Saiga 308 Dents Brass

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rhubarb

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I just bought a Saiga 308 from a friend who bought it new and hadn't fired it. I shot 25 rounds through it yesterday and function was 100%. Accuracy was 100% better than me.;) Recoil was about like my Winchester 94 in 30-30. I took off the scope my friend put on it and shot almost as well with iron sights. All in all, I'm pleased with it.

The problem is that it dents the case when it chambers a round. It seems that right as the round is making the last of the turn into the chamber that the bolt is shoving it into the feed ramp, denting it. In the picture below, the top seven cases are new Winchester .308 and the bottom three are 7.62x51 headstamped 7.62 R1M1 WA 80. As you can see, the problem is worse with .308. Some cases don't have a mark on them.

Questions:
1. Is this a common problem?
2. Is there an easy and inexpensive solution?
3. Is this rifle unsafe to shoot?
4. Are the dented cases reloadable?

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I would think they're getting dented on ejection, because if they had been dented upon chambering, when you fired the gun they'd iron right out.
 
The R5 (Galil copy) also dents cartridge cases (on ejection) and I have also wondered whether those cases are reloadable. The dents are on the side, like rhubarb's dents.
 
duh

They are denting them on ejection....... Not on loading. Almost all military style guns do it. Heck you ought to see a Cetme or an HK....



steve:neener:
 
It's due to the AK having such an over-engineered extrator/ejector system. Guaranteed to work in the worst conditions. However, this usually means the brass gets mangled.

Probably not going to be reloadable but I don't know for sure. I guess it's a small flaw in an otherwise great rifle. ;)
 
I would feel ok with reloading all but the worst dented brass. My garand leaves a little smile shaped cut in the case head on ejection, and I reload the brass for it. I only fire each peice of brass 4 times though.
 
Almost all military style guns do it. Heck you ought to see a Cetme or an HK....
Click to expand...

Maybe some day I'll be shooting on a football field sized paved parking lot and actually find one of the empties :)

--wally.
 
I learned early on with my nice LC reloads in my .308. Shoot Surplus or Wolf out of the SAIGA cause it mangles the good brass. I save my reloads for my bolt gun.

It Shoots the SA, Aussie, and Argentine Surplus great, and its about as cheap as reloading. The Argentine stuff produces the largest fireball I have ever seen from my 16 inch Barrel.
 
They are correct military assult rifles eject the brass so forcefully the it dents the brass. The rifles are designed to work under extreme conditions without failure, the military is not into the business of relioading ammo. My HK 91 destroys the brass and I like it because it has never had a failure to eject a round.
 
actually, the saiga uses a pretty steep angle to get in the round, a mag feed bump thing. I say it is being caused either by the entry into the chamber, or part of the bolt is knocking into the NEXT ROUND DOWN,in the magazine. Next time you shoot it, let it rip about 5 rounds, then when the next one chambers after firing , stop. Unload the mag, slowly extract the chambered round. Look at the chambered round, and look at the next one down in the mag. if it is neither, manually load that prev. chambered round, and fire it. then watch where the spent brass lands. keep doing this until you get your answer.
 
@ GreenMachine

I am curious to see what your spent HK91 brass looks like. Do you have pics please?
 
The dents in the cases in your picture are fairly mild, compared to those from some other self-loading military rifles. They are totally reloadable, and the sizing die might actually remove almost all of the dent. Even if it does NOT, the amount left after resizing will not be enough to affect functioning.

As others pointed out, HK and Cetme rifles make MUCH LARGER dents in their cases upon ejection. The issue is severe enough that when the HK91/93 series rifles were being imported, HK offered, as an accessory, an "ejection port buffer" that would reduce/eliminate the denting of the cases. That accessory was almost mandatory for those who reload for that series of rifle.
 
I tried my saiga .223 out for the first time today. I wish I would have known about the denting problem before I bought it. I had a bunch of reloading supplys bought up but now that I see what it does to the brass I think I might sell the gun and just settle for my sks.
 
I reload the commercial brass I shoot in my 223 and 308 Saigas (and CETMEs, for that matter) without issue.

Most times, the dents are creases with little actual metal loss.
 
common problem with the saigas, not really a problem at all. fire about 500 rounds through it, see if the prob lightens up. If not, go to Saiga-12 site, and get you a bullet guide kit for about 15 bucks. problem solved.
 
Most AK actions do this

Just look for a brass-colored area on eithr the charging handle or the receiver to find the culprit. This is most definitely happening on the ejection of the round, as Third_Rail said, if it was upon loading, the preassure released upon firing would straighten the brass right back out..

Still 2 Many Choices!?
 
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