if i need to make changes to allow it to do that.
 
So ill definately be wanting to atleast do the ak pistol grip conversion. Is there any kits you guys reccomend? I saw a video on youtube where a guy just drilled out the rivets and moved the trigger guard forward with screws. It seemed fairly easy to not have to re-rivet.
Any kits you guys reccomend?
 
I HATE the mods there (ADMINS ONLY CARE ABOUT PAYING VENDORS AND COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT MEMBER PROTECTION---EVEN PAYING MEMBERS) but the info can't be beat... http://forum.saiga-12.com/

EDIT: Just watch out for vendor deceptions there which ARE PROTECTED BY the Admins...
Click to expand...

Truth!
 
If you are going to use the gun for HD do not store it with a fully loaded mag locked into the gun. Over time the front of the top round will get mashed out of round and may or may not chamber when you need it most. I had this happen with the 5 round factory mag. When I had mine the only mags available were the 5 rounders. It may not be a problem with higher capacity mags if you down load the mag by one round. Still,it's something you need to be aware of.
 
I would put sling and mount dot sight if possible and go to range to shoot it. Adding anything else to it is basically waste of money.
 
The faux virtues of handgun type pistol grip on scattergun have been covered in book entitled Stress Fire II. PG is a waste of money. I would put on dot sight for slug shooting. Mounted $40 BSA and so far other then worthless lens covers it has held up for 50 shots of Federal deep penetrating slugs. Bought those because they are 1oz @1350fps and there were none other available at local stores. I'm not stupid enough to shoot high velocity ones from the bench or otherwise.
 
Have you handled an S12 in sporter form and in its actual designed configuration? In sporter form they are so grossly out of balance and the ergos are so thrown off it is a serious hinderance to running the gun.

A pistol grip conversion is the single best modification that can be made to a saiga 12. I'm talking a true move the FCG conversion not the tapco T6 abortion. A day of running drills with each will make this pretty patent.
 
The best thing you get out of a conversion is getting the trigger up where it is supposed to be. The stock trigger is very sloppy due to the linkage that is required to move it back to the sporter configuration.
 
So will any of the standard conversion kits from south Carolina shooters work? For the kit installation is it just a matter of screwing and loctiting the new trigger guard in? Also do you guys have any recommendations for grips and stocks?
 
There is a step by step guide with pics over at saiga-12 foums. Be aware it is a rough forum LOL.
 
A lot of it is personal preference. The next grip I buy for an AK will be a US palm grip. For stocks again a lot of it is presence. A $30 tapco Warsaw Pact length stock works fine. I prefer the vltor extension and a Magpul MOE in terms of function for my uses. I was really in satisfied with my Ace AR adapter folding unit. I'm not in front of a computer right now. But later I can type up some thoughts based on owning several S12s and having sent many rounds down range with various configurations. Like I started by saying though a lot of it is preference.
 
My Son and I bought 2 Saiga 12 Gauge Shotguns several years ago, to shoot 3 Gun with. And both of our guns work just great, for that. Even gave them a try on Pigs in East Texas with slugs, again both worked very well. Mine I put a slip on rubber recoil pad so it will stand up in the corner and shoot easier with slugs other than that it is just the way it came. My Son put a calapsable stock on His and he really likes it. I have thought of a sling but it carry well so I haven`t yet. My Son has bought the big Mag`s and a couple of the drums, and they work great. I just turned 70 and the drums are to heavy and bulky for me. We have not had any of the problems, other people talk about, and we use ours
alot. I might think about puting on a red dot sight and a good light on mine if I hunted down in Texas more. Or used my Saiga for Home Defence.
ken
 
I'll put a good amount of ammo through my gun before I convert it. When I do, I'll probably go with a Carolina shooter supply conversion kit with a vertical grip and keep my stock. I'd like to put a red dot on it at some point though. For these do guys recommend using the ak side rail for an ak scope then putting red dot on that or somehow using a picatanny from the foregrip?
 
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