Real deal AK or Saiga and XD9?

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skud_dusty

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Well, the time has come...AK prices seem to keep rising with no end in sight with the scare of HR1022 and I've got to make a decision.

Currently I have a Saiga in 7.62x39, and an Springer XD in 9mm, and a few other guns that I am not willing to part with. I'd like to get a "real deal" AK47, but don't have the cash coming in anytime soon to get one. I'm willing to sell/trade the XD and Saiga to get one, but I'm not sure if that's going to be the right decision.

I know I could convert the Saiga, but I'm really not interested in doing that since it'll cost money I don't have. Not to mention I'd want a smith to do it, and that's even more money. The XD is my only 9mm pistol, I have 1 .22 pistol and 2 .45acps. My thinking is I can have one lest pistol caliber to worry about buying, so I might save some money there. For what it's worth, I'm dead accurate with the Saiga, but I can't seem to get the hang of shooting the XD. I have no problems with my other .45s or my .22.

I'm pretty much dead set on an AK, as my roomate has an AR and I'd like to own the other evil black (and wood) gun. I like 7.62x39 as I want to get an SKS in the future.

So Rifle Country, what do you think? I know I'll be losing a substantial ammount of money, but I think I've had my fun with both the 9mm and the Saiga. It'll also be nice to have one less gun to clean:neener:
 
I'd trade you one of my spair NIB WASR10's... with acessories for them... but I don't think that you should do this trade.

Brown bag your lunch for the next year or something.
 
If I can find one for around $300 I might try to trade just the XD for it. The only reason I'd part with the Saiga is if I were getting a nicer one for more $$$. I just think I'm done with the XD, and a real AK is what I want.
 
You're losing a good pistol that is reliable and cheap to shoot, as well as an accurate and reliable rifle.

You will be getting a not-as-accurate rifle that is reliable and takes *gasp* big magazines so you can waste ammo faster.

My experience with the AK (A WASR, so a better variant might be different) is that they're uncomfortably short, have too small of a buttpad, short sight radius, and are hard to shoot off of a rest.

I know some people who want the "evil" guns so they can sell them later for a profit, or it appeals to them because in the future they may be denied. Me, I'll stick with what works the best and what I enjoy shooting.

That said, I know cool factor plays a role in gun buying, and if it's cool to you, then you will probably be able to overlook the flaws (and you can fix my main issue with them by buying another stock).
 
I'd like to get a better varient than a WASR, but I don't want to have to spend a mint to get one.

Is there an online guide to the different brand/makes of AKs and their pros and cons?

I've held a couple AKs and liked the feel (a WAR10 in particular) so I don't think that'll be much of an issue.

I already have some goodies to put on it, as I bought them for the Saiga then learned that it would be illegle to install them.

I know 9mm is cheaper to shoot than .45, but it really isn't that much more. I just think I finally fell out of love with the XD.
 
By all means, keep the Saiga. You've already got a quality rifle there. If you want high-caps, you can convert it to take them in minutes. All it takes is a bullet guide and someone who knows their way around an electric drill.
 
Depends on what you mean by a "real deal" AK.

Do you mean the typical cobbled-together mishmash of parts, or an old collectible AKS-47?
 
a good shooter that isn't garbage.
Click to expand...

Saiga then.

I won't give an opinion on whether to use the extra cash on an XD9. I haven't loved them, but some do. It had more to do with how it fit me and how it worked for me, which weren't good. The 5" version felt more promising, but never got a chance to shoot it.

EDIT: oops. You already have an XD. If you like it, keep it. And the Saiga, too.

AK prices are "toy" prices, not "tool" prices.
 
Chris Butler(http://www.ak-103.com/rifles.html) converted my Saiga into a AK 103 "duplicate." You already have a "real deal" Russian made rifle from Izhmash and it can be converted to military form. Saiga rifles are a lot more accurate than most other AK dups, I'm shooting out to 300 no problem with mine. Whatever you decide just make sure you get a gun with a Tapco G2 trigger(Chris installs and tunes these on his builds ) and watch out for sight cant. Good luck and for God's sake don't buy a rifle built with drive screws.
 
If you are absolutely dead set on getting an AK, I would suggest saving for one. There's nothing worse than trading a quality toy for a superficial one and figuring it out too late(did that a few times as a kid, and I learned my lesson). Saving up for it helps prevent impulse trades that you may regret later on.

That aside, I do understand the "evil black rifle" factor, but a Saiga is still an "evil black rifle", and with a few goodies it'll look even more evil :evil:. I suggest you read up on 922(r), the law that makes your goodies illegal. Basically you have to make sure no more than 10 of these parts are imported:

Frames, receivers, receiver castings, forgings or stampings
Barrels
Barrel extensions
Mounting blocks (trunions)
Muzzle attachments
Bolts
Bolt carriers
Operating rods
Gas pistons
Trigger housings
Triggers
Hammers
Sears
Disconnectors
Buttstocks
Pistol grips
Forearms, handguards
Magazine bodies
Followers
Floorplates
(taken from here)

and then you can have as many evil features as you want.

"Evil features" defined as:

Folding or telescoping stocks.
Pistol grips that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon.
Bayonet lug(mount).
Flash suppressor or threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor.
Grenade launcher.

That's just my suggestion, feel free to ignore everything said in this post and/or write me off as an idiot.
 
Keep the Saiga. You can't do better for the money. So far as the real deal AK goes, put together some bucks and get one made by Arsenal in Las Vegas. Probably run about 700 but it would be a lifetime investment, beautifuly built. Sort of the brick outhouse of AK's.
 
Well from the responses I just might end up trading my XD for a WASR or something similar then. I'm not looking for amazing accuracy, just something for a fun range toy, that's all that my XD and Saiga are. In the end the XD isn't near as fun as what it was when I first got it.
 
A Saiga is about as close to a real-deal AK as you can get. Spend $300 sending it to Tromix for a world-class conversion and never look back.
 
I have had 4 AKs, NHM-91, Maadi, Yugo M70 underfolder and a professionally converted Saiga. The Saiga was by far the best ( IMHO ) of my AKs.
 
I wouldn't recommend the WASR if you're wanting the real deal. It's a cheap beginners AK for those on a budget. XD's will always be around, plus you have a couple other pistols to fill the gap. You said you were losing interest in it, then by all means trade it. If you ever want to get back into one, you can be sure to find one easy. I can't comment on the Saiga but if it did go away you still have everything for another AK. All I'm saying is if you aren't happy and proud of your guns then there's no sense in this hobby anyways. Good luck.
 
I'm happy with most of my guns...Hell I was happy with the XD for most of it's life with me, but I've just got to the point where I think it's time to move on from it. I'm not very good with the weapon, even though I've put 1k+ rounds down range. My Taurus .45 on the other hand, I was hitting the 10 ring within 1 mag, it just fits right.

I'm thinking I need an entry level AK to see if I'd like to get serious about owning a good one. Worse comes to worse I can always sell/trade it as well :neener:
 
as much dirt that WASR's have in the AK playing field, many of them are just as reliable and accurate as top dawg.

not russian, not milled, so what? it goes bang... it shoots straight... and it always shoots.

I have WASR-3, which is the domesticated version in my opinion. Many people decorate these 5.56 rifles to look just like AK-74's, and they suceed with some freakin awesome outcomes.

Dont underestimate the Romanians... ;)
I mean, it is still Eastern European descent :D
 
What should I look for on the WASRs? I know to watch for canted sights, but is there anything else that plagues them?
 
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