looking for a .223 semiauto: Saiga??

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sernv99

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I plan to get my father a semi-auto .233 next month. He likes my PTR-91 but he doesnt like the kick of it, so a .223 would be a good choice, to pluck the groundhogs and coyotes around his farm. I started to look at the Saiga .223 semi autos. Anyone have updated range reports? Reliability? I was also looking at a Wasr-3 from Classic Arms in .223 but not sure. Price would have to be under $450, I don't want to get him a pricey AR or Galil since it won't be used much, just in certain cases.

any thoughts?
 
I have a Saiga .308, and it is AK all the way. Very reliable, very simple, very easy to clean, maintain, and modify if he ever gets the bug. I have not seen any negative reports about any of the Saigas including .223. The accuracy is good on the AK scale, which means out to 300 yards or so you can hit man sized targets pretty reliably with practice of course.
I think it would be a great choice in your price range.
 
My 223 Saiga shoots 3" or less at 100 yds with any ammo I've tried so far. I probably can get that down to close to 2" with a handload or finding the right factory load. It's been 100 % reliable with about 500 rds thru it. I have no intention of converting it to an AK configuration and am happy with the rifle as is for my purposes.
 
Just purchased my Saiga .223 last night (R & R Arms, $275 + shipping) after much deliberation. I plan on doing the standard conversion for it, but living in Calif. limits what I can do to it and still keep it PRK legal. I was going to go with a Kel-Tec, but read far too many threads from owners who had problems right out of the box. No such complaints with the Saiga. AKs seem to be as solid a semi-auto as you can find, and lots of resources and vendors out there if you choose to make it a project gun. FWIW, I also researched the Ruger Mini-14, but I could not justify the high price for what I found out about its shortcomings.
 
Saigas are great rifles. Mine will shoot 3 inches at 100 yards with any ammo and my crappy aim. I converted mine from the standard configuration to "ak" configuration. It uses Galil mags.

A saiga would make a great rifle even in its stock configuration for ranch work. It's also half the price of a used Mini-14 and easily a third the price for an average AR-15.

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All my saigas have run 100%. I have much more faith in them than a century built WARS from classic arms. Alhtough I will add I have bought a couple of rifles from Classic and my experince with them was positive, save spending a whole day unsuccesfuly trying to get through to place the order.

The saiga is a great rifle and comes in well below your $450 limit. With a conversion it is still in your price range.

The only draw back would be if you absolutely wanted hi cap mags and absolutlely didn't want to do a conversion (which isn't too hard to do BTW).

For sub $450 a saiga is probably as good a semi .223 as one can find. I also prefer it to some of the .223s that cost more than it does.
 
any reputable places online that sells these Saigas in .223, with at last a 18 inch barrel? I checked JG Sales but they dont list them.
 
from my understanding, there is not much (if any) difference in accuracy between the 16.3" barrel and the 22" barrel.


I would definitely get the Saiga if I was going to get something chambered in .223. (mine is 7.62x39)
Classicarms.us used to have them
centerfiresystems
atlantic firearms, maybe?
 
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if you want a easy, affordable rifle, the Saiga is great. If you want one that is allready converted for you, you can geta STG-2000 from Atlantic firearms.
They are quite nice as well.
 
I didnt see any Saigas from Atlantic Firearms.....:mad: JG Sales doesnt have them either, only one or two online places that i'm unfamilar with....
 
ok i see it...but it's for $850....forget that....where are the Saigas for under $400???
 
Don't forget to look at the stg 2000's as well, on Atlantic, under the ak 47 style weapons. The bbl is made on Steyr machinery, very nice!!!
 
I just ordered the .223 saiga with skeleton stock from Centerfire Systems. I plan on just selling the stock because I have an ACE folder already to put it on the day I get it(welllll I might shoot it before I convert)
 
FWIW: I've seen used mini14's go for $375; I got mine for $400. I think the mini is easier on the eyes than the saiga. Also, factor in magazine prices (if he wants more than two). Mini mags can be had for cheap, but I've had a few problems with the cheap-o's I bought. I have zero experience with the AK platform so I am biased.
 
Mag prices?

My saiga's mags can be had for 12 dollars a piece. $10 if you get the 12 round mags.
 
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