Tomac
Member
This is the Saiga-12 conversion I just received from Elite Firearms.
Just got back from the range and I think I've finally found my shotgun! Fired nearly 100rds of WallyWorld low base loads plus 15rds of slug & 20rds of 00. The Saiga has a gas port with settings for low & magnum loads. It's recommended that the shotgun be thoroughly cleaned before firing (which I deliberately ignored for this test).
Many owners report that the shotgun shoots all loads reliably on the '1' (magnum) setting after a good cleaning and a couple of hundred rds of break-in so I wasn't surprised when mine wouldn't shoot the low base loads reliably on the magnum setting. I did have a few jams with the low base loads initially at the low base '2' setting but this cleared up and was 100% reliable at the '2' setting by the end of the range trip. Functioning w/slugs & 00 at the '1' setting was strictly %100, period.
Fast? I loaded up the 5rd mag and keeping an eye on the first empty was able to fire all 5 shots before the first empty hit the ground!
Sighted in the PK-AS at 50yds w/slugs and after that the PK-AS was just plain lethal on anything I aimed at! The circle in the reticle makes for *very* fast hits! At appx 10yds the circle in the PK-AS reticle exactly covers a B27 torso & Federal Premium 00 patterns right in the center, maybe covering 40% of the torso. Very fast setup using my *left* eye the entire time. Found an interesting use for the PK-AS elevation adjustment wheel: When sighted in for slugs to hit dead-on at 50yds, 00 hits several inches low from POA when fired from 10yds. The solution? If I leave the elevation wheel set to '0' then I'm dead on w/slugs at 50yds and if I set it to '10' (takes all of 2 seconds to make the adjustment) then I'm dead-on w/00.
Recoil: Took my M65 field jacked off (it was about 40F at the range) and fired first 15rds of 00 then 10rds of slug w/no recoil pad on the Romy folder & only a t-shirt between my shoulder & the folder. While I felt the recoil on my cheek it didn't hurt, irritate or bruise my cheek. 00 was tolerable on the shoulder & slugs were very stout, would probably prove painful if I fired many more of these than I did (shoulder does have just a touch of tenderness & shows a little surface hemorrahging). With the M65 you knew you were firing 00/slugs but there was no discomfort at all, I think using the Bulgarian strap-on AK recoil pad would produce the same effect.
My *only* complaint about the Saiga-12 (aside from the cost of 8rd mags) is that inserting loaded mags on a closed bolt can be an exercise in frustration (nothing like the quick & easy "rock & lock" of the std AK) but I've heard it gets better w/practice and as the mags wear in. I'll give it a thorough cleaning and test how it performs w/the low base cheap stuff again.
Tomac
Just got back from the range and I think I've finally found my shotgun! Fired nearly 100rds of WallyWorld low base loads plus 15rds of slug & 20rds of 00. The Saiga has a gas port with settings for low & magnum loads. It's recommended that the shotgun be thoroughly cleaned before firing (which I deliberately ignored for this test).
Many owners report that the shotgun shoots all loads reliably on the '1' (magnum) setting after a good cleaning and a couple of hundred rds of break-in so I wasn't surprised when mine wouldn't shoot the low base loads reliably on the magnum setting. I did have a few jams with the low base loads initially at the low base '2' setting but this cleared up and was 100% reliable at the '2' setting by the end of the range trip. Functioning w/slugs & 00 at the '1' setting was strictly %100, period.
Fast? I loaded up the 5rd mag and keeping an eye on the first empty was able to fire all 5 shots before the first empty hit the ground!
Sighted in the PK-AS at 50yds w/slugs and after that the PK-AS was just plain lethal on anything I aimed at! The circle in the reticle makes for *very* fast hits! At appx 10yds the circle in the PK-AS reticle exactly covers a B27 torso & Federal Premium 00 patterns right in the center, maybe covering 40% of the torso. Very fast setup using my *left* eye the entire time. Found an interesting use for the PK-AS elevation adjustment wheel: When sighted in for slugs to hit dead-on at 50yds, 00 hits several inches low from POA when fired from 10yds. The solution? If I leave the elevation wheel set to '0' then I'm dead on w/slugs at 50yds and if I set it to '10' (takes all of 2 seconds to make the adjustment) then I'm dead-on w/00.
Recoil: Took my M65 field jacked off (it was about 40F at the range) and fired first 15rds of 00 then 10rds of slug w/no recoil pad on the Romy folder & only a t-shirt between my shoulder & the folder. While I felt the recoil on my cheek it didn't hurt, irritate or bruise my cheek. 00 was tolerable on the shoulder & slugs were very stout, would probably prove painful if I fired many more of these than I did (shoulder does have just a touch of tenderness & shows a little surface hemorrahging). With the M65 you knew you were firing 00/slugs but there was no discomfort at all, I think using the Bulgarian strap-on AK recoil pad would produce the same effect.
My *only* complaint about the Saiga-12 (aside from the cost of 8rd mags) is that inserting loaded mags on a closed bolt can be an exercise in frustration (nothing like the quick & easy "rock & lock" of the std AK) but I've heard it gets better w/practice and as the mags wear in. I'll give it a thorough cleaning and test how it performs w/the low base cheap stuff again.
Tomac
